Our resident boxing writer Diego Morilla serves up a full weekend wrap-up of the most relevant boxing events in the worldwide scene. Every fight that matters is right here, in one place, and at one click away. Follow Morilla on Twitter at @MorillaBoxing
Cancun, Mexico, October 11th
Cornelius Bundrage UD 12 Carlos Molina, IBF junior middleweight title
Just when we thought we had seen the last of old “K9”, he is back with a vengeance – and a game-changing win. Molina (22-6-2, 6 KO) is an entertaining fighter who got more than one undeserved loss in his record against top opposition, but this time he was unable to handle an older but superbly trained and motivated Bundrage (34-5, 19 KO), a tough champ who had his share of bad luck of his own in his long career. Bundrage started with a bang when he went all out on his Mexican foe, punishing his body and sending him to the canvas in the very first round to set up a terrific effort by Bundrage in enemy territory. Sensing the opportunity to revive his career, Bundrage took the fight to a stunned Molina, who seemed lost and was staggered several times during the bout. A brief resurgence by Molina towards the end was thwarted when Bundrage sent him down in the tenth round to secure a deserving victory by scorecards of 116-109, 117-106 and 115-110.
The winner goes on to: With this unexpected win, Bundrage may finally get the high profile bout he always wanted by pimping himself as an upset-minded sacrificial lamb to one of the top challengers in the talent-rich 154 lb division.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0oaLUiDT3g
Rene Alvarado UD 12 Juan Pablo Sanchez, junior lightweights
A bad night to host a boxing card in Mexico, indeed. Nicaragua’s Alvarado (21-3, 14 KO) was the favorite on paper, but the obvious crowd favorite was local regional titleholder Sanchez (29-12, 13 KO) a battle-tested veteran always willing to trade leather. Alvarado, however, had other plans, and he denied him the close-quarter fight that would have been more advantageous to the local fighter, and worked behind a solid jab and a superbly timed aggression to win by scorecards of 116-112 and 115-114 (twice).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6sh1ak0COs
Merida, Mexico, October 11th
Jorge Paez Jr. TD 6 Aaron Herrera, welterweights
A potentially entertaining bout was spoiled by an untimely injury when Paez Jr. (44-5-2, 22 KO) hit Herrera (32-3-1, 19 KO) with a rabbit punch that was deemed accidental but which sent the fight prematurely to the scorecards. Paez is the homonymous son of one of boxing’s most colorful and flamboyant characters ever, but it was Herrera the one who borrowed a page from Paez Sr. with a colorful style of his own and a superb hand speed. Paez Jr. had to force the infighting to neutralize his foe’s mid-long range attack, and in one of those close encounter one of his hands strayed too far from legal territory and landed on the back of Herrera’s head. Herrera went down in pain and claimed he was unable to recover, sending the fight to the scorecards, where the accidental nature of the fight-ending punch was the main reason for the fight to be declared a technical draw. The popularity of both fighters and the intensity of the bout should warrant a rematch in the near future.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEo123tR1RY
Miguel Berchelt TKO 3 Antonio Escalante, junior lightweights
Berchelt (25-1, 21 KO) is a terrific prospect and a KO artist who got his career derailed temporarily by a loss against Colombia’s Luis Eduardo Flores earlier this year. But he has been his usual demolishing self ever since, and this win against a solid veteran in Escalante (25-7, 20 KO) is a good testimony of his recovery. Berchelt looked impressive behind his long jab and his well timed and placed combinations, and Escalante was up to the challenge, throwing wild but occasionally effective combinations until the very end, which came after a brutal body assault in the third round that battered the Texan fighter into submission. Terrific win for Berchelt, a serious threat to anyone in the 130-ish division.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDuMuzeA7gk
London, UK, October 11th
Lee Selby TKO 9 Joel Brunker, IBF featherweight eliminator
England’s Selby (20-1, 8 KO) had a slow start against previously unbeaten Brunker (27-1, 15 KO) in this one, but the Australian visitor was unable to sustain his momentum throughout the fight. The shorter Brunker took control of the center of the ring earlier on, but soon enough Selby got into the groove of things and dominated the rest of the fight until he was finally able to score a stoppage that puts him in collision course with IBF incumbent Evgeny Gradovich.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nji3sFKfwCk
Anthony Joshua KO 2 Denis Bakhtov, heavyweights
When was the last time you were honestly able to say you were excited about a British heavyweight? Well, the wait may very well be over. Joshua (9-0, 9 KO) is all that, and maybe a bit more. And he demonstrated it in this utter demolition of Bakhtov (38-9, 25 KO), who in spite of the enormous height and reach disadvantage made a serious attempt to take the fight to the unbeaten 2012 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist with a gutsy early onslaught. Joshua, however, was merely timing his attack and proceeded to simply overrun Bakhtov with a barrage of punches midway through the second round to force an impressive stoppage. Terrific win for one of the Next Big Things in the heavyweight division.
