Boxing Results from Around the World (May 29 – 31)

By Jeremiah J. Preisser

On the undercard of the exciting Khan-Algieri bout, was a competitive match-up between two of the better 130-pounders in the world: Costa Rica’s Bryan Vasquez, 34-2, 18 KO’s, and the Dominican Republic’s Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna, 28-0, 20 KO’s, for some title the WBA parades around as a “world championship”. Fortuna, unlike his usual aggressive posture, took up a more defensive approach and it worked fairly well, as he outboxed Vasquez over the distance with lots of lateral movement and effective spurts of offense. The occasional power shot landed, as well, however, they never seemed to produce the effect they had on many of Fortuna’s previous opponents.

Vasquez also made a good account of himself and showed that his #3 ranking was no fluke. He displayed a good feel for punches and deflected, blocked, or got out of the way of the vast majority of his power punching foe’s shots. He looked cagey and active in there and had the Boxing Gods shed more good will on this fellow, he may have been blessed with the power to hurt Fortuna, as he landed an array of nice punches throughout the contest, especially ones to the body.

When all was said and done, the scores of 116-112, 117-111, and 117-111 were rendered in favor of the Caribbean inhabitant and he can now look forward to bigger and better things.

The Brits enjoyed a major card on Saturday, with a number of their top-flight operators being in the ring. Lee Selby, 21-1, 8 KO’s, was one of those operators. He opposed IBF featherweight champion, Evgeny Gradovich, “The Mexican Russian”, 19-1-1, 9 KO’s, for the Russian native’s title belt. This bout proved to be a near shutout in favor of the Welshman, as he boxed beautifully (not quite as effectively as the British commentators would have led you to believe), flicking out a nice jab, countering effectively, and working at a pace that Gradovich was envious of. The pace Selby worked at went a long way in preventing Gradovich from opening up his offense and Lee’s crisp, accurate lead power shots didn’t hurt either. A stiff one-two created trouble for “El Ruso Mexicano” at about the 2:00 minute mark of the 6th segment. After a brief break in the action to tie Selby’s shoe, they were brought in together and a quick as a flash, a one-two brought Gradovich’s back foot up in a clear sign of temporary distress. Gradovich, game as ever, weathered the storm and continued to pressure the challenger until an awful cut caused by a clash of heads brought about a stoppage in the eighth round. The so-called “Floyd Mayweather of Wales” won by a wide points spread on all the judges’ cards.

Kevin “Mighty” Mitchell, 39-3, 29 KO’s, looked to continue his countryman’s good fortune against WBC lightweight champion, Venezuela’s “Golden Boy”, Jorge Linares, 39-3, 26 KO’s, but it wasn’t to be. The end result: a technical knockout by the champion in the 10th round. Before the end, much of the match was contested on fairly even grounds, though Linares was the sharper, quicker, and smarter of the two. Mitchell did look on his game and scored a knockdown over the Japan-based titleholder in the 5th round, though Jorge was never in serious trouble.

Both men suffered cuts, the result of a head clash. Kevin’s was in a much worse area, however, and it bothered him a good deal and eventually formed into a grotesque swelling. This injury, coupled with Linares’ precision punching and blazing hand-speed, started to wear on the Englishman and starting in the ninth and ending in the tenth, a series of technically sound flurries along the ropes help put his man down. The ref sensing Mitchell had little more to offer, waved the bout off.

This was Linares’ first defense of his belt and he looks to make good use of his run at 135. He has suffered a number of setbacks in his career, but his skill is sublime and other purists and I would love to see him against the world’s best.

British boxing heavyweight prospect Anthony Joshua, 13-0, 13 KO’s, met American ring veteran, Kevin “Kingpin” Johnson, 29-7-1, 14 KO’s. Johnson was touted for his toughness and was tipped to give the former Olympic gold medalist a stiffer test than anyone else. In a fantastic showing, Joshua showed that with his level of opponent, he too can raise his game, and he did just that. In a slow start to the fight, Johnson jabbed and moved and showed confidence in his defense. Johnson’s defense proved less bulletproof than he anticipated and Joshua punched through it on a number of occasions. Eventually a number of clean blows reigned down upon Johnson and he found himself on the canvass near the end of the first. The American found the willpower to get up, though he was quickly met with a barrage of strikes to his head. Kevin was felled again after the bell sounded and was brought back to his stool by his concerned cornermen. The start of the second saw the British prospect look to take his man out, and that he did a little after the 2:00 minute mark, with the referee stopping the slaughter after a volley of big shots had connected.

For many, Joshua looks to have the goods to be a superstar, though it is always difficult to tell in a division where one punch can change the trajectory of a fight. Hopefully he steps up the competition and gets a true test so we can further evaluate him.

Saturday also featured a significant fight in Japan. Then prospect, Kosei Tanaka, 5-0, 2 KO’s, went for a men’s Japanese boxing record of winning a title in his fifth fight, the previous record held by his amateur rival and two-division champion, Naoya Inoue. His in-ring foe was Mexican and WBO titlist, Julian Yedras, 24-2, 13 KO’s. The bout was a “Fight of the Year” candidate from start to finish as both men landed many clean blows on one another. The seventh was especially exciting and is an early candidate for “Round of the Year”. Near the end of said round, the determined pugilists stood and traded an array of power shots which never stemmed the fistic retort of the other. Ultimately, Tanaka’s natural gifts helped him prevail, as well as his stamina which looked very good for a youngster. Tanaka also outworked the champion and was able to hurt Yedras on a number of occasions.

Kosei’s natural ability is undeniable and maybe Inoue and he can pick up where they left off in the amateurs, though many of us would love to see him become “the man” at 105 first.

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