Brian Vera RTD 7 Donatas Bondorovas
In the main event of Friday Night Fights, Brian Vera (23-6, 14 KOs) stopped a slightly overmatched, but determined Donatas Bondorovas (17-4-1, 6 KOs) via RTD 7 when an apparent misunderstanding between Bondorovas’ corner and the ref resulted in the stoppage. The confusion centered around whether bleeding caused by cuts on the bridge of the nose and the inside of the right eye were impairing Bondorovas’s vision, something the non-English speaking native of Lithuania couldn’t properly relay through his corner translator. Up until the stoppage, the bout was competitive and entertaining with Vera taking the edge as rounds passed. Vera will now likely move on to one of two big ticket bouts, either as cannon fodder to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June or as no. 1 mandatory challenger to WBO middleweight titlist Peter Quillin. (Paul Magno)
Humberto Savigne TKO 4 Jackson Junior
Cuba’s Humberto Savigne (11-1, 8 KOs) beat overrated and previously unbeaten Brazilian faux-prospect, Jackson Junior (14-1, 12 KOs) with ease in the co-feature of last week’s Friday Night Fights card. As a matter of fact, the light heavyweight prospect only really needed the right hand to do the job, as he dropped Junior with the same punch once in the second round and three times in the fourth before the stoppage. Savigne is ranked no. 5 by the WBA and no. 10 by the WBC. (Paul Magno)
Denis Grachev SD 10 Zsolt Erdei
Denis Grachev (13-1-1, 8 KO’s) dealt former world champion Zsolt Erdei (33-1, 18 KO’s) his first loss Saturday night as part of the Monte Carlo Million Dollar Super Four tournament in Monaco. Erdei controlled the first half of the bout, using his jab and lateral movement to control the action. Grachev, who looked like he might sunburn under the fluorescent lights, caught up with Erdei in the latter half of the fight, connecting with some big shots and making the fight a close one. Both fighters fought the 10th round like the fight depended on it…and it did. Grachev’s second half surge served him well, and he walked off winning a split decision by scores of 96-94 twice in his favor and 96-94 in favor of Erdei. Following the bout, Erdei presented his gloves to Albert II, the Prince of Monaco. (Jim McGrady)
Edwin Rodriguez UD 10 Ezequiel Maderna
It was ugly to watch, but it was a win for Edwin Rodriguez (23-0, 15 KO’s) that kept his undefeated record in tact. Rodriguez defeated Ezequiel Maderna (19-1, 13 KO’s) by 10 round decision in a fight that was loaded with clinches, and void of any boxing ability with exception to Rodriguez’s jab. After a wild first round, Rodriguez gained control of the bout, but was throwing wide lopping right hands and wide hooks. He paid the price on a few occasions, taking some big shots from Maderna, but was never in serious trouble. Rodriguez lost a point in the eighth round for a low blow, and was docked a second time in the ninth for a rabbit punch that dropped Maderna momentarily. Edwin saved the round by legitimately dropping Maderna later in the same frame, despite Maderna’s attempt to sell that shot as a foul. The win sets Rodriguez up with a bout against Denis Grachev on July 13th in Monaco. (Jim McGrady)
Gennady Golovkin KO 3 Nobuhiro Ishida
Gennady Golovkin (26-0 23 KOs) defended his WBA World Middleweight title Saturday night in impressive fashion at Monte Carlo, Monaco. Challenger Nobuhiro Ishida (24-9-2, 9 KOs) felt the full force of why Golovkin has become such a hit with the fans, and avoided by his fellow middleweights. Ishida was brave, and tried to stand toe to toe with the Champion, but Golovkin took control from the start with his punishing jab and right-handers. By the end of the second round the challenger was on the retreat. When the finish came in the 3rd round, it was sudden and devastating. Ishida had been trying to fight back, when he was caught by a huge right which dropped him like a stone. Ishida, who has never been stopped before, ended up laid half way out of the ring with his head on the press table. This latest win will add another knockout highlight to Golovkin’s resume, but may also scare off many of his fellow 160 pounders, because this guy can punch. (Peter Silkov)
Tony Bellew Split Draw 12 Isaac Chilemba
