The Past Week in Action 5 May 2025: Inoue-Cardenas Saves Historic Boxing Weekend; Canelo-Scull Sets New Record for Fewest Punches Thrown
By Eric Armit
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 06 May 2025
Highlights (in date order):
MAY 1
-Kevin Lerena retains the WBC Bridgerweight title with a stoppage of Serhiy Radchenko
MAY 2
-Teo Lopez outpoints Arnold Barboza in WBO super lightweight title defence
-Devin Haney decisions Joise Carlos Ramirez at welterweight
-Rolando Romero wins the vacant WBA welterweight title with decision over Ryan Garcia
MAY 3
-Saul Alvarez beats IBF champion William Scull to once again hold all four belts at super middleweight
-Badou Jack takes a majority verdict over Norair Mikaeljan in WBC cruiserweight title defence
-Jaime Munguia gets revenge against Bruno Surace with a points victory
-Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba fight to a majority draw
-Richard Riakporthe moves up to heavyweight stopping Kevin Espindola
MAY 4
-Naoya Inoue gets off the floor to stop Ramon Cardenas at super bantamweight title defence of his four belts
-Rafael Espinoza halts Edward Vazquez to retain the WBO featherweight title
Major Shows
MAY 2
NEW YORK, NY, USA
In a WBO super lightweight title defence TEOFIMO LOPEZ (22-1) outboxes and outscores ARNOLD BARBOZA Jr (32-1) as he eases his way to a unanimous decision on scores of 116-112 twice and 118-110 with the latter score being a more accurate assessment of Lopez’s dominance. The first round was tight. Barboza looked the bigger man but Lopez had a distinct edge in hand speed and mixed his punches well to head and body to just take the first but it was close. Lopez also took the second. He landed a good right counter and was sharper and quicker with his jab. Lopez’s superior speed was evident again in the third. He was scoring with quick, accurate jabs and putting together some impressive combinations. Barboza connected with a couple of rights but it was a good rounds for Lopez. The fourth and fifth were also Lopez’s rounds. His slick movement had him sliding away from Barboza’s punches constantly piercing Barboza’s guard with jabs, firing quick combinations and landing left hooks to the body whilst blocking Barboza’s rights. The sixth was Barboza’s best round so far. He shook Lopez with a right and scored with more rights as he put Lopez under pressure. Lopez was showing a cut under his left eye but there was swelling around Barboza’s eye. It had been a good round for Barboza but that proved fleeting success as Lopez was back in control in the seventh. This time it was Lopez landing the rights and he was continually catching Barboza with counters when Barboza tried get inside. Lopez simply out boxed and outscored Barboza over the eighth and ninth as the pace dropped a little. Barboza just could not get into the fight. Lopez was boxing on the retreat spearing Barboza with jabs and connecting with a hurtful lefts to the body as he added the tenth to his collection. Barboza needed a knockout but did not show the fire required to make that a possibility as Lopez continued to slip Barboza’s punches to fire home jabs and outwork Barboza in the eleventh even showing off with his version of an Ali shuffle. No fireworks in the last as Lopez’s speed and skills were too much for Barboza. He did manage to connect with a good right but Lopez ended the round strongly connecting with rights. Third defence of the WBO title for Lopez and his superiority was such that Barboza never posed a threat and the fight never caught fire. The super lights are low on star level fighters with Alberto Santiago the WBO No 1 and Richardson Hitchins (IBF), Gary Antuanne Russell(WBA) and Alberto Puello(WBC) good fighters but not setting the pulse racing. A move up to welter to try for a third division title might be a tempting but Lopez has come up from lightweight and has never weighed more than 140 lbs. Barboza will now have to rebuild after that lacklustre showing.
