HEAVYWEIGHT

HEAVYWEIGHT SEDATIVE

Wladimir Klitschko [Ger.] W 12 [unan.]
Sultan Ibragimov [U.S.]
February 23, 2008 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY,
United States

*SEE REPORT May/June Boxing Digest Page 18

THE SCORE IS FINALLY SETTLED

Samuel Peter [Nig.] W TKO 6
Oleg Maskaev [U.S.]
March 8, 2008 – Plaza de Toros, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico

*SEE REPORT May/June Boxing Digest Page 54

CRUISERWEIGHT

HAYE ENDS ENZO

David Haye [Eng.] W TKO 2
Enzo Maccarinelli [Wales]
March 8, 2008 – O2 Arena, Greenwich, London, United Kingdom

*SEE REPORT May/June Boxing Digest Page 48

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

BUTE BASHES JOPPY

Lucien Bute [Can.] W TKO 10
William Joppy [U.S.]
February 29, 2008 – Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Lucian Bute, 28, 167½, 22-0 (18), Montreal via Galati, Romania, scored a TKO10 over former WBA middleweight titleholder William Joppy, 35, 167¾, 39-5-1 (30), Washington, DC, in Bute’s first defense of his IBF 168lb. belt.

Lucien Bute [l.] wore down former middleweight titlist William Joppy to score a TKO10 and retain his IBF 168lb. belt.

Questions before the bout surfaced concerning Joppy’s qualifications for challenger status, as his last five opponents since his loss to Jermain Taylor had a combined record of 117-94-7. But the American was game despite being seriously outgunned. His defense was adequate through the first half of the bout, but with little offense it was only a matter of time before Bute would wear him down.
Southpaw Bute was content to counter in the first few stanzas, moving Joppy back with a couple of straight lefts and one-twos. Once Bute realized Joppy was not going to hurt him, he stepped up the pace. A head-snapping left drove Joppy to the ropes in the fourth, whereupon Bute followed up with a five-punch combination. The Washingtonian’s only weapons were double jabs and the occasional right with no follow-up.
By the seventh, Bute’s jabs began knocking Joppy back. Round nine was the beginning of the end as a Bute combo put Joppy on his side. He beat the count, but proceeded to take further punishment. Another Bute flurry sent Joppy running to the red corner, whereupon he took a knee to stop the onslaught. Bute again trapped him in a neutral corner in the tenth, and as a series of punches was about to put Joppy down again, referee Marlon Wright stopped the fight at 1:08. – Mike Greenhill

LIGHTWEIGHT

CAMPBELL PULLS OFF UPSET

Nate Campbell [U.S.] W 12 [split]
Juan Diaz [U.S.]
March 8, 2008 – Plaza de Toros, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Nate Campbell [r.] surprised Juan Diaz with his no-fear approach, matching the youngster punch for punch, to take the WBA, IBF, and WBO lightweight titles in an upset.

Nate Campbell, 32-5-1 (25), upset Juan Diaz, 33-1 (17), by SD12 to claim the WBA, IBF, and WBO lightweight titles. Scores were 116-111, 115-112 for Campbell and 114-113 for Diaz. The first half of the bout featured many exciting exchanges. Most of the fight was fought in close where Diaz likes it, but Campbell refused to back away, punishing the champion to the body. Although Campbell lost a point in round six for an alleged headbutt, the tide started to turn in his favor when he punched open a cut above Diaz’s left eye in the same frame. He focused on the laceration and peppered Diaz upstairs and by fight’s end, the champion’s left eye was completely closed.
“I said I was going to take him out into the deep water and drown him,” noted Campbell, “and that’s what I did.”

FEATHERWEIGHT

GUERRERO KOs LITZAU

Robert Guerrero [U.S.] W TKO 8
Jason Litzau [U.S.]
February 29, 2008 – Taichi Palace Casino, Lemoore, CA,
United States

IBF featherweight champion Robert Guerrero [l.] pounded on an outgunned Jason Litzau on his way to scoring a TKO8.

Robert Guerrero, 24, 22-1-1-1ND (15), the defending IBF featherweight champ, completely dominated Jason Litzau, 24, 23-2 (19), finally putting him down twice in the eighth. The southpaw dazzled from start to finish. Litzau, despite having a boxer’s build, likes to rumble, but he was stymied tonight and had no clue on how to dissect a southpaw. At one point in round two, Litzau missed six straight punches, as Guerrero, who was stronger, quicker, smarter and more composed, easily ducked under them.
The physical edge that Guerrero had worked in spades; he backed up Litzau with strong body shots early and often. After seven complete rounds, Guerrero had a shutout lead on two cards, and took six on the third. The first knockdown came from a double left hook, and the finisher arrived compliment of a left uppercut, followed by a left-right combo that put his foe hard to the canvas. Litzau just barely beat the count of referee David Rosales, but was in no condition to continue. Time: 2:25. – Jack Obermayer

CRUZ EEKS PAST MASHABA

Cristobal Cruz [Mex.] W 12 [maj.]
Thomas Mashaba [S. A.]
March 7, 2008 – Fox Theater, Foxwoods Casino, Mashantucket, CT,
United States
 
Mexican veteran Cristobal Cruz, 36-11-1 (23), grabbed the IBO featherweight title from Thomas Mashaba, 20-3-4 (12), in an action-packed competitive scrap. Mashaba and Cruz threw a total of 2,540 punches. Cruz got credit for 1,580, which set a CompuBox record for punches thrown in a 12-round bout. His work rate paid off. Though Mashaba was the better technical fighter and seemed to land the more effective blows, the judges favored quantity over quality. Cruz, pulling off the upset, was announced the winner by scores of 115-113 (twice) and 114-114.

