Less than two months into 2012, we probably already have the fight of the year locked down after fellow Mexicans Juan Jose Montes and Oscar Ibara traded non-stop bombs Saturday night in Guadalajara in their fight for the vacant World Boxing Federation World Super Flyweight title..
Ibara got off to the better start and landed some huge right hands in the first round, but “Goofy” Montes took back control in the second by driving his opponent to the ropes and firing relentlessly with both hands. Ibara didn’t just receive, but landed some shots of his own and the capacity crowd was on its feet watching what was turning out to be an outright war.
This trend continued throughout, Montes on the offensive but Ibara always active and dangerous with his right hand. In the fourth he cut Montes over the right eye, and in the tenth over the left, and with a bloody nose to boot it was evident that Ibara had his share of success. But Montes continued to charge relentlessly, and showed extraordinary courage and determination from start to finish.
After twelve pulsating rounds of boxing, the crowd had hardly used their chairs and gave the two warriors a two-minute standing ovation while waiting for the decision. Judges Jose Garduno, Sergio Sotelo and Alan Santana scored the bout 118-109, 116-111 and 114-113, all for Montes, but both fighters deserves big credit for putting on one of the best WBF world title fights in recent memory.
New World Boxing Federation World Super Flyweight Champion Juan Jose Montes improved his professional record to 22-2 (14), while Oscar Ibara
to 27-6 (18). The fight was promoted by Hector Garcia and HG Boxing, and televised live in Mexico by Televisa. Supervisor was WBF President Howard Goldberg.
On the previous night, Friday February 24 in Saint Quentin, France, local hero Thierry Karl captured the vacant WBF International Cruiserweight title with a unanimous decision over Georgian Sandro Sirposhvili at the Palais des Sports. Karl fought a clever fight, and seemed to be one step ahead of his opponent from the first bell, although Siproshvili never stopped trying.
At the conclusion, scores were 97-93 (Jean Marcel Nartz, Germany), 99-93 (Alfred Asaro, France) and 100-90 (Robert Verwijs, Netherlands). Referee was Alexsander Kalinkin from Russia. The fight was promoted by Boxing Club des Saint Quentin. Thierry Karl, who won his first title at Cruiserweight, is now 30-5 (19) in the professionals. Siproshvili drops to 25-11 (12).
Miranda, Collins Thrill In Allentown!
ALLENTOWN, PA (February 26, 2012) – Heavyweight boxer William Miranda of Allentown, PA and junior middleweight Keenan Collins of Reading, PA both registered wins on Saturday evening at King’s Promotions’ “Heavyweight Explosion” event at the Rodeway Inn in Allentown, PA.
In the main event of King’s Promotions’ “Heavyweight Explosion” show, Miranda (5-4) had his hometown crowd on their feet all night as he ran his win streak to two with a six-round unanimous decision victory over Riley Brooks (1-4-1) of Baltimore, MD. The scores were 58-56 twice and 59-55.
Miranda, 33, who works as a personal trainer when he isn’t in the ring, admits that Brooks was tougher than he expected, but said his friends and fans in attendance helped carry him through. “My big crowd helped,” said Miranda. “I had a little more push in me. I kept punching when I was tired.”
In the co-featured bout, junior middleweight Collins (14-7-2, 9 KO) returned to the win column with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Nicaraguan Julio Cesar Lanzas (7-18-6, 1 KO). The scores were 58-56 twice and 59-55
Collins, who had dropped his last two fights to high-ranked contenders Gabriel Rosado and Charles Whittaker, came out to prove that he still had fight in him at the age of 35. Collins used his strong right hand and longer reach to keep his opponent at bay, boxing his way to the decision victory.
In other results, junior middleweight Grayson Blake (5-0, 2 KO) of State College, PA scored a fourth round TKO of Corey Preston (1-8) of North Carolina. The bout was stopped at 1:29 of the final round. Super featherweight Frank Santos De Alba (1-0-2, 1 KO) of Reading, PA was held to a four-round majority draw against Ramon Ellis (2-7-1, 1 KO) of Philadelphia. Heavyweight Eric Newell (4-1, 2 KO) of Bethlehem, PA knocked out Keon Graham (2-9) of Akron, Ohio at the 3:00 mark of the first round. Featherweight Joshua Reyes (1-0) of Millville, NJ won his pro debut with a unanimous decision victory over Osahon Omo-Osagie (0-2-1) of Hamburg, PA by the scores of 40-36 three times.