DEVIN HANEY (32-0,1ND) wins a wide unanimous decision over JOSE CARLOS RAMIREZ (29-3) in a disappointing welterweight fight with low levels of action and no highlights. Haney was on the defensive from the start with Ramirez trying to chase him down but without much success. When Haney did stop to trade punches he was getting the better of the brief exchanges. Haney seemed to settle by the third as he landed well with left hooks. Ramirez had some success when he was able to trap Haney against the ropes but that did not happen often enough. Ramirez chased in vain in the fourth and fifth. Haney was winning rounds but losing credibility. Ramirez was cut under his right eye in the sixth and Haney let his hands go for a short spell but then went back to giving Ramirez the run around. The seventh and eighth saw more of the same as Haney was fighting scared never venturing far from the ropes and constantly switching direction with Ramirez unable to cut off the ring. Ramirez finally had some success in the ninth and tenth getting through with some body punches and landing a hard left hook. That was as good as it got for Ramirez as what scoring there was in the eleventh was done by Haney and Haney then danced his way around the perimeter of the ring in the twelfth hardly stopping to throw a punch. Haney won on scores of 119-109 twice and 118-110 but there was no winner in this fight as Haney didn’t fight and Ramirez couldn’t make him. Haney was No 1 with the WBC so could fight champion Mario Barrios for that title. There had been talk of Haney vs. Garcia rematch but after the results on this show Haney may go after Rolando Romero for a shot at the secondary WBA belt. There are still plenty of fights out there for Ramirez and another title shot could come his way.
ROLANDO ROMERO (17-2) floors and outpoints RYAN GARCIA (24-2,1ND) to win the vacant WBA Secondary/Regular welterweight title. Garcia made a good start using his jab to control the action in the first but suffered a shock knockdown early in the second. Garcia was tentative with a jab and Romero stepped inside and connected with two left hooks that sent Garcia flying back and down. Garcia was up quickly and frustrated Romero’s attempts to capitalise on the knockdown. Garcia continued to find the target with his jab and controlled the action from the centre of the ring in the third and fourth and looked to have edged ahead. Romero was getting through with some body punches but was not busy enough. The pace dropped in the fifth but Garcia did enough to claim it with some effective countering and landed a hard right and a strong left hook to the body. Romero was getting past Garcia’s jab in the sixth and focusing on body shots. Boxing on the back foot Garcia dealt effectively with the pressure from Romero in the seventh and eighth but his output looked to be falling and Romero’s body punching had Garcia slowing in the ninth. The fight was there for the taking by whoever could produce the stronger finish and an upset looked to be on. Romero simply outwork Garcia in the tenth and eleventh and Garcia had nothing left as Romero drove forward in the twelfth with Garcia showing no fire as if accepting the defeat. Romero won on scores of 115-112 twice and 118-110. A former holder of the WBA secondary/regular title at super lightweight, Romero was only fighting for the welterweight title due to some blatant manipulation of their ratings by the WBA (see Observations) and inside the distance losses to Gervonta Davis and Isaac Cruz saw the odds stacked against him. Garcia was having his first fight since his win over Devin Haney in April 2024 which was ruled a No Decision after he tested positive for a banned substance.
Former amateur star REITO TSUTSUMI (1-0) looked impressive in his first paid fight as he outpointed fellow-southpaw LEVALE WHITTINGTON (1-3-1). Tsutsumi showed fast hands, great foot work, a high and some flashing combinations. Whittington proved a better fighter than his record indicated. He refused to crumble and made Tsutsumi fight for the win. Two judges had it 60-54 and the third 58-56 for Tsutsumi who had a 57-2 record as an amateur so is a featherweight to follow.
MAY 3
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
SAUL ALVAREZ (63-2-2) adds WILLIAM SCULL’s (23-1) IBF super middleweight belt to his collection with a unanimous decision victory but it was a flat performance from Alvarez in a poor fight.
The fight set a new record but not one you would expect in an Alvarez fight. It set the record for the fewest combined punches thrown (not landed-thrown) in a 12 round fight at 445 (Alvarez 152-Scull 293) and it surpassed even the dire Devin Haney vs. Jose Carlos Ramirez snoozefest on Saturday.
