Originally Published: May 19, 2008
Mijares impresses, Gamboa gets mixed reviews
Too quick, too crafty and too classy: Cristian Mijares put on a clinical performance in defeating Alexander Munoz to unify two junior bantamweight titles on Saturday.
Chris Cozzone/Fightwireimages.comDespite suffering a knockdown, Yuriorkis Gamboa, right, was always in control against Darling Jimenez.
A roundup of last week's notable boxing results from around the world:
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Cristian Mijares W12 Alexander Munoz Unifies junior bantamweight titles Scores: 116-111, 115-112 Mijares, 115-113 Munoz |
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Records: Mijares, 35-3-2, 14 KOs; Munoz, 32-3, 27 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Mijares is on top of his game right now and is a worthy pound-for-pounder after another impressive performance in front of his hometown crowd. In taking Munoz apart, Mijares unified 115-pound titles in this historic match. Unification fights in the smaller divisions are somewhat rare, and it was the first unification bout in the weight class since Johnny Tapia outpointed Albuquerque, N.M., rival Danny Romero in 1997. Mijares, 26, was making the fifth defense of his alphabet belt while Munoz, 29, of Venezuela, was making the third defense of his second title reign. They put on an excellent show. In the end, Mijares was too quick and crafty for Munoz, who pressed forward but too often hit air. It seemed like he set a record for most big punches completely missed. He also lost a point in the sixth for hitting behind the head. Mijares, meanwhile, tagged Munoz with relative ease with both hands before escaping return fire. He staggered Munoz with a left hand late in the eighth. Frankly, it was a masterful performance from the charismatic southpaw, who became the only fighter besides recently retired former titleholder Martin Castillo to defeat Munoz. Mijares, who also owns impressive victories against Jorge Arce, Jose Navarro and Katsushige Kawashima (twice), has established himself as the No. 1 fighter in his division. The ultimate fight would be a showdown with titleholder Fernando Montiel, but it doesn't seem likely. |
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Julio Cesar Miranda TKO5 Omar Salado Title eliminator |
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Records: Miranda, 26-3-1, 19 KOs; Salado, 19-1-2, 11 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: This was a brutal slugfest in which Miranda outlasted Salado to earn a shot at titleholder Daisuke Naito of Japan. He sure earned it after this rough, physical brawl. Miranda dropped Salado with a left in a wild first round, but Salado rebounded and had Miranda in trouble as it came to a close. It was back and forth for the rest of the fight until Miranda staggered Salado and sent him reeling into the ropes, where he followed up until the referee jumped in. Miranda extended his winning streak to 18 fights over four years. |
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Yuriorkis Gamboa W10 Darling Jimenez Scores: 99-91, 97-92 (twice) |
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Records: Gamboa, 10-0, 8 KOs; Jimenez, 23-3-2, 14 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Headlining an HBO card in just his 10th pro fight, Gamboa, 26, deserves mixed reviews for his performance. The good was that the 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist showed a wide audience that he's an electrifying, exciting, charismatic fighter with loads of potential. He also won virtually ever round against Jimenez, who was by far the best opponent of his brief pro career. In fact, Jimenez hadn't fought in 13 months; his last fight came on the same day Gamboa turned pro. But there was also a downside. Gamboa is extraordinarily sloppy with his defense, which must be corrected. Jimenez dropped him in the fourth round, although Gamboa not badly hurt. But he fights way too much with his down at his side, a cardinal sin. If he was facing a better puncher than Jimenez, it might have been over and out. Although Gamboa has good power, he also resorted to too many arm punches with very little leverage on them in the second half of the fight. They are flashy and exciting, but they don't do much damage. Gamboa still has the makings of a star, but his handlers should take the foot off the gas just a little and try to polish his style. He's too got too much potential not to handle with care. Still, fans ought to excitedly look forward to his next fight, which is supposed to take place June 27 on ESPN2. Can't wait. |
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Alfredo Angulo TKO5 Richard Gutierrez |
