Recently, the great, the immortal, the legendary ( and also the most down to earth boxing superstar one could wish to meet) Roberto Duran paid a visit to this writer’s home town. Duran, for many millions of fans, THE greatest living fighter (above Ring Magazine’s recent choice for the honour; Sugar Ray Leonard ) dropped in at Henry Wharton’s gym in York.
Results: Terence Crawford stops Felix Diaz
Terence Crawford successfully defended his WBA and WBC 140 pound titles in beating welterweight Felix Diaz by a 10th round TKO at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was a clinical performance from the 29-year-old Crawford in dispatching the smaller 5’5” Diaz (19-2, 9 KOs) in front of a large crowd of pro-Crawford boxing fans.
The fight was shown on HBO. The fight was stopped after the 10th at the urging of Diaz’s corner. Both of Diaz’s eyes were swollen to the point where they were almost closed. Diaz wasn’t putting up much of a fight during the bout other than the 7th. When Diaz did go on the attack, Crawford would move laterally around the ring to avoid his attacks.
Gervonta Davis destroys Walsh in three
Gervonta Davis went on the road in the first defense of his IBF Junior Lightweight World Championship and made a statement with an emphatic third-round TKO of previously undefeated local favorite Liam Walsh in the opening bout of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING from Copper Box Arena in London.
The southpaw Davis (18-0, 17 KOs) set the pace from the opening bell, connecting seemingly at will with a strong left hook. In the third round, America’s youngest world champion floored Walsh with a strong left after a series of brutal connecting combos on the inside. Walsh got up, but the onslaught continued seconds later and referee Michael Alexander stopped the championship bout at 2:11, with Walsh defenseless and on unsteady legs.
David Benavidez Knocks Out Porky Medina
Unbeaten rising contender David Benavidez (18-0, 17 KOs) of Phoenix, Ariz. knocked out exciting former title challenger Rogelio “Porky” Medina (37-8, 31 KOs) from San Luis Rio, Mexico in a super middleweight world title eliminator that headlined a special Saturday night edition of Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes from Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas.
The action-packed main event opened with several crowd-pleasing exchanges in the first pair of rounds. Round three offered more of the same as the rugged pair of pugilists went toe-to-toe giving and receiving each other’s best.
Gary Russell Jr TKOs Oscar Escandon
From the MGM National Harbor “Mr.” Gary Russell Jr. (28-1, 17 KOs) had a successful homecoming in front of a nearly sold out crowd as he defended his WBC Featherweight World title with a seventh-round stoppage against the very tough, strong-willed Colombian Oscar Escandon (25-3, 17 KOs) in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.
(Photo Credit: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME)
Andre Dirrell defeats Jose Uzcategui on disqualification – Results
In a 12-round clash for the IBF Interim Super Middleweight Title, Flint, Michigan’s Andre Dirrell, (26-2, 16 KOs), was declared the winner after round eight as Jose Uzcategui, (26-2, 22 KOs) of Merida, Venezuela, was disqualified for a punch after the bell sounded to end the eighth round.
Uzcategui started fast, battering Dirrell from the opening round, cutting off the ring and slamming away with body and head shot through the first three rounds. Dirrell saw success starting in the fourth round, countering Uzcategui and scoring well.
Results: Rances Barthelemy defeats Kiryl Relikh
Two-division world champion Rances Barthelemy (26-0, 13 KOs) won a 12-round unanimous decision over valiant Kiryl Relikh, (25-3, 16 KOs), of Baranovichi, Byelorussia. Scores in the WBA Super Lightweight eliminator were 116-110, 115-111 and 117-109.
The opening two rounds of the fight featured excellent action with both fighters attempting to impose their will. In the third round Relikh suffered a low blow resulting in a two-minute delay, however, no point deduction was made by referee Kenny Chevalier. Following the low blow, the shorter Relikh became much more aggressive.
Results: Gervonta Davis destroys Liam Walsh
IBF World super featherweight champion Gervonta Davis (18-0, 17 KOs) showed off his class and punching power tonight in smashing Liam Walsh (21-1, 14 KOs) in destroying him by a 3rd round knockout in his first defense at the Copper Box Arena in London, England. The fight was quickly stopped after Davis flattened Walsh with 2 lefts to the head.
Results: Mario Daser destroys Ola Afolabi
Little known, German cruiserweight prospect Mario Daser (13-0, 6 KOs) scored a surprising 3rd round knockout over former 4 time world title challenger Ola Afolabi (22-6-4, 11 KOs) Friday night at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Daser, 28, knocked the 37-year-old Afolabi down with a left to the body in the 3rd.
Afolabi took a knee and looked like he was getting ready to get back up. However, just at that moment, Afolabi’s corner came into the ring to have the fight stopped. Referee Frank Michael Maass then halted the fight at that point. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:00 of round 3.
Kell Brook still dropping weight for Errol Spence fight
IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook didn’t bargain for how much work would be involved in getting down to 147 pounds for his fight against Errol Spence Jr. on May 27. Brook has been cutting for weeks and weeks since he started training camp following his 5th round knockout loss to Gennady “GGG” Golovkin on September 10 last year. Brook will have the hometown advantage over Spence in facing him at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, England. However, that may work against the 30-year-old Brook because the boxing fans might motivate him to brawl with Spence. If Brook is weight drained, he’s not going to last long against a puncher like Spence. Brook could be Chris Algieri 2.0.