Mexican Erik Morales won a wide decision over 39 year old Francisco Lorenzo on Saturday night at the Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico. Morales retained his WBC Silver light welterweight title. His foe, Lorenzo was game for the fight and pushed Eric the entire way, but “El Terrible” won by scores of 116-111, 115-112, and 114-113. The comeback Morales is making could be historic as he pushes to be the first Mexican to win world titles in four different weight divisions. And top of Morales’ wish-list is a fight with fellow Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez.
Erik started off slowly, common for him, but moved okay for the 139 pounds he weighed in at for the fight. Then in the fifth round he planted a stiff right hand to the head of his opponent and knocked him to the canvas. Lorenzo wasn’t hurt and the Dominican jumped up to fight back harder than ever. The following rounds were a heady affair of surprisingly good action up to the final gong, and many critics will argue that Francisco should’ve gotten the nod. But Morales has now won 3 in a row with one knockout since his comeback began in March of this year and is in healthy, trim condition. Morales took 3 years off after losing to David Diaz – the man Pacquiao dominated before fighting DeLaHoya – but has returned in sufficient form, though his wins are against second tier opponents so far.
At this point, Morales is ranked number 2 by the WBC at light welterweight and number 6 by the WBA. The rankings are surprisingly high but name value means alot in boxing and clearly that’s what Morales is riding on. And if Pacman doesn’t fight JMM for a third time next, we might see Morales’ name against Marquez’s come 2011. It would sell well… but that might be the most you can say for it. Marquez is excelling against prime opposition, while Morales is struggling against… Lorenzo. Still, he’s now 51-6, and no one can question his heart to carry on.

Tavoris Cloud kept his light heavyweight title by outpointing Fulgencio Zuniga over twelve rounds at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL. The IBF champ remains undefeated with this win and hopefully moves on to some more meaningful fights with either Jean Pascal, Chad Dawson, or Bernard Hopkins. Cloud is now 22-0 with 18 KOs to his name and has defended his title twice now, including a close win over tough Glen Johnson.
Tavoris and Zuniga both came to fight, throwing a huge number of punches each round. The average for a light heavyweight is around 60-65 punches per round but Cloud threw 83 and Zuniga threw 93 per round, and both men tossed em like they meant it. Tavoris won on all three judges’ scorecards with the cards at 117-108, 118-108, and 116-109. Still, the Columbian Zuniga was very durable throughout the bout and made it worth watching. He fell to 24-5-1.
Cloud controlled the pace and the action with constant jabs and double jabs, plus some thunderous right hooks. He did what he was supposed to do and deserves to remain champ. “I know I had better skills, but he obviously came into this fight in good shape,” Cloud said. “I only give myself a ‘B’ performance. I will tell you, I took this man seriously because I knew he was going to come to fight.”
The other event of the night showcased Odlanier Solis against Ray Austin for the right to challenge champion Vitali Klitschko. Solis is a Cuban AMA hero with an impressive amateur record and unblemished pro one. Solis won the fight against Austin by way of disqualification in the 10th round. It was a sluggish affair, but Solis was clearly the better man on the night. He is now 17-0. “He is accurate and has good defence,” Austin said. “He rests and recovers, well, too. The only downside for him could be his chin. I see him being the next champion. He is good.”
Solis was able to knock Austin down with straight left in the 5th round, but failed to follow up. Strangely, in the sixth round, when Odlanier could;ve pushed for the win, he instead held back and Austin got his legs back. Finally, in the 10th round, both men got tangled and nearly went over the top rope. Only the diminutive ref saved them from toppling over and the bell rang to end the round. But apparently Austin didn’t hear or chose not to heed the bell, because he proceeded to hit Solis late. The ref called the match off due to the foul and Solis moves on as winner.
The scorecards were a muddled affair at the time of the stoppage with one ref favoring each fighter and one calling it a draw. The DQ settled it all though. Solis stated, “What’s the worst that could have happened – I could have knocked him out or make him look ridiculous. I made him look ridiculous.”

British welterweight Kell Brook knocked out Philip Kotey in the second round at the Echo Arena in Liverpool Saturday night. Brook had predicted a knockout win in the fourth round but ended it early against the overmatched Kotey, overwhelming him fully. Brook remains the WBO number one ranked boxer – just under Manny Pacquiao in fact.

The fight was the opening salvo for Frank Warren’s 30th anniversary celebration and Brook was determined to make a statement with the win. Kotey actually started the fight landing some solid body shots on “Kid” Kell, but Brook answered with a few straight rights down the pipe and it was all downhill from there on. Kell forced the Ghanaian Kotey into the corner and pounded him with a heavy combination. Kotey escaped and ran to the other side of the ring but Brook was on top of his man and another right hand wobbled his foe. With Philip still seeing stars, a short left put him on the canvas for an eight count. Kotey got up and the bell sounded. But he didn’t recover between rounds and Brook was on him in a flash, knocking him back into the ropes, and the ref Manuel Oliver Palome waved it off at 39 seconds of the round.

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David Lemieux of Canada (the “Canadian Kid”) remained undefeated on Friday night with a second round knockout. Lemieux defeated American Purnell Gates (18-2), battering him around the ring with impressive power and combinations. The Canadian is now 25-0 with 24 knockouts and is one of the most exciting fighters in Canada, and at only 21 years old things may only go up for him from here.

Lemieux dominated his man in both rounds to score his 21st stoppage in the first 2 stanzas. Gates appeared to have injured his right hand in the very first minute of the fight. Then in the second, the Canadian phenom knocked his opponent down twice before the corner threw in the towel. The fight took place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, home for Lemieux. Hopefully this exciting young middleweight prospect will step up the competition soon.