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Records: Angulo, 13-0, 10 KOs; Gutierrez, 24-2, 14 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: This was the fight of the night on HBO's excellent tripleheader as Angulo and Gutierrez went toe to toe from start to finish. Angulo, 25, a 2004 Mexican Olympian, is one of those guys you gotta watch because he never takes a backward step. He's in your face from the opening bell and Gutierrez had the same idea. Angulo, however, had more firepower and fought in another gear compared to Gutierrez, who is best known for losing close to welterweight contender Joshua Clottey on HBO in July 2006. Angulo was in control in the fifth when Gutierrez suddenly landed a left hook that really hurt him. But Gutierrez failed to capitalize. Angulo recovered quickly to unload on his Colombian opponent. He wobbled Gutierrez with a right hand and went after him, landing numerous head shots until referee Tony Weeks jumped in. Gutierrez, however, did not appear too hurt and was poised to throw back. The stoppage seemed a tad premature. Angulo has nine knockout wins in a row and is as much fun to watch as anyone. It probably won't happen any time soon, but how great would a fight between Angulo and James Kirkland, who also won on the card, be? Promoter Gary Shaw has both of them, but it would be surprising to see the match made while they're both on the rise and still fairly unknown. |
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James Kirkland TKO1 Eromosele Albert |
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Records: Kirkland, 22-0, 19 KOs; Albert, 21-2, 10 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: One word: Wow! Folks who have been following Kirkland know the Texas native is a bad man with the desire to destroy opponents as quickly as possible. But did anyone really think he'd blow away the experienced Albert, who has displayed a good chin and went the distance in his only loss in 2005? Yet, Kirkland, who is trained by top female fighter Ann Wolfe, needed only 66 seconds to smash Albert in an impressive performance to open HBO's "Night of the Rising Stars" tripleheader. Fans had little time to get comfy before this one was over as Kirkland, who scored his second first-round knockout in a row, steamed toward Albert and knocked him down twice in short order. A destructive straight left hand forced the first knockdown. Albert never really recovered. He was down again moments later and the fight, as well as an 11-fight winning streak, were history. Kirkland, 24, is as exciting to watch as any fighter around and is moving quickly. There are two other young and exciting junior middleweights that would make for sensational matches with him, Alfredo Angulo, who also won on this card, and Joel "Love Child" Julio. Who wouldn't want to see those fights? |
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Jorge Arce W12 Devid Lookmahanak Title eliminator Scores: 115-114, 115-113, 114-114 |
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Records: Arce, 49-4-1, 37 KOs; Lookmahanak, 18-1, 9 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: With 18,000 fans packing a bullring and a "Latin Fury" pay-per-view audience watching, ex-junior flyweight titlist Arce struggled to a tougher-than-expected win with Thailand's Lookmahanak. The debatable victory earned Arce a mandatory title shot against Cristian Mijares, who elsewhere in Mexico unified 115-pound titles at about the same time this fight was taking place on a competing pay-per-view card. One problem for Arce is that 13 months ago Mijares schooled Arce in a title defense. Why would Arce, who seems to be losing steam with every fight, want another crack at him? It would be the same fight all over again. Arce doesn't seem interested in Mijares though; he's calling out junior featherweight champ Israel Vazquez instead. Arce had a lot of trouble with Lookmahanak, an unknown fighting outside his country for the first time. Arce's best moment came in the seventh when he scored a flash knockdown. However, the former Muy Thai kickboxer wasn't hurt. He gave Arce all sorts of problems, in large part because of his southpaw style (like Mijares). Had this fight been in Thailand, he probably would have won. |
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Jorge Solis W10 Miguel Roman Scores: 99-91, 99-93, 97-95 |
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Records: Solis, 34-1-2, 23 KOs; Roman, 24-3, 16 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Solis was a late addition to the card, taking the place of his ill brother, junior flyweight titleholder Ulises "Archie" Solis. But Jorge Solis, 28, is a quality fighter in his own right. He's a top-10 featherweight contender and, fighting as a junior lightweight, he won his second in a row since an April 2007 eighth-round knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao in a junior lightweight match. Solis boxed from the outside in spots and also mixed it up inside when necessary. He looked pretty darn good taking apart Roman, 22, in a fast-paced fight. Roman dropped to 3-3 in his last six bouts. Solis is going to make a good challenger for one of the three young featherweight titleholders, Jorge Linares, Steve Luevano or Robert Guerrero. |
