Updated: July 13, 2007, 12:08 PM ET
Scorecard: Klitschko tastes sweet revenge in night of upsets
Wladimir Klitschko retained his heavyweight title after getting revenge on Lamon Brewster, while Travis Simms and Vic Darchinyan handed over their titles in upsets, writes Dan Rafael.
A roundup of last week's notable boxing results from around the world:
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Wladimir Klitschko TKO6 Lamon Brewster Retains a heavyweight title. |
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Records: Klitschko, 49-3, 44 KOs; Brewster, 33-4, 29 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: This time there was no conspiracy theory of a poisoned water bottle or ramblings about too much Vaseline on his body as a reason for losing. Instead, this was a dominant Klitschko punishing Brewster for six one-sided rounds until Buddy McGirt, Brewster's trainer, was compassionate enough to stop what was inevitably going to be a brutal Klitschko knockout victory. The victory, in front of a pro-Klitschko crowd of about 20,000, evened Klitschko with Brewster, who scored a shocking fifth-round TKO upset in a 2004 title bout, after which Klitschko and his camp made every excuse in the world for his loss. This time there was no need. It was all Klitschko, who used a dominant jab to control every moment of his third title defense, all of which have come by knockout. In fact, since being knocked down by Samuel Peter three times in a September 2005 victory, Klitschko barely has lost a minute of his four fights since. Making the victory, which came on the birthday of his trainer, Emanuel Steward, even more impressive, is that Klitschko fought most of the bout with a busted middle finger on his left hand (his jab hand). Klitschko, 31, is in a cast and will need at least eight weeks to heal. Imagine how destructive Klitschko could have been if the digit was OK? While Klitschko was clicking on all cylinders, Brewster, 34, appeared to be a shell of his old warrior self. He had absolutely nothing to offer in his first bout since losing a title to Sergei Liakhovich 15 months ago after surgery to repair a torn retina in his left eye that he suffered in the fight. With Klitschko gaining revenge, the question for him now is: Who's next? He desperately wants a unification fight, but one does not appear possible this year. Titleholder Oleg Maskaev owes Peter a mandatory bout Oct. 6 and the winner must face Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir's older brother. And the two other titleholders, Ruslan Chagaev and Sultan Ibragimov, meet to unify their belts Oct. 13 in Moscow, which means neither of them will be available this year. The choices are slim for Klitschko: former titlists Nikolai Valuev, Liakhovich, Hasim Rahman and Evander Holyfield all figure to be candidates. Whomever Klitschko fights next, he just needs to keep doing what he's doing, which is to face the best guy he can get into the ring and knock him out. If he keeps racking up dominant wins, he eventually will gain public acceptance as the champion. He's clearly the No. 1 heavyweight in the world. He'd just like a few more belts to make it official. |
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Johnathon Banks TKO4 Gustavo Enriquez |
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Records: Banks, 17-0, 13 KOs; Enriquez, 15-8, 12 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Banks, 25, the Emanuel Steward-trained contender, moved a step closer to a title bout by stopping Enriquez at 1:02 of the fourth round for his fourth victory of a busy 2007. Enriquez, of Mexico, lost for the fourth time in five fights. |
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Andy Lee KO2 Thomas Hengstberger |
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Records: Lee, 10-0, 7 KOs; Hengstberger, 12-5-2, 3 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Lee, 23, continued to dominate opponents, scoring two knockdowns en route to an easy knockout against Hengstberger, a last-minute substitute. Lee, trained by Emanuel Steward, remains one of boxing's blue chip prospects, a 6-foot-2 southpaw with power and unlimited potential. Lee, who trained for the fight in Austria alongside Wladimir Klitschko, now would like to return to Ireland for his first pro bout there. |
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Joachim Alcine W12 Travis Simms Wins a junior middleweight title. Scores: 116-109, 115-110, 114-111 |
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Records: Alcine, 29-0, 19 KOs; Simms, 25-1, 19 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: To say that Simms had an off night would be a major understatement. He was very poor and paid for it with his title in the Showtime main event. Whether he was distracted by the demands of fighting in front of a hometown crowd, overconfident against the relatively untested Alcine or thrown off by a hand injury he said he suffered early in the fight, this was not the same Simms who took Jose Antonio Rivera apart with ease in January. At least to Simms' credit, he gracefully admitted defeat and gave Alcine props for winning the fight. While Alcine, 31, a native of Haiti now based in Montreal, made the fight by stalking Simms and being aggressive, Simms, 36, could do little more than clutch and hold. Both fighters were penalized points for hitting on the break, Alcine in the sixth and Simms in the eighth. Alcine scored a knockdown in the ninth round when Simms touched his glove to the canvas. Although it appeared to loom large in a fight that seemed close, it turned out not to matter when the final scores were tallied. |
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Nonito Donaire KO5 Vic Darchinyan Wins a flyweight title. |