Tony Bellew appeared to have confirmed his world title ambitions when he handily outpointed South African Isaac Chilemba over twelve difficult rounds – that was until the scorecards were read out and a quite ridiculous draw was announced. Light-heavyweight Bellew failed to pocket the WBC’s ludicrous silver title as a result – which means, in real money, that he failed to win a final eliminator for the belt proper. In truth it was difficult to see how Chilemba could have earned a share of the contest, given that he didn’t start competing until the seventh round. Until that round, the South African had shown a decent set of defensive skills, an ability to keep his chin out of harm’s way, but precious little in the way of an offense – so little in fact that it took a hefty kick up his backside by cornerman Buddy McGirt at the end of the sixth for Chilemba to finally get on the front foot. From the seventh to the twelfth round the fight became a seesaw affair in which both fighters shared the spoils across a few sporadic exchanges. Bellew appeared to coast through the eleventh round, clearly believing he’d got the fight won, and the Liverpool crowd must have felt that the verdict was going to go their way at the final bell. However, hen the three scores were read out as 116-112 Chilemba, 116-115 Bellew, and a draw at 114-114, the arena emptied in stunned silence. (Geoff Poundes)
Derry Mathews Split Draw 12 Anthony Crolla
The much-anticipated rematch between Liverpool’s Derry Mathews (32-8-2, 17 KOs) and Manchester’s Anthony Crolla (25-4-1, 9 KOs) ended in a frustrating Saturday night at Liverpool’s Echo Arena. Both fighters previously met last April, when Mathews stopped Crolla in the 6th round and relieved him of his British Lightweight Title. This time, the pair were disputing the vacant Commonwealth Lightweight title. Unlike their first fight this turned out to be very much a chess match, with Crolla looking to counter the more aggressive Mathews rather than stand and trade. Neither man seemed satisfied with the drawn result, which left the title vacant and means that the two rivals will most likely meet for a third time to decide matters. (Peter Silkov)
Mike Alvarado SD 12 Brandon Rios
In a strong candidate for fight of the year Mike Alvarado (34-1, 23 KOs) proved a lot of people wrong by out boxing fan favourite Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KOs) last night in Las Vegas, and taking the interim WBO Light-welterweight title by decision in the process. The fight started much like their first match last October, with both going toe to toe, with some thrilling exchanges. Rios got the better of the early rounds, cutting Alvarado over the right eye in the 1st and having him seemingly out on his feet in a furious 2nd round. But Alvarado came back every time he was hurt, and by the 3rd round was catching Rios with some tremendous clean shots of his own. As the fight progressed Alvarado began to box more, pausing at times to exchange, then moving away before Rios was able to get into full flow with his patented body assaults. Alvarado’s strategy worked perfectly, and he gained a deserved verdict, by landing more than he took down the stretch. With the bubble of a possible Rios vs. Pacquiao match now clearly popped, a third installment of Rios vs. Alvarado is now eagerly awaited. (Peter Silkov)
Terrance Crawford UD 10 Breidis Prescott
On the televised portion of the Brandon Rios versus Mike Alvarado undercard late substitution, Terrence Crawford (20-0, 15KOs) displayed excellent boxing skills and great reflexes as he easily out-boxed the favorite Breidis Prescott (26-5, 20KOs), who enjoyed both a height and weight advantage over the former Olympic alternate. By the middle rounds, the junior welterweight match-up had turned into a showcase for the unheralded Crawford, who played the part of Pernell Whitaker against a befuddled and slow-looking Prescott. At the end of ten rounds, the judges scorecards showed the one-sided nature of the bout with scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 100-90. (Jesse Ian Lardies)
Next Weekend’s Bouts of Note:
Friday (4/5)
Jonathan Maicelo vs. Rustam Nugaev (FNF)
Saturday (4/6)
Brian Viloria vs. Juan Francisco Estrada
Wilfredo Vazquez Jr vs. Yasutaka Ishimoto
Roman Martinez vs. Diego Magdaleno
Paul Spadafora vs. Robert Frankel
Sunday (4/7)
Koki Kameda vs. Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym
Sonny Boy Jaro vs. Hiroyuki Hisataka
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