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Guadalupe Rosales W8 Humberto Mauro Gutierrez Scores: 77-75, 77-76 Rosales, 78-77 Gutierrez |
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Records: Rosales, 26-2, 17 KOs; Gutierrez, 22-1-1, 17 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Rosales, 26, bounced back from a decision loss in November to Francisco Lorenzo to score the mild upset over Gutierrez, a 19-year-old hot prospect. Rosales rightfully earned the split decision because he just did a little more than Gutierrez, who was not as active as he should have been. |
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Brandon Rios W10 Ricardo Dominguez Scores: 100-96, 98-95 Rios, 95-94 Dominguez |
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Records: Rios, 17-0, 10 KOs; Dominguez, 24-4, 15 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: The most entertaining bout of Top Rank's "Latin Fury" PPV card was the first bout of the telecast, Rios' split decision victory over a game Rodriguez was a slugfest. Fighting his first scheduled 10-rounder, Rios, 22, took a few rounds to get going and had to overcome a cut over his right eye suffered early in the fight, but he got the job done against the best opponent of his career. Dominguez hurt Rios in the first round, but Rios, who used an excellent body attack, shook it off and his youth overcame Dominguez's experience. |
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Omar Chavez KO1 Juan De Dios Castillo |
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Records: Chavez, 10-0, 8 KOs; De Dios Castillo, 2-14-1 |
| Rafael's remark: Chavez, the 18-year-old son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., did what he is expected to do: blast out the a woeful opponent. That's what he did, dropping De Dios Castillo three times, including a fight-finishing left to the jaw. |
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Brian Viloria KO3 Freddy Herberto Valdez |
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Records: Viloria, 22-2-1, 13 KOs; Valdez, 10-18, 5 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Viloria, 27, a former junior flyweight titleholder, won his third in a row since losing to Edgar Sosa in a fight for a vacant 108-pound title in April 2007. Viloria was on the constant attack and ended it with left to the body. Viloria's nickname is the "Hawaiian Punch," but he hasn't showed much pop for years. This was his first knockout since he hammered Erik Ortiz for a first-round knockout to win a world title in September 2005. |
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Hector Velazquez TKO 3 Trinidad Rodriguez |
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Records: Velazquez, 49-11-2, 34 KOs; Rodriguez, 3-6, 3 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: How does a highly ranked featherweight contender stay busy while awaiting an elimination fight? By stopping an overmatched opponent. That's what Velazquez did, knocking out Rodriguez at 2:52 of the third. Velazquez is supposed to face Elio Rojas in a long-delayed eliminator for the right to challenge beltholder Jorge Linares. |
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Marco Huck TKO9 Frantisek Kasanic |
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Records: Huck, 21-1, 16 KOs; Kasanic, 12-3, 12 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In December, cruiserweight titlist Steve Cunningham stopped Huck in the 12th round of an excellent fight. Now, Huck, 23, a crowd-pleaser based in Germany, is on the comeback trail, scoring his second knockout in as many fights since his only loss. Kasanic, 32, of Slovakia went down on a left hook to the body in the ninth but managed to survive. However, Huck's follow-up attack was too much for him to handle and referee Lindsey Page properly intervened at 2:52. Huck undoubtedly will get another title shot before all is said and done. |
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Shaun George TKO9 Chris Byrd |
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Records: George, 17-2-2, 8 KOs; Byrd, 40-5-1, 21 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: It has been a remarkable 15-year pro career for Byrd, but it is now over, or at least should be, after this shockingly one-sided loss in the "Friday Night Fights" main event. The 37-year-old former two-time heavyweight titleholder has been a credit to boxing, a genuinely good guy who was fearless and always game for the biggest challenges. Here's a guy who boxed in the 1992 Olympics as a middleweight but fought most of his pro career as an undersized heavyweight. He faced a slew of top opponents: Wladimir Klitschko (twice), Vitali Klitschko, Andrew Golota, Jameel McCline, David Tua, Evander Holyfield and Ike Ibeabuchi. Byrd