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Records: Donaire, 18-1, 11 KOs; Darchinyan 28-1, 22 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In one of several upsets on the card, none was more stunning than this one. Darchinyan, the rock-throwing titlist from Australia making his seventh defense, had never been hurt in his career and never been down. But Donaire, who dropped down from junior bantamweight for the opportunity, changed all that with one punch, a left hand to the middle of Darchinyan's face that knocked him down and out. The fight had been highly competitive up to that point. It was even on two scorecards, although Donaire was pitching a shutout on the other one. Darchinyan, however, completely ignored any semblance of defense and paid dearly for it as Donaire gained a measure of revenge for his older brother, Glenn, who was beaten decisively by Darchinyan nine months ago. Donaire hasn't lost since a decision in his second professional fight in 2001, and his win gives the boxing mad Philippines another hero. |
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Luis Perez KO7 Genaro Garcia Wins a vacant bantamweight title. |
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Records: Perez, 25-1, 16 KOs; Garcia, 35-6 20 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Last fall, Perez, of Nicaragua, was stripped of a junior bantamweight belt for failing to make weight before a title defense. Now, making his debut at bantamweight, he faced perennial contender Garcia, of Mexico, for the belt vacated by Rafael Marquez, who went up to junior featherweight and won the recognized world championship. The new weight seemed to suit Perez, who dominated, scoring a knockdown with a left hand in the second round before knocking him out with another left in the seventh. Garcia, who owns a knockout win against Marquez, lost his second world title bout in a row; he lost a decision to titleholder Hozumi Hasegawa in Japan in November. |
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Cliff Couser TKO2 Monte Barrett |
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Records:Couser, 26-12-2, 14 KOs; Barrett, 31-6, 17 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: On a night of upsets, this was another of them as Couser, 36, pulled a shocker. He had been drilled in his previous two fights, including a crushing first-round knockout loss to former champ Michael Moorer in December. He figured to help Barrett, who had lost two world title bouts in a row coming into the fight, get back on a winning track. It didn't happen. Just before the end of the first round, Couser nailed Barrett with a right on the chin to knock him down. Barrett, 36, barely beat the count and hadn't fully recovered when the second round started. Couser ended it with another right early in the second. Barrett's third consecutive defeat comes following a decision loss to Hasim Rahman 11 months ago and an 11th-round TKO to Nikolai Valuev in October. |
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Guillermo Jones W8 Zack Page Scores: 79-72 (twice), 78-74 |
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Records: Jones, 35-3-2, 27 KOs; Page, 13-14-1, 5 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Although Jones, 35, of Panama, was 210 pounds, he'll drop the 10 pounds and fight at cruiserweight when a meaningful fight comes his way, which it should. He deserves a title shot. He got in some work against Page, dropping him in the second round. Jones won his fourth in a row, a streak that includes wins against former titleholders Wayne Braithwaite and Kelvin Davis, since a controversial split-decision loss in 2005 to Steve Cunningham (who went on to claim a belt). Page dropped to 1-6 in his last seven, but all of the losses have come via decision. |
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Demetrice King TKO4 Bermane Stiverne |
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Records: King, 12-15, 10 KOs; Stiverne, 12-1, 12 KOs |
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Rafael's remark: This is a major upset. King, with his sub-.500 record, was not supposed to be anything more than another piece of cannon fodder for Stiverne, the 30-year-old huge-punching prospect who had knocked out all of his opponents inside three rounds. King, 22, however, got the TKO victory at 1:59 of the fourth, even though it was an apparent quick stoppage, according to some at ringside. King was unloading a volley punches, although missing many of them, when referee John Callas stopped it. Stiverne, who was throwing a jab when the fight was called off, had scored a knockdown in the first round with a right hand. But in the fourth, King, who had a 25-pound weight advantage (270-245) rallied to stun Stiverne with a right hand that was the beginning of the end.
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Devon Alexander KO3 Marcus Luck |
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Records: Alexander, 12-0, 7 KOs; Luck, 8-15-1, 3 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Alexander, 20, of St. Louis, returned from a broken hand suffered in a March fight to score his fourth consecutive knockout. He scored two knockdowns in the second round. Promoter Don King's No. 1 prospect is trained and managed by Kevin Cunningham (who also handles junior middleweight titlist Cory Spinks), who believes Alexander is ready to significantly step up his opposition, despite limited professional experience. They've been calling out fellow undefeated prospect Timothy Bradley Jr., but the Bradley camp has turned a deaf ear. |
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Florante Condes W12 Muhammad Rachman Wins a strawweight title. Scores: 114-112 (twice) Condes, 117-113 Rachman |
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Records: Condes, 22-3-1, 20 KOs; Rachman, 61-6-5, 31 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Condes, of the Philippines, won a 105-pound belt on a split decision in Rachman's home country, thus ending Rachman's remarkable run. Rachman, making his fourth defense, hadn't lost since April 1998, during which time he went 38-0-3 (all three were draws were technical draws). Condes, who won his ninth in a row, knocked Rachman down in the third and 10th rounds in the fight held in the studio of Indonesian television station RCTI. |
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Nate Campbell KO6 Wilson Alcorro |
