Originally Published: July 14, 2008
Klitschko stops complacent Thompson in style
An entertaining KO victory is exactly what Wladimir Klitschko needed to erase the memory of his last subpar outing, writes Dan Rafael.
Stuart Franklin/Bongarts/Getty ImagesIt wasn't all a walk in the park for Klitschko, right, but he got the job done with a hellacious right hand in Round 11.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
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Wladimir Klitschko KO11 Tony Thompson Retains unified heavyweight title |
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Records: Klitschko, 51-3, 45 KOs; Thompson, 31-2, 19 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Finally, the horrific memory of Klitschko's ugly February unification victory against Sultan Ibragimov can fade after a much more entertaining and satisfying victory against Thompson, one that Klitschko ended in style with the big knockout so many expected him to deliver. It didn't come as a surprise that Thompson, a 36-year-old southpaw from Washington, D.C., and a worthy mandatory challenger, gave Klitschko some problems, especially early on. Thompson is a good boxer with a good chin and sound defense, so it took awhile for Klitschko, 32, to find a rhythm in the fight. Klitschko usually is able to mechanically dissect his opponents and utilize his thunderous jab, but Thompson negated that weapon, in large part because of his southpaw style. He made Klitschko fight more of a mauling, brawling kind of bout. In the end, however, after both men were cut over their right eyes because of a head clash early in the bout, Klitschko was just too strong for Thompson. Thompson could have had much better success if he simply had let his hands go. But he didn't, and his zest for combat appeared to wane as the fight wore on. Thompson clearly was weakening and looked like he wanted to quit when Klitschko finally knocked Thompson down with a hard, accurate right hand to the chin. Thompson, a former sparring partner of Klitschko before his 2003 loss to Corrie Sanders, didn't beat the count, and Klitschko had another quality victory on his résumé. It was Klitschko's ninth consecutive victory since a shocking knockout loss to Lamon Brewster in 2004. In those nine wins, Klitschko has unified belts and beaten quality opponents such as Thompson, Ibragimov, Samuel Peter, and he's dusted Chris Byrd and Brewster in rematches. Next looms another mandatory defense against Russia's Alexander Povetkin, the 2004 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist, in the fall, assuming Povetkin defeats Taurus Sykes in a tune-up fight on Saturday. |
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Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. W10 Matt Vanda Scores: 100-90, 97-93 Chavez; 96-95 Vanda |
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Records: Chavez Jr., 37-0-1, 29 KOs; Vanda, 38-7, 21 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: With his legendary father, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., at ringside and celebrating his 46th birthday, Chavez Jr. escaped with a split-decision victory in an outstanding action fight that, for once, wasn't on pay-per-view. Instead, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum made a deal for the bout to be televised on the over-the-air network Azteca America, which sure is better than spending $40. Vanda, 29, who has been on the downslide for a few years (4-6 in his past 10 starts), brought his best and gave Chavez everything he could possibly handle. Chavez got off to a quick start and seemed in control, but Vanda began to step on the gas in the second half of the match. He had some success in the seventh round when Chavez, 22, looked very tired. The ninth round was pure action, as the two fired shots throughout the frame with little regard for defense. When it was over, Chavez looked absolutely exhausted, while Vanda looked like he could go another few rounds with ease. Though Chavez was exhausted at the end, he did deserve the close decision. However, and it's a big, big, big however: Judge Francisco Mowet, who scored the fight as a shutout for Chavez, should have his license immediately revoked. If you ever wanted an illustration of a "hometown decision," this is it. He might as well have filled out his scorecard when he got the assignment, because anyone who thinks Chavez won every single round is insane. Ask Chavez himself, and it's a good bet he believes he lost a few rounds. |
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Ulises Solis W12 Glenn Donaire Retains a junior flyweight title Scores: 120-108 (twice), 120-107 |
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Records: Solis, 27-1-2, 20 KOs; Donaire, 17-4-1, 9 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: It's too bad the judges, using the term loosely, apparently missed a hell of a fight. Sure, Solis, one of the more underrated titleholders in boxing, won the fight, but how did all three see this as a shutout? That's what happened, at least according to the official scores read by ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. However, according to Top Rank publicist Ricardo Jimenez, who was ringside, the wrong scores were given to Lennon and the actual scores (which included one-point deductions by referee Pat Russell from each man for head-butting) were 118-108, 117-110, 115-112 in favor of Solis. Those scores obviously are more legitimate than the shutout scores. Whatever the real scores were, Solis, 26, defended his 108-pound belt for the seventh time in an exciting back-and-forth fight. Donaire, 28, is the older brother of flyweight titleholder Nonito Donaire and was getting a second opportunity to fight for a world title after being destroyed by Vic Darchinyan in an October 2006 flyweight challenge. Alas, it was not meant to be for the Philippines native. But you know what? Donaire sure deserved a whole lot better than to have had his loss announced as a shutout. |
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Koki Kameda TKO2 Marino Montiel |
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Records: Kameda, 18-0, 12 KOs; Montiel, 30-13-1, 16 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Kameda, 21, a former junior flyweight titlist who gave up his belt to move up in weight, made quick work of Montiel, knocking him down three times with body blows in the second round to end the fight. Kameda, who is incredibly popular in Japan, was facing Montiel on short notice after original opponent Apolonio Suico of the Philippines fell out Wednesday because he couldn't obtain his visa in time. It's just a matter of time until Kameda gets a shot at a flyweight belt. Montiel lost his fifth in a row and fell to 0-6-1 in his past seven. |
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Roman "El Chocolatito" Gonzalez TKO2 Abraham Irias |