Speed is not Alvarez’s strong point and with a fleet-footed Scull smart enough to know he could never match Alvarez for power there were no highlights and no sustained exchanges. Alvarez is usually a slow starter but at least he was trying to force some action over two very low level activity in the first two rounds. Alvarez landed a useful body punch in the third. Scull looked to be working hard but he was punching Alvarez’s arms and gloves not getting through Alvarez’s defence and Alvarez scored with a couple more body punches. Scull continued to move and throw plenty of punches over the fourth and fifth but it was wasted energy as he was not really committing himself to his punches out of fear of Alvarez power and a few body punches landing in each round were enough to give Alvarez the rounds. Scull finally had some success in the sixth connecting with a good right early. Alvarez banged back with a left and Scull countered and looked to have done enough to edge the round. Scull was still circling and throwing bunches of pointless punches in the seventh with Alvarez finishing the round with some hooks from both hands. Alvarez was on top in the eighth due to his body punching. At the end of the round the judges had it 78-74 twice and 80-72 for Alvarez and I had it 79-73 for Alvarez. The referee finally called the two fighters together at the start of the ninth and demanded some more action. Alvarez complied again working on Scull’s body but it was more of the frustrating constant movement and flurries of light punches from Scull. The tenth was a bit better from Scull. He was still spending a lot of time avoiding any exchanges but he was a getting through with some of his jabs and a couple of counters to offset the body punching from Alvarez. The fight just petered out over the eleventh and twelfth. There was no big effort from Scull and Alvarez just kept trying to pin Scull down and banging to the body when he could. The judges scored this 115-113, 116-112 and 119-109 for Alvarez. The 116-112 was generous to Scull and the 115-113 from Spanish judge Pablo Gonzalez, a good, experienced judge, stretched credibility. I had it 118-110.
With this win Alvarez added Scull’s IBF title to the WBA, WBC and WBO belts he already holds becoming the first fighter in the four belt era to have twice held all four belts in the same division. The good news is that Alvarez will fight Terence Crawford on September 12 in Las Vegas and after watching this pedestrian performance for Alvarez Crawford must fancy his chances. Alvarez first won a title at super welterweight in 2011 and Crawford won his first title at lightweight in 2014 so Alvarez is naturally the bigger man but he will have to improve on this showing to beat Crawford.
JAIME MUNGUIA (45-2) gets his revenge as he scores a unanimous decision over BRUNO SURACE (26-1-2) who had knocked Munguia out in the sixth round of their fight in December.
After that shock kayo loss Munguia made a more cautious start in the first round of this fight. That gave Surace some room and he was countering well with jabs and straight rights. Munguia upped the pace a little in the second but Surace was moving well slipping away from Munguia’s pressure and countering and a right just skimmed past Munguia’s chin. Subrace had probably taken those first two close rounds but Munguia landed some hard body punches in the third trying to slow Surace. The French man was mostly on the back foot in the fourth but was boxing cooly. Munguia was still trying not to leave himself open for rights from Surace and instead was nailed by a left uppercut. It looked as though Surace had won three of the first four rounds but Munguia upped the pressure in the fifth forcing Surace to the ropes and connecting with jabs and some hard body punches. Munguia took over from the sixth. He was dominating the action with his jab and landing hurtful body punches. He scored heavily throughout the seventh and eighth. Surace was firing back when he could but was under constant pressure being hunted around the ropes in the ninth. Surace made a promising start in the tenth but by the end of the round Munguia was banging home body punches. The eleventh and twelfth were Munguia’s as he found the target time and again with left hooks and Surace was unable to stage any sort of late rally. Scores 117-111 twice and 116-112. Munguia is looking to take on anyone at super middleweight but not Alvarez as a he is now a stablemate to the champion. Surace was competitive until he fell away over the second half of the fight. Despite this loss the win over Munguia has raised his profile significantly and there are some good fights out there for him. Christian Mbilli and Kevin Lee Sadjo would make great French domestic fights. Mbilli is No 1 with the WBC so the faint hope of a fight with Alvarez might not temp Mbilli to fight Surace but Sadjo might be more interested and it would be a huge fight for France and there is also German-based Cuban Osleys Iglesias the IBO champion as a possibility
