Boxing Results from Around the World (June 12 – 14, 2015)

By Jeremiah “Griffo’s Handkerchief” Preisser

My “Prospect of the Month”, Jeff “The Hornet” Horn, 10-0-1, 8 KO’s, pulled a three-round job on Ghanaian battler, Richmond Djarbeng, 19-3-1, 15 KO’s. Australia’s representative at the 2012 Olympic Games started strong, hurting his challenger with both hands in the first round. The second proved even more successful with Horn dropping Djarbeng with a left hook, right hand combination around the thirty-second mark. The native Ghanaian beat the count but had to survive to see the end of the segment. “The Hornet” came out looking to finish what he had started the very next go-round and knocked his man down twice before the referee decided to halt the contest. This victory sees him supplant Djarbeng in the WBA’s rankings and the word is that lanky Ukrainian Viktor Plotnykov is next. The bout is scheduled on August 1st, 2015, in New Zealand.

Puerto Rican up-and-comer, Jose “Sniper” Pedraza, 20-0, 12 KO’s, put on a delightful boxing exhibition against Russian veteran, Andrey Klimov, 19-2, 9 KO’s. Using a game plan eerily reminiscent of Crawford’s, “Sniper” boxed from the outside in a mostly southpaw position, sticking and moving. Pedraza was the busier man, throwing a number of nice combinations and displaying superior speed, power, and technical ability to that of Klimov. The Russian was outclassed, but he wasn’t hopelessly so. At times he worked effectively while counter-punching and his head movement was generally very effective. Klimov just couldn’t integrate the two well enough to make it close. In the end, Pedraza won a wide decision with the scores of 120-108, 120-108, and 119-109 being rendered.

The interim IBF 118-pound strap was up for grabs in the United Kingdom when Lee “Playboy” Haskins, 32-3, 14 KO’s, took on Japanese southpaw, Ryosuke Iwasa, 19-2, 12 KO’s. Haskins fought in style reminiscent of a poor man’s Naseem Hamed, throwing lightning quick punches from odd angles and often times, loading up with them. The British southpaw looked sharp in the first three segments, as he maintained distance and landing stinging counter shots. The fourth and fifth saw Iwasa start to time Haskins and he landed a number of quality left hands to his head. However in the sixth, Haskins found a beautiful left hand to his foe’s chin and put him down hard. The Japanese pugilist got up on sea legs and was allowed to fight on. Haskins pounced and got his man out of there with a flurry of power shots.

Abel Sanchez’s work in progress, Murat “Iron” Gassiev, 22-0, 16 KO’s, continued his march upwards after disposing of American, “Rocking” Rodney Moore, 17-10-2, 7 KO’s. In a first round which was mostly comprised of feeling one another out, the Russian native, Murat Gassiev, did turn up the fistic thermostat near the end by letting loose with more punches. Gassiev came out with fervor in the next round, maintaining his aggressive posture with lots of jabs and backing his man up to the ropes. Once there, he began to uncork hard right hooks to the head, many of which were partially blocked but powerful enough to knock Moore off of his feet. Moore beat the count of ten and the ref allowed for the continuation of the fight, though it didn’t last much longer. “Iron” repeated his successes. He backed the American up and then broke him down with the same hooks that put him down the first time. This time, however, Moore wasn’t in the business of returning to the slaughter and stayed kneeled until the man in blue waved the contest off.

6’6” “Nordic Nightmare”, Robert Helenius, 21-, 13 KO’s, inches closer to a real comeback after missing the entirety of 2014 and most of 2013 by stopping Georgian, Beka Lobjanidze, 12-3, 10 KO’s, in the third round. The Scandinavian, looking big and bearded, put Lobjanidze down with a well-timed counter right hand over a left hook. The Georgian got up with his legs under him, but was put down not long after by a series of strikes, the last of which was a hard left hook to the body. The count by the referee, though slow, was still not enough to encourage Lobjanidze to stand up.

Paris, France saw heavyweight contender Carlos Takam, 32-2-1, 25 KO’s, return with a fifth-round knockout over British veteran, Michael Sprott, 42-24, 17 KO’s. This victory marks his second straight win after being leveled by the world’s second best heavyweight, Alexander Povetkin. Takam, tough and game, can still provide some quality fights with some of the best the division has to offer.

Montenegro native, Dejan Zlaticanin, 21-0, 14 KO’s, took on fellow European banger, Ivan Redkach, 18-1, 14 KO’s. This contest featured not only two European punchers, but also two southpaws, and in Birmingham, Alabama. Zlaticanin, largely unknown outside the U.S., came out in a peek-a-boo stance and marched right at Redkach, who himself looked to box. Ivan tried using his height, but only in round three did he do so effectively. In the first, second, and finally the fourth, Zlaticanin found his way inside and banged away with sizzling power shots, especially to the body. To end the bout, Dejan landed a vicious overhand left in-between exchanges. This shot turned the Ukrainian sideways and put him down. Redkach did make it up, but he was pummeled along the ropes soon after, prompting a stoppage. This match was a WBC title eliminator, putting Zlaticanin in line for a shot at current champion, Jorge Linares.

On the same card, Egyptian light-heavyweight, Ahmed Elbiali, 11-0, 10 KO’s, kept his unbeaten streak alive by blitzing American, Donta Woods, 8-5, 7 KO’s, in the first round. Elbiali went right after Woods, landing bomb after bomb until finally, a series of right hands crumbled him to the canvass. The ref made it to the count of six before declaring it unnecessary.

Ukrainian amateur standout but professional flop, Ismayl Sillah, 22-2. 17 KO’s, decisioned Latvian, Arturs Kulikauskis, 16-25-5, 8 KO’s, after eight rounds of work. Sillah looked good as always, as long as someone isn’t touching his chin. He boxed effectively, especially from the southpaw stance, presumably in a bid to offset his opponents own southpaw style. In the end, the judges saw it a shutout in favor of Sillah.

Another excellent Ukrainian amateur fought over the weekend, as well. Oleksandr Gvozdyk, 6-0, 4 KO’s, won a lopsided six-round points verdict over hardened Ghanaian veteran, Michael “The Amazing” Gbenga, 20-21, 20 KO’s. All three judges saw it the same: 60-54.

Lastly, Hungarian born, Zsolt “Phenom” Daranyi Jr., 4-0, 4 KO’s, entered the squared circle against American, Antonio Neal, 3-3, 3 KO’s. The tall super-welterweight prospect broke his man down to the body, knocking him down twice with them and ultimately finishing him with them. Daranyi is certainly one to keep an eye on.

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