Boxing Results From Around the World
By Jeremiah “Griffo’s Handkerchief” Preisser
Martin Murray, 30-2-1, 13 KO’s, of England made a successful transition into the higher weights by stopping Georgian, George Beroshvili, 19-6-2, 12 KO’s. Murray looked very good in a return bout after receiving a prolonged beat down in his last fight against middleweight kingpin, Gennady Golovkin. Murray came right at Beroshvili, popping the jab and continuously banging the body. In fact, his body work looked so good that it seemed as if Murray had taken a few pages out of Golovkin’s playbook. The finish to the Murray-Beroshvili bout was reminiscent of Golovkin’s stoppage over Macklin and we can only hope that it remains a staple in his offense. Murray’s hand-speed was also eye-catching and his aggressive posture made the bout a bit more exciting. Solid win for Murray and a nice addition to the super-middleweight class, which already has loads if British talent.
Speaking of British talent in the super-middleweight division, two super-middleweight prospects took part in bouts over the weekend, Rocky Fielding and Callum Smith. Rocky Fielding, 21-0, 12 KO’s, former Prizefighter participant, made a statement in blitzing tough veteran, Bryan Vera, 23-10, 14 KO’s, albeit controversially. The twenty-seven-year-old Brit outboxed the American by utilizing a busy jab, accompanied by feints and quick hooks. Near the end of the first round, Fielding finished off a combination with a left hook which caught the rising Vera flush on the chin and put him on the seat of his shorts. Rocky let his hands loose in the second go-round, countering whenever he could and throwing many power punches. Near the 2:00 mark of the round, Fielding pulled Vera down to the ground with a cuffing left hook to the back of the head. Vera’s knee and glove touched the canvass, but Fielding threw strikes through the whole sequence and the referee came near the two men in what looked like a half-hearted attempt to break the action. Vera looked to be thinking that a break was eminent, as he dropped his hands. Fielding never relented and connected with a jolting left hook that sent the American down hard. Vera shook his head while on the floor, but he was clearly hurt. However, he did make it to his feet at the count of “six” and was allowed to continue. The tall British man pounced of his prey and ripped him with a volley of successive blows, prompting an intervention by Ian John Lewis. Regardless of the poor showing by Lewis, Fielding has improved significantly and is now a contender for big domestic showdowns.
The aforementioned, Callum Smith, 17-0, 12 KO’s, squared off against the very durable and very capable Frenchman in Christopher Rebrasse, 23-4-3, 6 KO’s. The fight featured loads of punches from both men, but Smith’s educated left hand proved the most useful tool of either man’s arsenal. Smith jabbed, uppercutted, and left hooked his way to a competitive but clear points victory. Smith was able to drop Rebrasse in the tenth with a beautiful double hook combination (think Micky Ward’s famous head-body combo), but the game challenger got up and continued pressing forward. The match was a useful learning tool for the highly rated Smith and prepares him for a future world title match.
Thirty-five-year-old Russian puncher, Eduard Troyanovsky, 22-0, 19 KO’s, added to his now 12-fight knockout streak with a third round stoppage over Philippines native, Ronald Pontillas, 17-8-3, 8 KO’s. The tall light-welterweight caught the Filipino with a hard right hand that sapped his willpower away and therefore rendered a halting to the contest. Eduard Troyanovsky has one of the stiffest right hands I have seen from a 140-pounder since Bailey and Tszyu, and I’m hoping he gets a shot at a top-level fighter soon.
Australian super-middleweight contender, Zac Dunn, 18-0, 15 KO’s, decisioned Ukrainian, Max Bursak, 31-4-1, 14 KO’s, in a twelve round bout for a nondescript belt. Dunn couldn’t put his man away and actually tasted the floor for the first time in his career, but he did enough to come away with the victory. When all was said and done, the scores of 115-111, 115-111, and 116-110 were given.
Former WSB competitor, Brian Carlos Castano, 9-0, 8 KO’s, scored an easy first round knockout over American, Todd Manuel, 10-7-1, 1 KO. The Argentine, Castano, put Manuel on the deck four times in his American debut at the Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton, Washington, U.S.A. Hopefully the once amateur standout can obtain a higher level of opposition because he appears too good too good for the latest bunch.
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