won some and he lost some, but he was amazing in that he always entered as an underdog and always gave up weight. Yet, he often managed to frustrate his opponents with skill, speed and tenacity. But after losing his title via bloody seventh-round TKO to Wladimir Klitschko in April 2006 and one fight later being punished by Alexander Povetkin in an 11th-round TKO loss in October 2007, Byrd did something shocking. He elected to drop all the way down to light heavyweight, dropping some 40 pounds in an effort to remake his body and rejuvenate his career. He signed with a new promoter, Artie Pelullo, and the fight with George was supposed to serve as a launching pad into big fights at 175 pounds against fellow older stars such as Roy Jones, Joe Calzaghe, Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson. It was not be. Byrd had absolutely nothing. George hurt him in the first round and dropped him, and beat on him until finally finishing him with two more knockdowns in the ninth round. Byrd, who injured his shoulder in the first round, actually asked referee Jay Nady to stop the fight. It was a sad ending for a great guy. However, no matter how sapped Byrd was from losing so much weight, George, 29, should get some credit for dominating him. Hopefully, he can build off his big win and forge a career that can lead him to bigger paydays. |
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Ji-Hoon Kim TKO1 Koba Gogoladze |
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Records: Kim, 14-5, 11 KOs; Gogoladze, 20-3, 8 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: What an exciting one-round fight. Gogoladze, 35, was coming off a 10th-round TKO loss to Alex Arthur in an interim junior lightweight title fight and looked like he would cruise to a quick win in his return. He was crushing Kim early in the round and seemed maybe a punch or two from ending it. But somehow Kim, 21, a South Korean making his American debut, rallied and put Gogoladze away in stunning fashion. He dropped Gogoladze twice before referee Robert Byrd called it off. Very exciting stuff. Let's see more of Kim. |
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Jhonny Gonzalez TKO4 Mauricio Pastrana |
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Records: Gonzalez, 38-6, 32 KOs; Pastrana, 34-9-2, 22 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In the Telefutura main event, former bantamweight titleholder Gonzalez, 26, who moved up to junior featherweight after losing his title via knockout to Gerry Penalosa in August 2007, looked very sharp against Pastrana. Gonzalez was simply too big, strong and young for the 35-year-old faded former junior flyweight champ. He knocked Pastrana down in the fourth and ended it moments later with an unanswered barrage. Gonzalez has won four in a row since moving up in weight and deserves another title shot. Besides, he's always in a good scrap. |
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Antonio Escalante TKO3 David Martinez |
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Records: Escalante, 18-2, 11 KOs; Martinez, 18-4-1, 3 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Escalante, 22, was a fast-rising prospect until running into former titleholder Mauricio Pastrana, who knocked him out in a big upset in January 2007. Since then, Escalante has been putting his career back on track. Against Martinez, he scored his fourth win in a row and did it in impressive fashion. He worked over Martinez to the body, landing several left hooks until Martinez went down. Although he gingerly made it to his feet, referee Raul Caiz Sr. called it off. |
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Jose Reyes W12 Noe Bolanos Scores: 120-107, 119-108 (twice) |
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Records: Reyes, 23-4, 8 KOs; Bolanos, 20-3, 12 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Last time out in March, Reyes, 30, knocked out Ivan Valle in a sensational Telemundo main event in which they combined for six knockdowns before Reyes knocked him out him the fourth round. Reyes' ring return was decidedly less violent as he methodically outboxed Bolanos in the Telemundo main event for a lopsided decision. Bolanos, 21, of Mexico, dropped his third fight in his last four. |
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Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. KO2 Moises Carrasquillo |
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Records: Vazquez Jr., 11-0-1, 10 KOs; Carrasquillo, 2-1, 0 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Easy work for Vazquez, Jr., the son of Puerto Rico's multi-divisional former world titleholder Wilfredo Vazquez Sr., who is his trainer. Vazquez, 23, won his second in a row since a surprising draw with Jorge Cardenas in December. He put Carrasquillo away with a blistering four-punch combination. |
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