MARTIN BAKOLE (21-2-1) and EFE AJAGBA (20-1-1 fought to a majority draw. A slow first round saw Ajagba circling the 59 lbs heavier Bakole stabbing him to head and body with jabs and Ajagba connected with a good right late in the round. Bakole tried to hunt Ajagba down in the second but he lacked the speed to do so and Ajagba continued to fire jabs and avoid any big exchanges. Bakole kept coming forward able to walk through Ajagba’s jabs and connected with a left hook that sent Ajagba into the ropes but Ajagba countered with a couple of rights. There was more pressure from Bakole in the fourth and again he landed a big left hook. He followed that by forcing Ajagba to a corner and landing a hard clubbing right to end the best round so far for Bakole. The pace slowed in the fifth with Bakole not pressing as hard allowing Ajagba to work his jab and Ajagba got through with a heavy right. Bakole tried to pin Ajagba down in the sixth and seventh but Ajagba was too quick and kept sliding off the ropes when Bakole had him there and was then scoring with short counters. A frustrated Bakole was calling for Ajagba to stand and fight but Ajagba stuck to his game plan. The fight was slipping away from Bakole but he had a good round when he badly needed it. In the eighth He managed to take Ajagba to the ropes and bombarded him with punches and although Ajagba escaped Bakole connected with an overhand right. Bakole again managed to take Ajagba to the ropes in the ninth. Ajagba had slowed and Bakole was beating on him with hooks and not allowing him to escape. Ajagba was pinging Bakole with jabs but Bakole just kept chasing Ajagba down and Ajagba spent most of the last round trying hard not to get drawn into any exchanges. Bankole’s strong finish did not seem enough not overtake Ajagba’s early lead but two judges scored it 95-95 and the third had it 96-94 for Ajagba.
BADOU JACK (29-3-3) clears up a mess in the WBC cruiser division as he retains the title on a majority decision over NORAIR MIKAELJAN (27-3).
Neither fighter had been very active recently and both took time to settle. Mikaeljan had been letting his hands go firing combinations to head and body over the first two rounds with Jack finally coming to life connecting with a right to the head at the end of the third but Mikaeljan had outworked him over those three rounds and did so again in the fourth. Mikaeljan was setting a fast pace and firing body punches looking to tire the 41-year-old Jack but Mikaeljan had taken the fight at just three weeks’ notice after Ryan Rozicki pulled out with an injury and that short notice could see Mikaeljan’s tactics backfire. With a third of the fight gone Jack had yet to win a round. Jack changed that by taking the fifth. Mikaeljan started the round well again throwing lots of punches notably to the body but Jack had his jab working and got through with a clubbing right. Jack shook Mikaeljan with a right and a left hook early in the sixth and then hurt him with a right to the body in the seventh as he began to eat into Mikaeljan’s lead. Mikaeljan was showing damage under his right eye, The fight had developed into a case of Mikaeljan’s greater volume against Jack’s power. The fast pace he had set and short preparation time seemed to have Mikaeljan tiring and Jack landed some hefty body shots on his way to winning the eighth. Tiring or not Mikaeljan moved in front again. He was throwing more and landing more. His punches lacked Jack’s power but they counted and he connected with two hard rights before the bell. Mikaeljan continued to pump out punches in the tenth but Jack scored to the body and landed a good right late which allowed him to even the scores again. Mikaeljan seemed to have that bit more left in the tank and he pierced Jack’s guard with jabs and straight rights. Jack was landing inside but not enough to offset Mikaeljan’s work in the mid-distance and for me Mikaeljan had a one round advantage going into the last. Jack got though with a right to the head and a body shot then a couple more rights and despite a flurry of punches from Mikaeljan it was Jacks round making it a draw. The judges saw it differently but it was so close that it could have gone to either fighter. The judges scored it 115-113 twice for Jack and 114-114.