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Records: Campbell, 31-5-1, 25 KOs; Alcorro, 35-8-3, 23 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Campbell, 35, risked his position as the mandatory challenger for the belt held by Julio Diaz, and came through in impressive fashion. Headlining on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" in front of a hometown crowd, Campbell was very good dismantling his Colombian opponent, who was penalized a point in the fifth round for low blow. He ended the fight when he cracked Alcorro with two right hands that floored him 27 seconds into the sixth. Campbell's mandatory is due in November, but probably will be delayed because Julio Diaz is headed toward a unification fight with Juan Diaz in October. Campbell, who recently signed a co-promotional agreement with Don King, who also promotes Juan Diaz, probably will get the winner, and he will deserve it. |
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Fernando Angulo W10 Patrick Lopez Scores: 97-93, 96-94 (twice) |
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Records: Angulo, 19-4, 12 KOs; Lopez, 11-1, 9 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In November, Angulo, 26, of Ecuador, lost a lightweight title fight to Juan Diaz in an exciting battle. Returning eight months later, Angulo this time was on the winning side of another excellent action fight. Angulo pulled off the mild upset against Lopez, a two-time Olympian for Venezuela, which is where Angulo now lives. These guys didn't like each other coming into the fight and it showed. This was a grueling affair, especially the final round, in which both men were hurt and close to going down. |
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DaVarryl Williamson KO3 Maurice Wheeler |
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Records: Williamson, 24-4, 20 KOs; Wheeler, 10-10-1, 1 KO |
| Rafael's remark: Even at 38, Williamson isn't giving up just yet. After losing a title fight to Chris Byrd in October 2005 in one of the worst, most boring heavyweight title bouts in boxing history, Williamson was left for dead. But he's trying to work his way back, and this was his second victory in a row since that debacle with Byrd. In his first fight in 14 months, Williamson knocked out Wheeler with his signature right hand, the "touch of sleep" as Williamson calls it. When he lands it, he probably can knock out any heavyweight alive. It's no shock, however, that he stopped Wheeler, 36, a southpaw who lost his sixth in a row. |
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Martin Honorio W10 Joe Morales/b> Scores: 96-92, 95-93 Honorio, 95-93 Morales |
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Records: Honorio, 24-3-1, 12 KOs; Morales, 19-12, 4 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In the Telefutura main event, Honorio had some struggles, although he pulled out a split decision against journeyman Morales, a former title challenger who lost his fifth in a row and seventh in nine fights. It was Honorio's first bout since being cleared to fight following an eye injury. Honorio suffered a cut in the sixth round. He also was penalized two points for low blows in the fifth and 10th rounds. Honorio is promoted by Golden Boy and figures to eventually get a title bout at featherweight or lightweight. He owns a victory against Steven Luevano (Luevano's only loss)) and a draw against Jorge Lacierva, both of whom are scheduled to fight for titles this summer. |
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Vicente Escobedo W10 Carlos Diaz Scores: 98-92 (twice), 96-94 |
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Records: Escobedo, 14-1, 11 KOs; Diaz, 9-10-4, 7 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Although Escobedo, a 2004 U.S. Olympian, was the clear winner, he didn't seem so hot in this difficult fight with Puerto Rico's Diaz, who dropped to 0-6-1 in last seven fights. Escobedo, 25, suffered multiple cuts from various head clashes and was hit way too easily by Diaz. Bank on this: New trainer Nacho Beristain, one of the best in the business, will be working on defense with his young charge. |
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Abner Mares W6 Saul Gutierrez Scores: 59-54, 58-55, 57-56 |
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Records: Mares, 13-0, 8 KOs; Gutierrez, 4-10-1, 1 KO |
| Rafael's remark: Mares, 21, a 2004 Mexican Olympian, is one of the prospects Golden Boy has high hopes for. But why in the world is he fighting an opponent with such a poor record? And why is Mares losing some rounds to him? |
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Francois Botha W12 Bob Mirovic Scores: 120-108, 120-107, 119-109 |
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Records: Botha, 45-4-2, 28 KOs; Mirovic, 28-19-2, 19 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In case you cared, Botha, 38, the South African perennial fringe contender who won a sliver of the title in 1995 before being stripped for a positive steroid test, returned from a five-year absence. He easily outpointed rugged Mirovic, a former Mike Tyson sparring partner from Australia. It was Botha's first match since a 2002 draw with Clifford Etienne. Botha is best known for his losses -- knockouts against Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko and Michael Moorer in title bouts and a knockout loss to Tyson. Mirovic, 41, lost his third in a row. |
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Cassius Baloyi TD3 Manuel Medina Title eliminator. |
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Records: Baloyi, 33-3-1, 18 KOs; Medina, 67-15-1, 31 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: When Baloyi faced Medina for a vacant belt in May 2006, Baloyi dropped the former five-time featherweight titleholder from Mexico three times in the 11th-round for a TKO victory. Medina, 36, rebounded with a decision win against Kevin Kelley, while Baloyi went on to lose his belt in his first defense to Malcolm Klassen before rebounding with a February victory to set up a rematch in Baloyi's home country. It was over before it got going as an accidental head butt ripped opened a cut under Medina's right eye in the third round, forcing the bout to be stopped. Baloyi, 32, had won the first three rounds according to South African press reports, but because four rounds had not been completed, the fight goes into the books as a technical draw. They were fighting for the right to challenge beltholder Mzonke Fana. |
