Staples Center, Los Angeles, California– Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. pulled off a close, hard-fought majority decision against Sebastion Zbik (30-1, 10 KOs) to take the German’s WBC middleweight title.
Zbik took many of the early rounds with quick shots to Chavez’s head, but the second generation star started to wear the defending champion down with a thudding and dedicated body attack. By the end of the bout, Zbik was completely spent and Chavez swept the final rounds to take the decision and the title by scores of 114-114, 116-112, 115-113. The Boxing Tribune also scored the bout 115-113 in favor of Chavez.
On the HBO-televised undercard, featherweight, Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia (26-0, 22 KOs) stopped Rafael Guzman (28-3, 20 KOs) in four rounds.
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey– WBC super middleweight champ, Carl Froch (28-1, 20 KOs) retained his title and advanced to meet Andre Ward in the World Boxing Classic finals with a smart, sharp performance against veteran Glen Johnson (51-15-2, 35 KOs).
Froch used distance and angles, keeping a deliberate, but steady Johnson at a safe distance for most of the fight. Johnson was never seriously hurt by anything landed, but he could never quite get sustained access to Froch’s chin or body.
In the end, it was a solid performance from the native of Nottingham, England. The final scorecard revealed a majority decision win for Froch with scores of 114-114, 116-112, 117-111. The Boxing Tribune scored the bout in favor of Froch, also by the score of 117-111.
Copenhagen, Denmark– After about a 14-month lay-off, three-time former world super middleweight titlist, Mikkel Kessler (44-2, 33 KOs) came out sharp and slightly more mobile against overmatched Frenchman, Mehdi Bouadla (22-4, 10 KOs).
Although hit more than necessary, Kessler quickly proved himself to be the better-skilled, more seasoned fighter by gradually breaking down Bouadla with head and body shots before disposing of him at the end of the sixth round.
Bouadla was down in the third, fourth, and twice in the sixth before the referee called an end to the contest. He was also deducted a point in the third round for spitting out his mouthpiece.
Foro Polanco, Mexico City, Mexico– Marco Antonio Rubio (51-5-1, 44 KOs) walked right through Argentina’s Ricardo Ramallo (11-5-1, 7 KOs), dropping the journeyman in the second and in the third en route to a TKO 3 victory.
Rubio is #1 challenger to new WBC middleweight champion, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and called out the new champion in his post fight interview.
Other Noteworthy Fights:
(Jr. Middleweight) Vanes Martirosyan TKO 7 Saul Roman; (Lightweight) Gavin Reese UD 12 Andy Murray; (Heavyweight) Cedrick Boswell UD 10 Kertson Manswell; (Light Heavyweight) Zsolt Erdei TKO 6 Byron Mitchell; (Light Heavyweight) Edison Mirando UD 8 Rayco Saunders; (Heavyweight) Frans Botha TKO 6 Flo Simba; (Cruiserweight) Richard Hall KO 2 O’Neil Bell
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