RICHARD RIAKPORHE (18-1) gets a win in his first fight at heavyweight as flabby Argentinian KEVIN ESPINDOLA (9-10) retires after the fourth round. After winning the first two rounds Riakporhe softened Espindola up with a series of body punches in the third with Espindola only just staying on his feet. Riakporhe continued to go to the body in the fourth. He had Espindola backing to the ropes with a jab and then connected with a right uppercut and a left hook to the body and Espindola slumped to the floor and only just beat the count. He did not come out for the fifth. Riakporhe was having his first fight since losing to Chris Billiam-Smith in a challenge for the WBO cruiser title in June last year and was 35 lbs heavier for this fight. Espindola was 5” smaller and 62 lbs heavier so sating he was “flabby” was me being nice.
Mexican middleweight MARCO VERDE (1-0) signals his arrival in the profession ranks with a quick win. He floored fellow-Mexican MICHEL GALVAN (4-6-3) twice to force the stoppage after just 94 seconds. Verde, 23, won gold medals at both the Pan American and Central American and Caribbean Games and a silver at the 2024 Olympics beating Britain’s Lewis Richardson in the semi-finals. Marco’s father Manuel competed for Mexico at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona
MAY 4
LAS VEGAS, NV, USA
NAOYA INOUE (30-0) gets off the floor to stop RAMON CARDENAS (26-2) in the eighth.
Inoue was jabbing well to head and body in the first and then opened up in the second. Cardenas scored with a nice combination of hooks and uppercuts at the start of the second and Inoue countered with a right and a left. Inoue chased Cardenas but with a left hook from Cardenas a just whistling past Inoue’s chin. As Inoue moved in late in the round Cardenas fired another left hook and this one landed flush and sent Inoue him down heavily. Inoue knelt on the canvas watching to count and got up at eight with the bell going before any more punches could be landed. Inoue used his jab to control the action in the third. He was piercing the guard of Cardenas and then following with straight rights and left hooks to the body but Cardenas still looked dangerous. Inoue continued to land heavily with shots to head and body in the fourth and Cardenas was reluctant to fire back because when he did Inoue was driving home rights and hooks to the body. Cardenas tried to come forward over the fifth but he was a soaking up some ferocious punches from Inoue and was being driven back with every punch from Inoue a real power shot. With Cardenas trapped against the ropes in the sixth a fierce attack from Inoue had the referee looking closely at the situation. Inoue picked up in the seventh where he left off in the sixth. He was battering Cardenas around the ring and a left sent Cardenas flying into the ropes. He survived that and then banged home left books to Inoue’s body but four rights to the head from Inoue sent him reeling into the ropes and almost down. The ropes were holding him up and he was given a count. He made it to the bell but was trapped in a corner under fire in the eighth and the referee stopped the fight. Inoue was defending the IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO belts. He is now 26-0 in world title fights and only three of his fights have gone the distance. Texan Cardenas was WBA No 1 and had won his last 14 fights. He could not compete against the speed, accuracy and power of Inoue but he has the satisfaction of putting Inoue on the canvas.
WBO featherweight champion RAFAEL ESPINOZA (27-0) halts challenger EDWARD VAZQUEZ (17-3) in the seventh round and is never really tested. The 6’1” Mexican had huge advantages in height and reach over Texan Vazquez and used those to constantly score at distance and with counters as Vazquez came forward trying to bob and weave to get inside. If Vazquez did get close then he simply could not reach high enough to land anything on Ramirez’s head. It was mostly one-way traffic with Espinoza firing spectacular combinations and winning every round. There were a number of occasions when the referee looked poised to step in and he did in the seventh with Vazquez pinned in a corner as Espinoza bombarded him with punches. Espinoza had won the WBO featherweight belt with a majority decision over Robeisy Ramirez in 2023 but had stopped Ramirez in six rounds in a return fight in December. Vazquez had lost a majority decision against Joe Cordina in a challenge for the IBF title in 2023.
Dominican welterweight ROHAN POLANCO (16-0) floors and outpoints FABIAN MAIDANA (24-4). Polanco was impressive as he jabbed strongly and controlled each round. Maidana just could not get on the front foot and spent much of the fight against the ropes under fire. Polanco was particularly effective with left hooks to the body. In fact it was actually a right to the body that saw Maidana drop to one knee in the tenth. Maidana got up and was still there at the final bell. Scores 100-89 on all three cards. Polanco, the WBO No 10, has scored wins over good level opposition in each of his last four fights. Maidana, the younger brother of Marcos, lost on points to Mario Barrios for the WBC interim title last May.
