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
Carson, California, October 18th
Gennady Golovkin KO 2 Marco Antonio Rubio, WBA middleweight title
Another demolition by “GGG”, with a little bit of help from an uninspired foe. Golovkin (31-0, 28 KO) is boxing’s fastest-growing sensation, and he was aiming to make this his 18th straight KO victory. Few people doubted that he would be able to do it, but Rubio (59-6-1, 51 KO) was clearly one of them. The usually durable Mexican was confident that he was going to be the one to dethrone Golovkin with the help of a partisan Mexican crowd, but his weight problems (which caused him to forfeit his chances of earning the title at stake in case of a win, aside from a $100K fine) and Golovkin’s obvious superiority in almost every department were too much for Rubio to overcome. It took Golovkin one round of study until he finally landed a superb, demolishing shot to the top of Rubio’s head barely a minute into the second round to send him down heavily to the canvas. Referee Jack Reiss was his usual overacting self, immediately jumping over Rubio to start the count in Spanish while crouching right on top of him. Dazed, Rubio rose on unsteady legs at the count of 9 and Reiss stopped the otherwise unexciting bout at the 1:20 mark.
The winner goes on to: As meaningless as it may appear, Golovkin grabbed a WBC “interim” title belt that may serve the purpose of exerting some pressure over regular champ Miguel Cotto to face him in what an “unification” bout.
Nicholas Walters TKO 6 Nonito Donaire, WBA featherweight title
Speaking of alphabet soup nonsense, the WBA did its part in bringing this fight along by requesting WBA “regular” featherweight titlist Walters (25-0, 21 KO) to face former pound-for-pound entrant and current interim titlist Donaire (33-3, 21 KO) in order to settle the account (at least until they anoint a new interim titlist). It turned out to be an entertaining affair while it lasted, with Nonito proving his critics right in their appreciation that his body is not big enough to effectively carry 126 lbs into a boxing ring. Donaire looked determined and powerful, but it soon became evident that his feared left hook was going to be his only meaningful weapon against a much taller and more resourceful fighter who knew how to keep him at bay and how to counter effectively. A cut appeared in Donaire’s face around the third round, right around the time in which he was viciously dropped with an uppercut to set the mood for what came later. As the sixth round was coming to an end, Walters landed a terrific right hand right behind the ear of Nonito (right on this side of the rabbit-punch borderline) and the “Filipino Flash” fell face first to a demolishing stoppage loss. A great win for Donaire indeed, but a devastating loss for Donaire and his now defunct ambitions to become a factor in the lighter weight divisions.
Edwin Rodriguez UD 10 Azea Augustama, light heavyweights
“La Bomba” is back, even though the explosion failed to materialize. Rodriguez (25-1, 16 KO) had been inactive for almost a year, following a lopsided loss to Andre Ward in his last presentation, and was looking forward to test the 175 lb waters after a long stay at 168 against a former heavyweight fighter in Haiti’s Augustama (17-2, 9 KO). Rodriguez survived the test, but little else was achieved. No zap, no zip, no lightning and even less thunder from a guy who was never a speedster but who never failed to entertain. They both went through the motions for 10 uneventful rounds, and in the end it was all for Rodriguez with scorecards of 100-90 (twice) and 99-91.
Abie Han UD 10 Marcos Reyes, middleweights
Mild upset of the night, probably. Han (23-1, 14 KO) was intended to be merely a live underdog for Reyes (33-2, 24 KO), but ended up taking center stage with a spirited early start and a solid final stretch. Reyes, who was being groomed for stardom before his only loss to Amilcar Funes Melian four years ago, did put Han in trouble in the eighth round and had him on the verge of a stoppage, but failed to follow through and allowed the Texan fighter to recover and close the bout strongly, picking up an extra point when Reyes hit him low and lost a point in the ninth round. Two scorecards got it right at 97-91 while an inexplicable 94-94 gave Reyes more credit than what he deserved.
Philadelphia, Penn., October 19th
Steve Cunningham TKO 7 Natu Visinia, heavyweights
“USS” Cunningham (28-6, 12 KO) may not be the next big thing in heavyweight boxing, but he will certainly prove to be a stern test for anyone at his new division after leaving the 200 lb class as a two time champ. He proved this by scoring an inspired stoppage over a physically imposing Visinia (10-1, 8 KO), surviving a dubious knockdown in the fifth round and overcoming a 73 lb disadvantage. As soon as Cunningham picked up the pace spurred by that phony KD, the fight was pretty much over. Terrific win for a skilled and dedicated fighter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OskK5uWWMHA
Edner Cherry TKO 2 Osumanu Akaba, junior lightweights
Cherry (33-6-2, 18 KO) was a promising contender in his prime, but he is now in trial horse territory and trying to claw his way back to the top. He may have taken a step towards that goal with this win over Akaba (24-7, 19 KO) after sending him down three times to score a stoppage, but it’s going to take more than that to convince the alphabet soup organizations to rank him any higher than his current low double-digit rankings. Still, it’s good to see him back in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doNlEdD_93M
Mexico City, Mexico, October 19th
Pablo Munguia UD 10 Edgar Ortega, welterweights
Quite an upset, indeed. Ortega (15-2, 10 KO) is a tall, big and powerful welterweight with an active style who was going places in spite of his one loss, but he ran into a seasoned veteran in Munguia (20-5, 11 KO). Nicknamed “The Undertaker” (partly because, well… he works full time at the local cemetery), Munguia took the fight to Ortega with his wild crouch-and-swing style, burying his head in Ortega’s chest and throwing wild volleys from left and right. A point was deducted from Ortega in round nine, and Munguia battled his way to a hard-earned 98-90 (twice), 95-93 win by decision, and to give Ortega a lesson in toughness.
Nowy Dwor Mazowiecki, Poland, October 18th
Krzysztof Glowacki KO 5 Thierry Karl, cruiserweights
Glowacki (23-0, 15 KO) defeated Karl (31-6, 19 KO) with a three-knockdown stoppage in five rounds in front of a local crowd to keep his unbeaten record intact.