The winner goes on to: Someday, Joshua and Deontay Wilder may engage in one of the most interesting heavyweight bouts in years, but for now Joshua has his sights set on former Prizefighter winner Michael Sprott in what should amount as another easy win.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4bYVr4vkik
John Ryder TKO 5 Theophilus Tetteh, middleweights
Ryder (19-1, 11 KO) was supposed to face Sergey Khomitsky in a more challenging bout, trying to get back on track after his close loss against Billy Joe Saunders last year. But Tetteh (16-7-2, 9 KO) was called up after Khomitsky was unable to show up, and he didn’t provide too much of a challenge for a strong and motivated Ryder, who is now 4-0 in the comeback trail after his one loss.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtYKTPYPExQ
Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 11th
Matias Vidondo TKO 2 Marcelo Dominguez, heavyweights
It is always sad to see a great champion in an uneventful ending to an otherwise terrific career, but that’s exactly what happened to Dominguez (47-8-1, 25 KO) in this fight for the Argentine heavyweight title against Vidondo (20-1-1, 10 KO), a tough but limited fighter who caught Dominguez with a left hook that opened a huge gash over his left eyebrow. The fight was stopped immediately, and Dominguez’s 9-fight winning streak was snapped along with what remains of his career, which at the age of 44 should not have much left. Dominguez held the WBC version of the cruiserweight title back in the late 1990’s and had a disputed points defeat against a towering Nicolai Valuev back in 2004.
http://www.tycsports.com/noticias/Boxeo-de-Primera-Vidondo-se-enfrenta-con-el-Gordo-Dominguez–20141010-0040.html
Indio, California, October 10th
Robinson Castellanos TKO 5 Ronny Rios, junior lightweights
Upset of the year? Still early to decide. Upset of the month? Definitely. Castellanos (20-10, 13 KO) is a tough Mexican veteran who has brawled with the best, but he was considered to be just a name opponent against the fast-rising previously unbeaten Rios (23-1, 10 KO). Castellanos, however, never got the memo, and he stormed out of the gates to give Rios a test he would ultimately fail miserably. How in the world did Rios survive the brutal second round of the fight is still a mystery, after being sent down to the canvas and rocked from post to post until the bell saved him from what appeared to be a crushing KO loss. But that was just the beginning of a grueling shellacking in which Castellanos outlanded Rios at a rate of 3-1, and with lots of power to boot. Finally, Rios caved in the devastating 5th round, when he found himself in the middle of a tornado of punches before the referee finally halted the carnage barely a minute into the round. A devastating loss that could easily erode all the confidence Rios may have garnered until now and put his career in serious jeopardy.
Antonio Orozco UD 8 Steve Forbes, welterweights
Orozco (21-0, 15 KO) did what Rios couldn’t do in the main event, when he manhandled and dominated a former world champion in Forbes (35-14, 11 KO) in a huge step up in competition. Orozco took the fight to Forbes with a great sense of timing and poise, and by the second round he was already working Forbes’s body and countering effectively to start piling up points. Orozco would never relinquish his lead, and in the process he would show he is ready for bigger challenges by winning a dominant decision with scores of 80-72 across the board.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSCTd2UC2ug
Diego De La Hoya UD 6 Luis Lizarraga Jr., junior featherweights
De la Hoya (7-0, 5 KO) is Oscar’s little nephew, and he is being brought up to become one of his main event fighters in the (for now) distant future. The young DLH had a great start, landing solid punches and rocking his foe early on, and then he stepped up the pressure to win several entertaining rounds, trying hard for the KO in the final stretch but without success against an increasingly elusive Ruiz. In the end, Ruiz (5-3-1, 2 KO) was just little more than target practice for DLH, and the scorecards of 60-54 were already implied by the time the bell signaled the end of the fight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh0Epuu_Dwo
Mexico City, Mexico, October 10th
David Carmona UD 10 Martin Casillas, junior bantamweights
Solid little brawl, indeed. Carmona (18-2-4, 8 KO) came out swinging and managed to drop Casillas (14-4, 8 KO) in the opening round, but he failed to follow up and had to settle for a unanimous decision by scores of 99-90, 98-91 and 97-92 in a truly entertaining bout.
Calais, France, October 10th
Roman Jacob UD 12 Devis Boschiero, European junior lightweight title
In a rematch with a continental title at stake, Jacob (22-0, 7 KO) left no doubt this time against Italy’s Boschiero (34-3-1, 16 KO) and defended the title he had taken from him back in February in a much tougher encounter. This time, the action was just as entertaining but a bit more clearly inclined in favor of the local fighter, who grabbed a unanimous decision by scores of 116-113 (twice) and 118-111. With the win, Jacob is now officially on his father Thierry’s footsteps to become a world champion.
Biloxi, Mississippi, October 8th
Jermain Taylor UD 12 Sam Soliman, IBF middleweight title
Mild upset, or successful comeback? You be the judge. Taylor (33-4-1, 20 KO), a former undisputed middleweight champion, defeated current IBF incumbent Soliman (44-12, 18 KO) with a terrific come-from-behind win defined by four knockdowns in the late going. The bout was close by the mid rounds, but then Soliman appeared to lose balance during the first knockdown of the bout in round seven, and he was never in the fight again. Taylor sent him down three more times to earn a close but definitive decision by scorecards of 116-110, 115-109 and 116-109, and to put some interest in the already confuse and crowded picture at 160 lbs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgMZJl0VGxg
Andre Dirrell TKO 4 Nick Brinson, super middleweights
Dirrell (23-1, 16 KO) is as talented as they come, but the former failed participant of the Super Six tournament is not the most entertaining and constant of fighters in his division. He did, however, manage to score an impressive stoppage over Brinson (16-3-2, 6 KO) in his fifth fight in five years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBRGn_03lFk
