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
Shelton, Wash., Dec. 20th
Jesus Cuellar KO 5 Ruben Tamayo, WBA interim featherweight title
“The Rider” is on a hot streak. Cuellar (26-1, 20 KO) currently holds a second-tier belt, but he is making his case for bigger and better challenges in his career with a string of demolishing wins against strong opposition. Headlining his first card in the US, he defended his trinket with a devastating stoppage over a game Tamayo (23-5-4, 15 KO), in spectacular fashion, dropping him twice in the fourth round and finishing his destruction in the next round with a numbing body shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti1mduIG4vo
Gary Russell Jr. UD 10 Christopher Martin, featherweights
Russell Jr. (25-1, 14 KO) was supposed to be the next big thing at 126 lbs, but his shaky, tepid performance in his lone title fight to date against Vasil Lomachenko has put a shroud of clouds over his career. He did, however, bounce back with a convincing win in his first appearance since then, outsmarting and outboxing Martin (28-5-3, 9 KO) with ease by wide scores of 100-90 (twice) and 99-91.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUeKTQYdc5g
Julian Williams KO 8 Edgar Ortega, junior middleweights
There is no shortage of people who believe that ‘J Rock’ is the next big superstar in the crowded 154 lb division, and the unbeaten contender continues proving them right in every outing. This time, Williams (18-0-1, 11 KO) scored a terrific eighth round stoppage over Freeman (13-4-2, 7 KO) after dropping him twice in the previous round. He is clearly a talent deserving wider recognition and bigger challenges in 2015.
Cancun, Mexico, Dec. 20th
Bryan Vasquez TKO 9 Sergio Thompson, WBA interim junior lightweight title
Vazquez (34-1, 17 KO) failed to make weight in what was intended to be a title fight between two former titlists, and therefore he did not win the belt on this occasion. But he nevertheless did produce a stellar performance against heavily favored local hero Thompson (30-4, 26 KO) in a punishing display of power and solid boxing skills. Thompson failed to answer the bell calling for the start of the tenth round.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5My7StgVUg
Phoenix, Arizona, Dec. 20th
Andy Ruiz UD 10 Sergey Liakhovich, heavyweights
A Latino heavyweight is an instant attraction and a rarity as well, but Ruiz Jr. (23-0, 17 KO) has not yet captured the imagination of the usually hard-to-please compadres with his soft belly and his lackluster style. This time, he took a step in the right direction by taking on a former titlist in Liakhovich (26-6, 16 KO), landing with authority and power against a foe who just went through the motions, but Ruiz’s future as a small, out-of-shape heavyweight doesn’t hold a lot of hope in today’s scene in that division. Still, a 98-92, 96-94 and 99-91 points win should account for something, and it is not entirely irrational to believe that Ruiz will get much more exposure and better challenges in 2015.
Oscar Valdez TKO 4 Jean Sotelo, featherweights
Earlier on, Valdez (15-0, 13 KO), a two-time Mexican Olympian, stayed unbeaten as a professional with a drubbing of Sotelo (19-14-2, 10 KO) over four punishing rounds.
Munich, Germany, Dec. 20th
Robin Krasniqi UD 12 Dariusz Sek, light heavyweights
Krasniqi (43-3, 16 KO) put his comeback record in 4-0 after his loss against Nathan Cleverly in his only title shot to date back in 2013 with this dominating performance over Poland’s Sek (21-2-1, 7 KO), a solid contender, thus getting in line for another title shot against Germany’s Juergen Braehmer in the near future. Sek didn’t make it easy for the tough Krasniqi, posing a terrific challenge throughout an emotional bout. The Kosovo-born Krasniqi, however, piled up enough points to win easily on all three cards (116-112 in two of them, 115-113 in the remaining one).
Managua, Nicaragua, Dec. 20th
Ricardo Mayorga KO 5 Andrik Saralegui, welterweights
“El Matador” does it again. Mayorga (31-8-1, 25 KO), famous for smoking cigarettes and drinking beer next to his mom in the ring after his fights, is a former welterweight world champion who still fights occasionally, hoping to clown and loud-mouth his way into another big opportunity at the highest level. In the interest of keeping his name on the papers, he took on Mexico’s Saralegui (7-2, 5 KO) in his hometown of Managua to give his numerous fans a reason to rejoice – and to receive a much-needed payday in return. Mayorga was his usual self, putting on a WWE-worthy performance complete with arm windmills and insulting taunts. The end came when Mayorga simply thought he had done enough to claim his paycheck and proceeded to overwhelm Saralegui with a barrage of blows that deposited him on the canvas for the full count.
The winner goes on to: No, we may NEVER get rid of Mayorga. Never. He’ll live to fight until he’s 70, if they let him.