RA’EESE ALEEM (22-1) scored a wide unanimous decision over RUDY GARCIA (13-2-1). Scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93. Aleem is clawing his way back after losing a split decision to Sam Goodman in an IBF eliminator in June 2023. Garcia had lost his unbeaten tag on a split decision against Argentinian Mirco Cuello in his last fight in September 2023.
Hot Japanese prospect MIKITO NAKANO (13-0) destroys Puerto Rican PEDRO MARQUEZ (16-2) in four rounds. Nakano scored five knockdowns before the fight was halted in the fourth. Southpaw Nakano, the OPBF featherweight champion, is a former 7-time amateur champion of Japan who was 68-9 in amateur competition and has won 12 of his 13 fights by KO/TKO.
Super lightweight prospect EMILIANO VARGAS (14-0) makes it 12 wins by KO/TKO as he drops JUAN LEON (11-3-1)twice in the second round to force the stoppage and unbeaten super welterweight ART BARRERA Jr (9-0) stopped a game but outclassed JUAN CARLOS GUERRA (6-201) in the sixth round
1 MAY
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
KEVIN LLERENA (31-3)massacrers SERHIY RADCHENKO (11-8) in three rounds to retain the WBC Bridgerweight title in a bad excuse for a title fight.
Lerena quickly had his jab on target forcing Radchenko to back around the ring. Radchenko fired a couple of rights but they were blocked by Lerena. He used his jab to keep Radchenko retreating and again blocked a combination from Radchenko before knocking the Ukrainian off balance with a left to the head. In the second Lerena continued to use his jab to dominate the action and then unleashed a left that knocked Radchenko flying backwards into and almost through the ropes then down to the canvas. Radchenko struggled to his feet at the count of eight and Lerena had walked across the ring and was at the referee’s shoulder when he stepped aside to let the action restart. Lerena was able to immediately jump on Radchenko bombarding him with punches that had Radchenko reeling and then sent him down flat on his back with a left. Radchenko just managed to drag himself to his feet at nine and again Llerena was at the referees shoulder when the referee stepped aside. He exploded with punches and Radchenko dropped into the ropes and down. Lerena was celebrating the third knockdown but the referee deemed that Lerena had bundled Radchenko into the ropes so no count. Lerena had Radchenko trapped against the ropes and landed another left just as the bell went. Radchenko staggered along the ropes to his corner. That should have been the end. Either the referee or Radchenko's corner should have stopped the fight but instead he was sent out for the third round. A powerful left snapped Radchenko’s head back and Lerena blasted Radchenko with punches and as Radchenko staggered forward on his way down the towel came in from Radchenko’s corner. Llerena did not win the WBC title in the ring. He had been Silver and interim champion and was awarded the title when Lawrence Okolie relinquished it. He would have been looking to make a statement here to show his worth as a champion but beating an artificially inflated Radchenko proved nothing.
TULANI MBENGE (22-2) is streets ahead in class over Namibian welterweight EMMANUEL MUNGANDJELA (20-5-1) and floors and stops him in three. Over the first two rounds southpaw Mungandjela was using lots of movement and threw lots of punches but Mbenge staggered him a few times with counters. Mbenge then provided an exquisite finish in the third. Mungandjela was bobbing and weaving and as he bobbed up Mbenge nailed him with a beautiful left hook and put him down. Mungandjela got up but staggered into the ropes and the fight was stopped. No title on the line. Mbenge had won the vacant IBO welterweight title with a points win over Michael McKinson. Mungandjela had been floored twice and lost on points to Pierce O’Leary in November 2022.
Former WBO and WBC cruiserweight title challenger THABISO MCHUNU (24-8) snapped a three-bout losing streak with a win over Congolese novice AMADOR KALONJI (7-2). Mchunu is looking to work his way to a title shot but did not impress in a dull split decision win over Kalonji. Scores 78-74 twice for Mchunu and 78-74 for Kalonji.