Cristobal Cruz [r.] used an incredibly busy work rate to take Thomas Mashaba’s IBO featherweight belt.

Mashaba looked very good early on but even when he was catching Cruz with sharp punches – especially the straight right and the right uppercut – Cruz never wavered. He kept plugging away, putting punches together in bunches. He made the rounds a bit of headache to judge.
Mashaba continued to impress in rounds seven and eight and had Cruz’s mouth bloody by the end of the seventh frame. However, Cruz turned things around in the final four rounds. Although Mashaba, 125, landed some great shots in the ninth, Cruz, 126, won the round on two of three scorecards and then landed two hard looping rights in the 10th. Mashaba, who had a stiff jab, didn’t use it enough to keep Cruz off of him and it cost him. Cruz started and finished strong in the closing rounds to earn the victory.
After momentarily stunning Mashaba with a left hook in the last round, Cruz let loose with both hands in rapid-fire succession for 30 seconds. Mashaba weathered the storm and came back to trade punch after punch with Cruz until the final bell. – Kirk Lang

VAZQUEZ SUPREME

Israel Vazquez [U.S.] W 12 [split]
Rafael Marquez [Mex.]
March 1, 2008 – Home Depot Center, Carson, CA,
United States

*SEE REPORT PAGE 26

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BANTAMWEIGHT

120-108 FOR NAVARRO?

Cristian Mijares [Mex.] W 12 [split]
Jose Navarro [U.S.]
February 16, 2008 – MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV, United States

Cristian Mijares [r.] fought to a surprising SD12 against Jose Navarro in an entertaining affair.

Cristian Mijares, 34-3-2 (14), defended his WBC 115lb. belt for the fourth time against a game fellow southpaw Jose Navarro, 26-4 (12), who lost his fourth attempt to win a title. Mijares demonstrated he was able to fight in the pocket and simultaneously avoid getting hit, using his superior speed to outbox Navarro. The challenger pressed the action as best he could and got Mijares to trade with him more often as the fight went on, having his best round in the eighth. Mijares opened a cut above Navarro’s right eye with a jab in the eleventh and proceeded to target the area for the rest of the bout. Sensing he was behind on points, Navarro traded relentlessly with Mijares in an exciting closing round. Mijares won a split decision with scores of 117-111 and 115-113 in his favor. Shockingly, judge Doug Tucker scored the bout a shutout, 120-108 for Navarro.

MONTIEL BLASTS OUT CASTILLO

Fernando Montiel [Mex.] W KO 4
Martin Castillo [U.S.]
February 16, 2008 – MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV, United States

Fernando Montiel [l.] scored a quick and easy KO4 over Martin Castillo.

WBO 115lb. champion Fernando Montiel, 36-2-1 (27), scored a very easy KO4 (1:56) over former WBA 115lb. titlist Martin Castillo, 33-3 (17). A counter left hook dropped Castillo in the first. Montiel boxed tactically, using precision power shots. He was able to bully Castillo around the ring in the second round. The two traded a bit in the third, but at the round’s conclusion, Castillo was again hurt and sagging on the ropes. Montiel finished the job in the fourth as a combination, punctuated by a body shot, put Castillo on his knee where he stayed for a full ten-count.

KIRILOV RETAINS WITH DRAW

Dimitri Kirilov [Rus.] D 12
Cecilio Santos [Mex.]
February 28, 2008 – Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, United States

Dimitri Kirilov [l.] in his second fight on US soil, fought to a draw against Cecilio Santos.

Dimitri Kirilov, 113½, 29-3-1 (10), making the first defense of his IBF 115lb. title, had to settle for a majority draw (116-112 Kirilov, 114-114 twice) against rugged Cecilio Santos, 115, 22-8-3 (12). The difference between the two men was Kirilov’s hand speed. Once he started to put his combinations together the fight appeared to be his to win. Kirilov boxed well and generally looked impressive in spite of having some puffiness on the left eye. Santos did find the mark with his right hand upstairs, snapping Kirilov’s head back a few times. Santos himself sustained some eye damage, suffering cuts over both eyes in the ninth. – Jerry Glick

FLYWEIGHT

PART IV ENDS IN DRAW

Daisuke Naito [Jap.] D 12
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam [Thai.]
March 8, 2008 – Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan

Daisuke Naito [l.] fought to a disappointing draw against Pongsaklek Wonjongkam to retain his WBC flyweight belt.

Japan’s Daisuke Naito, 32-2-3 (20), retained his WBC flyweight belt on a draw in his fourth fight with Thailand’s Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, 67-3-1 (35), from whom he took the title last July. Although Naito was not so accurate with his offense, he was the busier fighter, and it appeared Wonjongkam ran out of gas after the fifth round. Wonjongkam, a long-reigning former titlist, looked shot and was not able to pull the trigger as often as he wanted. In a difficult fight to score, tallies were 115-113 Naito, 115-114 Wonjongkam, and 114-114.

NIIDA VANQUISHES VARELA

Yutaka Niida [Jap.] W KO 6
Jose LuisVarela [Ven.]
March 1, 2008 – Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan

Yutaka Niida [l.] retained his WBA 105lb. title for the seventh time with a KO6 over Jose Luis Varela.

Yutaka Niida, 23-1-3 (9), in the seventh defense of his crown, retained the WBA 105lb. title with a KO6 over Jose Luis Varela, 15-4-0-1NC (7). A series of body shots by Niida in the sixth round put Varela on the canvas, and he was counted out at 2:16.