Originally Published: March 13, 2006
Weekend scorecard: Sturm as champ? Well ...
Sure, Felix Sturm is a very good fighter, but don't fool yourself into thinking he won a legitimate belt over the weekend, writes Dan Rafael in his weekend wrap,
A roundup of the weekend's notable boxing results from around the world:
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Felix Sturm W12 Maselino Masoe Wins a middleweight title Scores: 117-111 (twice), 115-113 |
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Records: Sturm, 25-1; Masoe, 26-3 |
| Rafael's remark: Let's be crystal clear at the outset: Sturm is a very good fighter and a legitimate contender but anyone who gives credit to this so-called world title he won needs to be committed. Sturm, 27, claimed perhaps the most bogus belt of all of the various major sanctioning organization trinkets. Masoe a defending champion? Whatever. The 39-year-old Samoa-born New Zealander -- who hadn't fought in two years -- won the vacant WBA "regular" title in 2004 when Bernard Hopkins was the undisputed champ, including owning the WBA's "super" title. The rancid WBA, however, creates a second title in a division when a champion unifies belts, under the guise of giving the unified champion more time to make a mandatory defense. The reality is that it is nothing more than a money grab from a greedy organization looking for a second sanctioning fee in the division. Masoe then knocked out Evans Ashira to win the so-called title in a match between fighters who had done zero to earn a legitimate title shot in the first place. Then Masoe didn't fight for two years, despite a mandatory defense being long, long overdue. He then went to Germany to face Sturm, whose only loss was a controversial decision to Oscar De La Hoya in 2004. Although one of the scorecards was close, reports out of Germany say Sturm dominated the fight. He staggered Masoe with a right hand in the sixth round and dished out big punishment as the fight progressed. Nice win, but Sturm is not a legitimate world champion, not when Jermain Taylor also walks around with a WBA belt, not to mention others, including the Ring magazine title. |
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Wladimir Sidorenko D12 Ricardo Cordoba Retains a bantamweight title Scores: 114-114 (twice), 118-111 Sidorenko |
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Records: Sidorenko, 18-0-1; Cordoba, 27-1-1 |
| Rafael's remark: Sidorenko, a Ukrainian living in Germany, struggled to a draw against Cordoba of Panama. There were no knockdowns in Sidorenko's second title defense, but given that neither of the boxers is a big puncher, that doesn't come as much of a surprise. Rather than give Cordoba a rematch, Sidorenko's handlers plan to match him with Thailand's Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym, who defeated Cordoba on a split decision in August 2005. |
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Ruslan Chagaev W12 Vladimir Virchis Scores: 116-112, 115-114, 114-114 |
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Records: Chagaev, 20-0-1; Virchis, 20-1 |
| Rafael's remark: Chagaev, a former world amateur champion, eked out the majority decision in a fight between unbeaten prospects. Chagaev, who is from Uzbekistan and based in Germany, had a prolific amateur career but has not developed quickly in the pros. This win, however, is the best of his career so far. Although the fighters are power punchers, the match was more of a technical fight than anyone would have expected, with each man showing much respect for the other's power. |
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Willie Gibbs TKO12 Lenord Pierre |
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Records: Gibbs, 20-1, 16 KOs; Pierre, 18-2 |
| Rafael's remark: This one wasn't televised but by all accounts we're looking at the early fight of the year candidate. Matchmaker Ron Katz called from ringside during the fight to say it was one of the best matches he had ever done, and Katz has been making fights for more than 20 years. He compared it with the epic 1995 match between Merqui Sosa and Prince Charles Williams, the brutal slugfest that was stopped after seven rounds and called a technical draw because of excessive brutality on both sides. Alongside Katz was ESPN2 boxing announcer Joe Tessitore, who was just as insistent that he had seen the most sensational brawl he'd ever witnessed. Gibbs rocked Pierre with a flush right hand in the opening round, and the back-and-forth brawl was on. Gibbs opened a cut over Pierre's left eye midway through the fight. By the 12th, however, Pierre was on his way to a split-decision victory if he could stay on his feet to the final bell. But Gibbs came out with a sense of urgency for the final round. With 30 seconds left, a right hand dropped Pierre, who survived. But Gibbs landed a left hook out of nowhere that flattened Pierre with seven seconds remaining to pull out the comeback victory as the crowd was went nuts. We're anxiously awaiting the video of this baby. |