HAMBURG, GERMANY:
Thai-born German PHANNARAI NETISRI (17-0) retained the WBFederation female super bantamweight title belt with a unanimous decision over Mexican ISIS VARGAS (10-7). Vargas applied relentless pressure but Netisri boxed cooly and was never in trouble. The judges scored it 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 for Netisri who is now hoping to get a fight with Ellie Scotney the holder of the IBF, IBO and WBO versions of the title.
Syrian-born ALAA AL MAHMOUD (12-0) ruined the party in Hamburg with a fourth round stoppage of ALEXANDER PAVLOV (22-6). The whole idea was to get Pavlov a world title but instead Al Mahmoud is the new WBFederation super middleweight champion. He had Pavlov against the ropes and blasted him with punches until Pavlov slumped to the floor. Al Mahmoud is now based in Holland but did all of boxing as an amateur in Ukraine and won a bronze medal in the national championships. In his last fight Pavlov lost on points to Vincenzo Gualtieri for the vacant WBO European belt.
VICENTE FEIGENBUTZ (38-3) outpointed Slovakian LUKAS FERNEZA (5-3). The former IBF super middleweight title challenger took the decision on scores of 77-75 twice and 78-74. After having retired in 2023 and begun training as a policemen Feigenbutz has now won two fights in five days since returning. German lightweight NENAD STANCIC (16-0) scored his sixth inside the distance victory with a sixth round stoppage of Venezuelan JOSE ARCON (13-1). Arcon was unbeaten but his 13 victims only had 13 wins between them.
MAY 2
BREST, BELARUS
Belarusian ALIAKSEI ALFIORAU (1-0) won the vacant IBA pro light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Belgian LEE INGELREST (12-1-1).No scores available.Southpaw ALFIORAU was ca silver medal winner at both the World Championships and at last year’s European Games.
Fighting at light heavyweight PAVEL SILYAGIN (16-0-1) returned to action with a points win over eight rounds against experienced former IBO super middleweight champion CARLOS GONGORA (22-3). It was a solid if unspectacular performance by Silyagin as he outboxed southpaw Gongora. No scores given but Silyagin a clear winner. He was a bronze medallist at the World Championships and European Games and won and lost in two fights with Joshua Buatsi in the WSB. Gongora is now 2-4 in his last 6 outings.
MAY 3
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
ALAN CHAVES (19-0) makes a second successful defence of the WBO Latino title with a stunning stoppage of Mexican YAIR ROJAS (12-3-2). After controlling the first round Chaves exploded with a fearsome left hook in the second with Rojas ending up flat on his back half way out under the ropes with no count needed. Now 16 wins by KO/TKO for southpaw Chaves. Rojas way out of his depth.
CHERBOURG, FRANCE
Local welterweight HUGO MOREL (12-0) wins the vacant French title with a second round stoppage of CEDRICK PEYNAUD (11-9-4). Morel scored three knockdowns before the towel came in from Peynaud’s corner. Sixth inside the distance finish in a row for Morel.
BRAUNSCHWEIG, GERMANY
SENAD GASHI (34-4, 1ND) gets revenge for a controversial disqualification defeat against TOM SCHWARZ (29-2) back in 2018 as he take the unanimous decision in their Bridgerweight
clash. The more mobile Gashi did his best work inside where he was able to land hooks to head and body. The 6’5 ½” Schwarz tried to keep Gashi out but rarely succeeded and Gashi did plenty of holding to stifle Schwarz’s work. It was a rough fight with both boxers being deducted a point for infractions. Scores 99-89, 96-92, and 95-93 for Gashi.
Former light heavyweight title challenger ADAM DEINES (24-3-1) wins a technical decision over MICHAL LUDWICZAK (18-16-2). Southpaw Deines floored Ludwiczak in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds before a clash of heads opened a cut over Ludwiczak’s left eye and meant the fight would be decided on the cards. Deines won on scores of 60-50, 60-51 and 60-52. Deines was beaten on a tenth round stoppage by Artur Beterbiev in a challenge for the IBF and WBC titles in 2021.