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In a rough and tumble battle, full of clinches and inside brawling, Andre Ward defeated Sakio Bika by unanimous decision on Saturday night. “S.O.G.” Ward stayed undefeated with the wide points victory and kept his WBA super-middleweight title belt. The numbers were 120-108, 118-110, and 118-110, but the fight was closer than the scorecards reveal.

From round one Sakio Bika came after Andre Ward, rushing in and trying to outwork the champion on the inside. Both men exchanged savage jabs with Bika’s landing more than expected. Ward wanted to control the pace of this fight, countering when necessary and staying on the outside. But Sakio made that impossible as he continually mauled the champion, taking the fight in close. It was a rough affair and it was marked by constant unintentional headbutts that opened up both mens’ brow and left Bika once on the canvas when their feet got tangled.The final numbers showed that Andre threw more punches and landed more punches but he probably took more punishment from Bika than anyone he’s faced. He barely scraped by in some rounds, but that’s all it takes, and “Son of God” came out victorious in the end.

Undefeated Juan Manuel Lopez forced perennial featherweight favorite Rafael Marquez to retire after eight brutal rounds to earn a dominant TKO. Lopez retains his WBO featherweight championship belt with the win against Marquez, who’s best known for his quadrilogy against Israel Vasquez the last few years.

Rafael was unable to come out for the ninth round, claiming a shoulder injury after the eighth. This becomes his third loss in his last five fights and he falls to 39-6. Lopez defended his belt for the second time since winning it against Steven Luevano in January and moves to a very respectable 30-0 with 27 knockouts on his resume. Lopez did loss round four when he was deducted a point for a rabbit punch, but the end was never in doubt. He was up on all three cards at the time of the retirement, 77-74, 78-73, and 77-73. The fight took place at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

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In Fargo, North Dakota on Friday night’s Shobox, undefeated Edwin Rodriguez knocked out James McGirt Jr in the ninth round. Rodriguez won the vacant WBC-USNBC super-middleweight strap with the win and earned his 13th knockout in 17 pro fights.

“LaBomba” Rodriguez felt McGirt out for the first few rounds as McGirt concentrated mostly on defense. But by round seven, Edwin was setting up shots and landing flush often on a tired James. McGirt tried but failed to established any sustained offense and by the ninth round he barely threw a punch. His father James “Buddy” McGirt Sr. implored his son to show him something or he’d pull the plug going into the ninth and James Jr. must’ve known he was done for. Referee Mark Nelson was forced to step in and rescue Jr at 1:57 after an unanswered barrage from Rodriguez in the round proved he was defenseless.

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A fast paced Daniel Geale from Australia stopped Roman Karmazin in the final round on Sunday. Geale controlled the fight from the beginning relying on speed and impressive stamina to outwork the former champ Karmazin. Then, with only 30 seconds left in the bout, Daniel knocked a very tired Roman out by way of attrition. A powerful flurry in the last moments forced the referee, American Patrick Russell, to step in and save Karmazin.

Geale now has a record of 24 wins, 15 by knockouts, and only one loss. This fight against Karmazin was a final title eliminator and has placed Geale in line for a shot against IBF middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester. Geale showed high class in the victory, schooling Roman to unanimous scorecards as well. At the time of the stoppage the cards read 106-103, 108-101, and 109-101 all in favor of the Australian. Karmazin was cut in the sixth round when he collided with Geale’s head and never recovered. He falls to 40-4-2 and may consider returning to junior middleweight, where he was once a champion.

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Sebastian Sylvester earned a twelve round unanimous decision over challenger Mahir Oral in dominating fashion on Saturday. Sylvester knocked Oral down in rounds eight, nine, and eleven to easily sweep the judges scorecards. The final tallies read: 117-107, 119-106, and 117-107 from the three judges at ringside. This was Sylvester’s third defense of the title he earned by defeating Giovanni Lorenzo a year ago. His last bout was a draw with Roman Karmazin which allowed “The Hurrikan” Sylvester to keep his belt, but wasn’t satisfying to the champ. Against Oral he was in fine form, though, winning every round and knocking Mahir from pillar to post.

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IBF Super Middleweight Champion Lucian “Le Tombeur” Bute, the undefeated Canadian favorite, defended his title against Jesse Brinkley (35-5) at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. “I’m ready,” promised the champion before the fight. “We spent six weeks in Florida to train. I’m prepared. I took it seriously, and it will be quite a show.” Mandatory challenger Brinkley had won 9 fights in a row and is best known for his stint on the Contender before this bout. He had his own take before the fight: “It doesn’t bother me that people think I’m the underdog,” he said. “Lucian has his hands full with me.”

Round 1: Both men spent the round feeling each other out. It was a slow round with several feints, neither man opening up. Bute looks substantially taller than Brinkley.

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On Saturday October 16th, reigning WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko puts his title on the line against former champion Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs. These two fighters have the greatest knockout ratios in a title fight of any active fighters. Briggs has beaten 51 other men, 45 by way of knockout. Klitschko has KO’d 38 of his 40 opponents, and claims to have never been knocked down in a fight. That’s two astounding knockout records from two extremely heavy punchers, and hopefully means their fight will be a blockbuster.

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Antonio Tarver has never been a heavyweight prizefighter… but he played one in a movie once. In Rocky Balboa, Tarver played the part of Mason “The Line” Dixon, an unpopular heavyweight champion who proved his heart against Sylvester Stallone aka Rocky. In real life, Tarver has held multiple light-heavyweight belts since 2002 and now wants to move up with the big boys. Antonio Tarver is moving from 175 pounds to over 200 pounds to compete at heavyweight and hopes to truly become the character he played – a heavyweight champion.

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