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Records: Gonzalez, 20-0, 18 KOs; Irias, 7-10, 2 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Fighting at home, Gonzalez, 21, dropped Irias in the first and punished him in the second until the referee stopped the bout. It was simply a tune-up victory for Gonzalez, who is headed for Japan to challenge strawweight titlist Yutaka Niida on Sept. 15. Gonzalez, a protégé of Nicaraguan hero Alexis Arguello, is one of the most exciting young fighters in the sport, even if he does generally campaign at strawweight, a division that doesn't get much love. |
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Daniel Santos KO6 Joachim Alcine Wins a junior middleweight title |
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Records: Santos, 32-3-1, 23 KOs; Alcine, 30-1, 19 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Santos is notably an outstanding puncher, and that's just what did the trick against Alcine. The mandatory challenger, Santos, 32, of Puerto Rico, went to Alcine's turf in Montreal and quieted a crowd of 8,967 at an outdoor stadium when he knocked Alcine silly with a crushing straight left hand that put him flat on his back, his hands sprawled at his side. It had been largely a tactical boxing match, one Santos led 48-47 on all three scorecards after five rounds, until he unleashed a blow that Alcine never saw. It was sweet. Believe it or not, Santos is now a three-time titleholder, having won a version of the welterweight crown and now a second at junior middleweight. The question is, will Santos ever fight regularly? He has had such huge stretches of inactivity. Since losing a belt to Sergei Dzindziruk in December 2005, Santos has only fought three times. Alcine, 32, saw his title reign end in his second defense, 369 days after it began. He had claimed a belt on Showtime against Travis Simms last July, stopped obscure Alfonso Mosquera in the 12th round of his first defense in December, then went to sleep against Santos. |
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Alex Bunema TKO3 Walter Matthysse |
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Records: Bunema, 30-5-2, 16 KOs; Matthysse, 26-4, 25 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In January, on the Roy Jones-Felix Trinidad undercard, Bunema wrote a major upset by knocking out former junior middleweight titlist Roman Karmazin in the 10th round. But like so many Don King fighters, he disappeared following the fight. Finally making his return, Bunema, 32, scored another pretty knockout, drilling Matthysse with a sweet three-punch combination: left hook, left uppercut, left hook again. Matthysse, who's never had a good chin, went down flat on his back. Although he made it to his feet, he was unsteady and the referee stopped the bout. Bunema was stopped in seven rounds by Jermain Taylor in 2004, but that was at middleweight. At junior middleweight, where he's won four in a row since an upset decision loss to Robert Kamya in August 2005, Bunema should be considered a threat to win a title, especially given how weak the division is at the top. Matthysse, 29, was once a rising contender, but those days are long gone. He lost his third in a row and fourth of five. All four of the losses were by knockout, including a memorable destruction at the hands of then-welterweight titleholder Kermit Cintron last July. |
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Tomasz Adamek TKO7 Gary Gomez |
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Records: Adamek, 35-1, 24 KOs; Gomez, 18-10-1, 7 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In a one-sided "Friday Night Fights" main event, Adamek tuned up for his mandatory title shot against Steve Cunningham this fall with a drubbing of Gomez, who had absolutely no answers -- offensively or defensively. With a supportive crowd made up mostly of fans from Chicago's Polish community, Adamek did as he pleased until Gomez, complaining of a right-hand injury, quit on his stool one second into the seventh round. Adamek, 31, is a former light heavyweight titleholder (who surely loves Chicago after winning his belt there in a blazing fight against Paul Briggs in 2005). He'd lost his belt in February 2007 to Chad Dawson, but has won four in a row since moving up to cruiserweight after the loss. His mandatory match with Cunningham should be an excellent fight, one that HBO or Showtime should seriously consider. Gomez, who had never been stopped previously, lost his third in a row. |
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Miguel Angel Huerta W10 Juan Ramon Cruz Scores: 97-92 (three times) |
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Records: Huerta, 27-9-1, 18 KOs; Cruz, 15-4-1, 12 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Bouncing back from a surprising decision loss to former titlist Javier Jauregui in March, Huerta, 29, of Mexico, controlled most of the action against Cruz to claim the clear decision in the Telefutura main event. Cruz, 29, of Puerto Rico, did have a big moment in the seventh round, when he knocked Huerta down with a right hand. But Huerta quickly recovered and went about his business of scoring points to hand Cruz his second loss in a row and fourth in six fights. |
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Chris Henry TKO6 Rubin Williams |
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Records: Henry, 22-1, 18 KOs; Williams, 29-5-1, 16 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Fighting at home, Henry, 27, looked very good stopping the faded Williams with ease in the "Wednesday Night Fights" main event. It was Henry's first bout since he suffered his only defeat in April, a competitive decision for an interim title to Adrian Diaconu in the latter's home country of Romania. Henry did as he pleased with Williams, 32, who lost his third in a row and is 0-3-1 in his past four. He is nothing more than an opponent at this point, and not even one who makes fights too entertaining. But Henry did his part, keeping his hands moving and exciting his fans in the dominant performance. It finally ended when Williams, bleeding from his mouth, was being battered, and his corner did the right thing by asking for the fight to be stopped. |
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Kevin Kelley W10 Jaime Palma Scores: 99-91, 98-92, 97-93 |
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Records: Kelley, 60-8-2, 39 KOs; Palma, 13-12-1, 6 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Fighting for the first time since losing a majority decision to Manuel Medina in a November 2006 junior lightweight title eliminator, the 41-year-old Kelley, a former featherweight champion, returned to the ring at age 41. The result: A decision against Palma, a 31-year-old journeyman in the main event of the first card held at the Las Vegas Hilton since 2002. The win netted Kelley a milestone 60th win and, undoubtedly, delusions of grandeur. |
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