Unbeaten Latvian JEVGENIJS ALEKSEJEVS (18-0) gets another win as he outpoints Frenchman ISMAEL SECK (13-9-2). Aleksejevs had no problem in overcoming the height and reach of 6’3” Seck. The quicker Aleksejevs never let Seck establish his jab and was a good winner on scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 97-93.
TOKYO, JAPAN
Japanese flyweight JUKIYA LIMURA(9-1) makes a successful defence of the OPBF title and reverses his only loss with unanimous decision over Filipino ESNETH DOMINGO (21-3). The dangerous Domingo had stopped Limura in six rounds when they met in 2022 but this time the accuracy and mobility of Limura frustrated Domingo. Limura set a fast pace and Domingo just could not match it. He had managed to be competitive early but was already showing signs of slowing by the fifth round. Limura kept up the pressure and had tightened his defence since their first meeting. He swept the last four rounds on two cards and won by scores of 117-111 twice with the Filipino judge’s card reading 115-113 for Iimura who was making the first defence of the OPBF title and was 68-13 as an amateur. Domingo had won his last four fights by KO/TKO.
Observations
So instead of spectacular fireworks the shows in Saudi and New York hardly raised a pop but fizzled and spluttered. On May 3 in New York Devin Haney vs. Jose Carlos Ramirez managed to take 5th place in a table of the fewest punches thrown in a twelve round fight (of those where records are kept) terrible! Ah but when you add the Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero fight it gets worse as that saw even less punches thrown terrible! Riyadh beat them all with Saul Alvarez vs. William Scull actually toppling the inverse list of fewest punches thrown in a twelve round fight. The shame list is:
FEWEST COMBINED PUNCHES THROWN IN A 12-ROUND FIGHT (NOT PUNCHES LANDED)
• 445 - Canelo (152) Scull (293)
• 459 - Wilder (204) Parker (255)
• 473 - Ibragimov (245) Briggs (228)
• 490 - Garcia (210) Romero (280)
• 499- Haney (214) Ramirez (285)
So three of the least entertaining fights in the league of all time pacifist fisticuffs happened last weekend. To paraphrase Winston Churchill never in the field of boxing has so much been spent for so little return. How could it go wrong after all there were eight different promotions group involved in the Saudi show-perhaps I just answered my own question.
Badou Jac’s win over Norair Mikaeljan ended the game of revolving doors for the WBC Bridgerweight division title. Jack won the title and then was made champion in recess and Mikaeljan won the then vacant title. Jack wanted to come back in through the revolving door and Mikaeljan went out the door.
I can always rely on the WBA. Rolando Romero won their vacant secondary welterweight title with a points victory over Ryan Garcia. It was a surprise just like Romero must have felt when he jumped from No 8 super lightweight to No 2 welterweight without having fought for four months!!
It was like the bad old days seeing the referee allowing Lerena to cross the ring to stand just behind him as he counted over Radchenko. That can’t be right and was poor refereeing.
About the Author
Born in Scotland, Eric Armit started working with Boxing News magazine in the UK in the late 1960’s initially doing records for their Boxing News Annual and compiling World, European and Commonwealth ratings for the magazine. He wrote his first feature article for Boxing News in 1973 and wrote a “World Scene” weekly column for the magazine from the late 1970’s until 2004. Armit wrote a monthly column for Boxing Digest in the USA and contributed pieces to magazines in Mexico, Italy, Australia, Spain, Argentina and other countries. Armit now writes a Weekly Report covering every major fight around the world and a bi-weekly Snips & Snipes column plus occasional general interest articles with these being taken up by boxing sites around the world. He was a member of the inaugural WBC Ratings Committee and a technical advisor to the EBU Ratings Committee and was consulted by John McCain’s research team when they were drafting the Ali Act. He is a Director and former Chairman of the Commonwealth Boxing Council. Armit has been nominated to the International Boxing Hall of Fame the past two years (2019 and 2020) to which he said, “Being on the list is an unbelievably huge honour.”
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eric Armit.
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