Boxing results from all major fights worldwide
Ever since Anthony Joshua demolished Denis Bakhtov in two disturbing rounds back in October 2014, there have been calls for the so obviously blessed heavyweight to be matched tougher.
Unfortunately for South America’s heavyweight champion Raphael Zumbano Love (donning velour shorts on the night) these calls have been ignored. In two equally alarming rounds he, just like his 11 peers before him, found out just what the fuss is all about.
Amir Mansour continues his road to redemption with a hard-fought victory on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights”
By Justin Jones – Photos © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones
Philadelphia, PA —In an entertaining heavyweight tilt, which headlined ESPN 2’s Friday Night Fights card at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia, Amir “Hardcore” Mansour (22-1, 16 KOs) demonstrated true grit and determination last night in outworking Joey Dawejko (14-3-2, 7 KOs) to earn a unanimous decision victory. Official scorecards were 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94 all in favor of Mansour.
It went exactly as feared, or hoped, depending on which side of the fence you were on. If you came in expecting action then you were at the wrong fight. If you came looking for answers and a little bit of drama, then you probably came away satisfied, although perhaps a little bit disappointed. It wasn’t until I first saw them nose to nose at the kickoff press conference that I got a real sense of the size difference between these two men. The stats can tell you a lot, but seeing the two of them face to face, Manny looking up into Floyd’s eyes, really gave a sense of the uphill battle that Manny was facing. However, the fight was not about size, it was about styles, and the common wisdom was that Manny had the style to threaten Floyd.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER
“He’s [Manny Pacquiao] is a hell of a fighter. I take my hat off to him. Now I see why he’s one of the guys that are at the pinnacle of the sport of boxing.
“I knew he was going to push it and win some rounds. He had some moments in the fight, but I kept him on the outside, I was a smart fighter. I wasn’t getting hit with a lot of shots until I sat in the pocket, that’s when he would land a lot of shots.
What an anti- climax. Like your poor marquee fights of the past that didn’t quite live up to the hype (De La Hoya v Trinidad), Mayweather v Pacquiao and the pro-Manny house in Vegas left very disappointed tonight (or this morning here in the UK) when we witnessed a good guy vs bad guy fight where the better boxer – not the better human being – won out.
In truth, there was no way the so called “Fight of The Century” between Floyd Mayweather Junior and Manny Pacquiao was ever going to live up to the huge hype the welterweight showdown enjoyed. And last night inside a packed but ultimately deflated MGM Grand, the fight came absolutely nowhere near close to delivering in the action stakes.
Mayweather, way too fast, clever, defensively skilled and also so much the bigger man physically, won, really, with some ease; in “second gear,” as super-middleweight king Carl Froch put it. Pac-Man, nowhere near the explosive, relentless dynamo he once was, had fleeting moments of success but they were far too few to make the fight just that, a fight.
From Tuesday night brawls at the legendary Blue Horizon, to throw downs at the Barclays Center, I have attended boxing matches at nearly every venue of note in the northeast. Yet for all of the live fights I have witnessed, I had never had the privilege of attending a fight at the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden. That all changed on a whim Saturday night, when at the last minute I scored a pair of tickets to watch Bryant “by-by” Jennings challenge Wladimir Klitschko for all the marbles in the heavyweight division. As with any last minute ticket acquisition my choices were limited, and I found myself in the 200 section surrounded by Klitscko’s faithful, who were adorned in blue and yellow, the colors of the flag of Ukraine. Each time Wladimir’s chiseled features graced the big screen over the ring, the packed house would explode, with the loudest cheers emanating from the throng occupying the upper decks, of which I was now a part.
Scores at ringside confirmed the general consensus that it was the superior boxing ability and slick movement from the home fighter that was much preferred, reading 97-93, 97-93 and 100-90.
Ali – subject to intense pressure throughout – boxed superbly off the back foot at times in the face of Santana’s relentless pressure and persistent will to drag the young New Yorker into a war.
Wladimir Klitschko (63-4) retained his titles via UD against extremely fit and rugged challenger Bryant Jennings (19-1) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. The scores were wide, 116-111 twice and 118-109, and the skill differential even wider but Jennings was more problematic for Klitschko than the scores or his own boxing ability could suggest. Klitschko acknowledged the hand speed of his opponent baffled him and he compared Jennings to a modern Frazier but he was surely far too kind and gave his opponent too much credit for fighting back sporadically. Bryant demonstrated a granite chin and courage to spare but if he had Frazier’s left hook or even half of it the fight might have turned out differently.
Wladimir Klitschko successfully defended his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles at New York’s Madison Square Garden tonight with a unanimous points decision over previously undefeated challenger Bryant Jennings.
All three judges found in favour of the Ukrainian with scores of 116-111, 116-111 and 118-109, despite a spirited effort from the challenger who succeeded in announcing himself as a name in the heavyweight division.