Boxing Results From Around the World (July 10 – July 12)

By Jeremiah “Griffo’s Handkerchief” Preisser

In maybe the most historic night of the week, Britain’s Terry “Turbo” Flanagan, 28-0, 11 KO’s, took on southern California’s, Jose “Chon” Zepeda, 23-1, 20 KO’s. Flanagan attempted and succeeded in becoming the first Englishman to win a world title in the lightweight division, though likely not in the fashion he wanted. Zepeda threw few left hands throughout the course of the bout’s two rounds, but one of them ended up popping his arm out of its socket.

His corner tried to put it back in, but their efforts proved fruitless. The bout was halted and Flanagan was award the victory. Up until that point, however, the match was shaping up nicely, with both men looking to establish the jab and distance. Flanagan used his height and reach, and Zepeda was trying to overcome it by throwing fast, flicker-like jabs. “Turbo” made adjustments in the second and established distance better and countered over the American’s left hand effectively.

Maybe a rematch is in tow, but if not, Flanagan has all sorts of options in a division chalk full of domestic challengers. Kevin Mitchell, Anthony Crolla, and the winner of Luke Campbell-Tommy Coyle are all fine selections.

The headliner to the card Flanagan-Zepeda was 130-135-pounder, Liam “Destiny” Walsh, 19-0, 13 KO’s, versus Brazilian, Isaias Santos Sampaio, 23-11, 21 KO’s. Walsh looked very good here, landing sharp punches with both hands and dominating from both the southpaw and orthodox positions in rounds five and six. In the sixth, Walsh landed a shot that looked to be of little consequence, but the referee ruled that it was a knockdown. Walsh perceived it as real and jumped on Sampaio as soon as he could. The Briton immediately landed a combination against the ropes and floored the Brazilian hard with a left uppercut to the body. In fact, it may have been one of the best body shots landed all year, as Sampaio rolled on the floor in agony.

Walsh is nearing his fighting prime and surely has to be in line for a title shot in the near future. Hopefully he gets the winner of the Martinez-Salido rematch.

Long time heavyweight contender and Uzbekistan-native, Ruslan “White Tyson” Chagaev, 34-2-1, 21 KO’s, engaged Italy’s Francesco Pianeta, 31-2-1, 17 KO’s. The contest lasted less than an entire round. Chagaev dropped Pianeta with a left hand and then did the same in a clinch later on. The Italian was slow to get up the second time, making it to his feet around the count of nine. The referee seemed to make the right call and waved the contest off.

Chagaev can now turn his attention to bigger fights, as his seven fight win-streak is significant, but it is likely he continues to fight faded men and fringe contenders.

Floridian veteran, Edner “Cherry Bomb” Cherry, 34-6-2, 19 KO’s, fought twenty-nine-year-old Puerto Rican, Luis Cruz, 21-4, 16 KO’s. In a light-welterweight clash that proved competitive, the homegrown Bahamian halted the match with a beautiful “Cherry Bomb” (e.g. his right hand) in the ninth round. Through the first four Cherry dominated, pumping the jab and consistently landing power shots. In the fifth, Edner seemed to slow down and Cruz began to pick up his pace, landing pot-shots and generally staying out of range. In the final go-round, Cherry must have received a helluva pep talk from trainer Dan Birmingham because he came out firing. Eventually, a sweeping left hook followed by a right hand on the point of the chin put Cruz down. The Puerto Rican made it to his feet. As soon as the ref gave the go-ahead, Edner swarmed Cruz and connected with a jolting overhand right that snapped Cruz’s head back. The ref didn’t bother counting.

Cherry is one of a number of quality ring savvy ring veterans lurking in the depths of 140 and it wouldn’t do much harm to see him engage someone with a stature similar to himself: Soto, Lundy, Angulo, Bennett, etc. A quality prospect would also be good for him.

Possibly the best 108-pounder in the world, Pinoy boxer, Donnie Nietes, 36-1-4, 21 KO’s, outboxed Mexican challenger, Francisco Rodriguez Jr., 17-3-1, 11 KO’s. Rodriguez came at Nietes, looking to wear his man down, but the Philippines-native’s counter-punching was too much and his defense too tight. The finally tally was 119-109, 118-110, and 115-113.

This marked Nietes seventh successful defense of his WBO strap. Currently, he is also the longest reigning champion from his country. A match-up with fellow titleholder Pedro Guevara would do the division some good, as it would determine who the best in the class is.

Prospects Antonio Tarver, JR.., Jason Quigley, Patryk Szymanski, Nicolas Arce, Joseph Diaz, and Antonio Russell also secured victories over the weekend. Quigley is one to especially look out for, as he has a solid all-around skill-set and bolsters the middleweight division.

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