Huntington, N.Y., Dec. 20th
Cletus Seldin TKO 9 Bayan Jargal, junior welterweights
Their first encounter was terrific, and the second one also lived up to its expectations. Seldin (15-0, 12 KO) stayed unbeaten with a hard-earned stoppage of Jargal (17-6-3, 11 KO) in a rematch of a bout that ended prematurely back in July, when a cut over Jargal’s right eye caused the fight to be declared a no contest. Picking up where they left off, a still frustrated Seldin went back at it immediately, dropping Jargal in the first round and proceeding to lay a terrific amount of punishment until Jargal was finally sent to the canvas in the ninth round with his face bearing the marks of a devastating beating, and the stoppage was declared official a few seconds later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QVwqp_hEdA
Pontianak, West Borneo, Indonesia, Dec. 20th
Daud Yordan KO 5 Ronald Pontillas, lightweights
Yordan (33-3, 24 KO) can’t seem to find the way to summon his great skills and his ruggedness in his most important bouts, but he can beat the Pontillas (17-6-3, 9 KO) of the world every day of the week. Fighting in his native Indonesia, Yordan put on a show for his local audience, going after his southpaw Filipino foe from the get-go with punishing combinations. Pontillas was in the fight in the first couple of rounds, but as the punishment grew in scope and power he simply crumbled and Yordan took over. A body blow sent Pontillas down midway through the fifth round, and he never made it to his feet on time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5qlnsKB4ZU
Carolina, Puerto Rico, Dec. 20th
McJoe Arroyo UD 12 Mark Anthony Geraldo, junior bantamweights
McJoe Arroyo (16-0, 8 KO) remained on track for a title bout with a unanimous decision in over a tough Geraldo (31-5-3, 14 KO) after sending him to the canvas in the eighth round. The scores were 119-107, 119-107 and 118-108 for Arroyo, twin brother of the also promising former Olympian McWilliams Arroyo.
Roman Martinez KO 2 Herbert Quartey, lightweights
Martinez (28-2-2, 17 KO), a former junior lightweight titlist, scored a demolishing stoppage against a clearly overmatched Quartey (12-10, 9 KO) with one of his trademark body blows to continue his comeback after losing his belt.
Hanna Gabriel KO 2 Paty Ramirez, female junior middleweights
The rugged and beautiful Gabriel (13-1-1, 9 KO) is a former welterweight and junior middleweight female titlist from Costa Rica, and she continued making waves with a solid stoppage win in the second round against Ramirez (10-2, 5 KO), a rather week opponent.
Quebec City, Canada, Dec. 19th
Adonis Stevenson TKO 5 Dmitry Sukhotsky, WBC light heavyweight title
“Superman” does it again. Stevenson (25-1, 21 KO) was his usual impressive self in this utter demolition of a fight. Sure enough, Sukhotsky (22-3, 16 KO) was never expected to be a very serious test, but Stevenson nevertheless looked spectacular in his victory, accentuated by a knockdown (dubious, at best, but still counting) in the second round, and followed by a wrecking ball of a straight right that sent Sukhotsky down for the first of three trips to the canvas in the fifth round to give him his first stoppage loss in his career.
The winner goes on to: With this win, Stevenson is on his way to a true clash of titans against the winner of the much-anticipated Sergey Kovalev-Jean Pascal title bout in March. It will be a dream matchup, either way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr4lSRk_7hg
Andre Dirrell UD 12 Derek Edwards, super middleweights
Dirrell (24-1, 16 KOs) has been growing steadily since his participation in the Super Six tournament a couple of years ago, and this time he easily disposed of Edwards (27-4-1, 14 KO) with a complete domination over the championship distance by scores of 119-109, 120-108 and 119-107.
Jo Jo Dan SD 12 Kevin Bizier, welterweights
Dan (34-2, 18 KO) and Bizier (23-2, 16 KO) had already met in another terrific, close bout, in late 2013, and this time the result was closer but still all for Dan, a Romanian southpaw living in Canada. Bizier dropped Dan in round seven, but that didn’t seem to gain him the favor of the judges, who produced two cards of 115-112 and114-113 for Dan, while Bizier picked up the third one at 114-113 on the third card.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6YpmPez9ug
Artur Beterbiev TKO 2 Jeff Page Jr., light heavyweights
Beterbiev (7-0, 7 KO), a two-time Olympian, scored a relatively hard-fought win over Page (15-1, 10 KO) after visiting the canvas in the first round for a brief, scary moment in a wild round. Determined to erase the bad image, Beterviev came out guns blazing in the next episode, sending his foe to the mat in three occasions for the automatic stoppage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww_0qWWHQWs
San Martin, Mendoza, Argentina, Dec. 19th
Juan Carlos Reveco TKO 5 Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep, WBA flyweight title
Reveco (35-1, 19 KO), is one of those fighters who never fails to entertain and produce fireworks in every one of his fights. After being sidetracked by a series of injuries, Reveco was finally able to face Thailand’s Vor Saengthep (34-3, 20 KO) in his hometown, and he showed his loud fans that it was all worth the wait. Storming out of the gates, the visiting fighter dropped Reveco in round two with a solid straight right. Now on a mission to avert a catastrophe, Reveco retreated to a more cautious mode until he felt sufficiently confident to unleash a devastating, two-fisted attack that included five clobbering left hooks in a row. Vor Saengthep went down after a numbing body shot, and he got up to be received by another murderous onslaught that prompted the referee to wave off the bout almost immediately. Easily, the most dominant stoppage of the weekend, and a performance that should put Reveco on his way to a stellar 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Qs3FdNPfs
