Using a big weight advantage of 10 pounds, former WBA featherweight champion Nicholas Walters (26-0, 21 KOs) cruised to a 12 round unanimous decision over Miguel Marriaga (20-1, 18 KOs) at Madison Square Garden in New York. Walters dropped Marriaga in the 9th round with a right hand, and punished him with hard head and body shots throughout. The judges scored the fight 118-109, 117-110 and 119-108.
Beterbiev fought Alexander Johnson (16-3) and scored his 9th KO in as many fights on Friday night at the UCI Pavilion in Chicago. Johnson, a southpaw with agreeable boxing skills, had a height and a reach advantage over the Russian icebreaker and lasted longer than the previous victims. The American was never really in contention but he gave it a try. Beterbiev’s total boxing made Johnson look as if he was in a different sport. The southpaw stance did not help him; in fact it facilitated Beterbiev’s lead right hands.
It was a one sided fight. Not that anyone was really surprised by that, Delvin Rodriguez has had a long career and has been in more than his share of ring wars. After having been brutalized by a reinvigorated Miguel Cotto in 2013, few would have imagined him getting another shot at a title belt. Yet there he was, matched up with the slick Cuban fighter Erislandy Lara, for Lara’s WBA Super welterweight belt, in the headlining card on Spike TVs latest edition of Fright Night Lights Out. Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Championship series was ready to showcase Lara’s talents to a national audience, and they believed that Delvin was the tough, gritty type of fighter who would provide just enough of a challenge to allow their charge to shine. They just forgot one thing: Erislandy Lara don’t care.
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33 KOs) looked like a novice amateur tonight in having to work harder than expected to stop a very limited Eric Molina (23-3, 17 KOs) in the 9th round at the Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Wilder took the 33-year-old Molina out with a chopping right hand to the head in the 9th.
This was one of four knockdowns that Wilder scored in the fight. Referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight at 1:03 of the 9th when it was clear that Molina was too hurt to get back to his feet.
Interestingly enough, the fight was actually competitive at times. Molina buzzed Wilder with a left hook to the head in the 3rd round, and he was in the position to finish Wilder off if he’d put some punches together after hurting him.
Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike returned to Chicago’s UIC Pavilion on Friday night with another installment of spectacular fights. The opening televised bout saw Artur Beterbiev (9-0, 9 KOs) manage a seventh round knockout against Alexander Johnson (16-3, 7 KOs). The second televised bout featured Erislandy Lara (21-2-2, 12 KOs) as he secured a unanimous decision victory over Delvin Rodriguez (28-8-4, 16 KOs).
Below are comments made by the televised fighters following their performances tonight:
EL PASO, TEXAS (June 12, 2015) – Undefeated British superstar Carl Frampton (20-0, 14 KOs) makes his U.S. professional debut when he takes on quick-fisted Mexican Alejandro “Cobrita” Gonzalez Jr. (25-1-2, 15 KOs) on Premier Boxing Champions on CBS, Saturday afternoon, July 18 from the Don Haskins Center at UTEP in El Paso, Texas. Televised coverage on CBS starts at 4 p.m. ET/2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT.
Also featured in televised action is heavyweight star Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (36-4, 31 KOs), who will be returning to the ring for the first time since March.
Palmerston North, New Zealand, Saturday 13th of June rising heavyweight Joseph Parker 13 -0-0, 11 KOs) takes on German based Turk Yakup Saglam (34-3-0, 31 KOs).
Saglam on his first visit to New Zealand has passed off some lofty proclamations, first been that he gave Wladimir Klitschko so much so heat in sparring sessions the champ couldn’t handle it. Going as far as to say he had the champ ‘scared’ and after only two days of what was meant to be a two week sparring assignment his services were dispensed with.
I guess I was one of those that hoped Adrien Broner might mature a little bit in defeat, use such a humbling as a learning curve and come back not only stronger but having had a much needed “attitude adjustment.”
Like so many people constantly say about “The Problem”, it’s not necessarily ability that’s the issue for him – he has natural talent in spades – rather his attitude, arrogance and out of ring histrionics and theatrics that have given to so many people disliking him and willing he be knocked out whenever he gets between the ropes.
When Deontay Wilder steps through the ropes on Saturday to make the maiden defence of his WBC heavyweight title, those who follow boxing with a little bit more fervour than the man-in-the-street, will realize they are about to witness what should be nothing more than routine business for the big-punching Alabama born man.
Fighting in his home state, which will incidentally be hosting it’s first ever world title fight, “The Bronze Bomber” has promised his hometown fans that they will see a knockout performance from the man who has stopped all of his opponents – with the exception of Bermane Stiverne back in January.
Not so long ago, it was between David Price and Tyson Fury as to who the next big British heavyweight was going to be, with the two men looking to be on an eventual collision course to decide. Anthony Joshua had barely turned professional.
And then along came wily old veteran Tony Thompson and the wheels came off for David Price. After those two career-derailing knockouts that left Price on the heavyweight scrap heap, Tyson Fury went his own way and is now set to challenge Wladimir Klitschko for the WBO title later this year.