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Michele Piccirillo W12 Lukas Konecny Wins vacant European junior middleweight title Scores: 117-110, 116-110, 115-112 |
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Records: Piccirillo, 45-3; Konecny, 29-2 |
| Rafael's remark: Piccirillo, who briefly held a piece of the welterweight title in 2002-03, rebounded from a second-round knockdown to win the decision in his home country against his Czech opponent. It was Piccirillo's first fight since August, when he was battered around the ring in a decision loss to Ricardo Mayorga for a vacant junior middleweight trinket. The victory sets up a potential huge fight for Italy -- Piccirillo vs. Luca Messi, who won a six-round decision on the undercard. |
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Johnathon Banks TKO1 Sebastian Hill |
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Records: Banks, 11-0, 8 KOs; Hill, 10-11-1 |
| Rafael's remark: Banks dominated Hill, dropping him with a flurry of punches along the ropes. Although Hill -- now mired in an 0-5-1 slide -- was able to make it to his feet, the referee stopped the fight at the bell, ending the round. Banks is a prospect worth keeping an eye on if for no other reason than he is trained and managed by the great Emanuel Steward. |
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Andy Lee W6 Anthony Cannon Scores: 60-51 (twice), 60-54 |
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Records: Lee, 1-0; Cannon, 1-1 |
| Rafael's remark: Lee, a 21-year-old 2004 Irish Olympian, made his long-awaited pro debut and won with ease. He used his quick hands to outclass Cannon, scoring a fourth-round knockdown. In the sixth, Lee twice had Cannon ready to go, but Cannon survived. Lee is a 6-foot-2 southpaw managed and trained by Steward. In fact, Lee has been living in the Kronk Gym legend's house as he embarks on his pro career. Now, Lee will accompany Steward to Majorca, Spain, where Steward will finish training Wladimir Klitschko for his April 22 heavyweight title challenge against Chris Byrd in Germany. That's where Lee will fight on the undercard in his second fight. |
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Aaron Pryor Jr. TKO1 Alan Snyder |
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Records: Pryor Jr., 4-0, 3 KOs; Snyder, 0-1 |
| Rafael's remark: The son of the Hall of Fame former junior welterweight champ is just starting out his pro career, so a quick and easy first-round knockout should come as no surprise. Perhaps Pryor Jr. can become a quality fighter. For the time being, we'll just keep an eye on him. His name commands at least that. |
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Roberto Garcia W12 Juan Carlos Rubio scores: 119-108, 116-111, 115-112 |
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Records: Garcia, 20-2; Rubio, 33-8-3 |
| Rafael's remark: This was just an old-fashioned alley fight. They went at each other from the opening bell in a fast-paced, entertaining Telefutura main event. The 119-108 scorecard seemed a bit wide considering the two-way action, but if there was any doubt as to the winner, there was none after Garcia knocked Rubio down in the 12th round. A desperate Rubio -- who once upset high-profile prospect Francisco Bojado -- pulled Garcia down as he fell to the canvas in a bit of a wild scene. |
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Giovanni Lorenzo TKO7 Archak Ter-Meliksetian |
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Records: Lorenzo, 20-0, 12 KOs; Ter-Meliksetian, 15-3 |
| Rafael's remark: Lorenzo continues to pass each test Main Events matchmaker Carl Moretti puts in front of him. This time, Lorenzo took on Ter-Meliksetian, a tall puncher in need of a victory after losing a decision to rising contender Sechew Powell in his last bout. In somewhat of a slugfest, Lorenzo got the better of the action, forcing Ter-Meliksetian, who puked after absorbing so many body shots, to quit. The victory sets up a possible fight between Lorenzo and Powell. |
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Arturo Morua W10 Emanuel Augustus Scores: 117-111, 116-112 (twice) |
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Records: Morua, 23-7-1; Augustus, 32-26-6 |
| Rafael's remark: Here's a surprise: Augustus lost a controversial decision. Everyone's favorite journeyman has lost so many close, controversial decisions and split decisions, we've lost count. Whatever the total is, add one more. Of course, Augustus, who pressured Morua, rarely helps his own cause because he likes to clown and jive during his fights. This fight was no different. |
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
