Blog Archives - Heavyweight Boxing

Ziausys stopped for the second time in 80 fights!

11/30/2013

On Friday night there were two interesting Heavyweight contests in the United Kingdom.

One of those, fought in Swansea, left us genuinely shocked. This contest which saw Darren Morgan (7-5, 5) stopping Remigijus Ziausys (20-56-4, 10) might not lok anything out of the ordinary on paper, but it was just the second time Ziausys had been stopped in 80 contests! It was the first time in over 6 years that he had been stopped and impressively Morgan did it inside 70 seconds!

We'll admit we've not seen the stoppage though if it's a legitimate one then it's an eye opener.

The other contest saw the unbeaten Kash Ali (6-0) extending his winning run as he over-came Lithuania's Rolandas Cesna (3-16-1) via a shut out decision over 3 rounds. Ali's lack of power will likely prevent him from going too far but as long as he keeps piling up victories then the lack of power won't matter too much, at least for now.

The only other Heavyweight contest was in Mexico as Cesar Escareno (1-0, 1) swiftly despatched Moises de la Torre (0-4) inside a round.

Low key action on Wednesday

11/27/2013

Down under in Australia Luke Turner (1-0) made a succesful debut as he out pointed fellow debutant Blake Ferguson (0-1) over 4 rounds. This bout, part of the Mosley/Mundine card was apparently fought over 2 minute rounds.

The only other Heavyweight contest that we are aware of saw George Tshimanga (2-0) out pointing the debuting Chris Mbombo (0-1) over 4 rounds.

Tarver, Ortiz and Breazeale all pick up early victories

11/27/2013

Some shows are really packed with mismatches and that's exactly what American fans had last night courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions who had a televised show that was nothing short uncompetitive from the opening bout to the final bout.

The show, which featured 8 bouts in total, had three Heavyweight contests. Between those three bouts that we're interested in there was just 7 rounds of total action.

Of those three Heavyweight contests the quickest took just just 2 minutes as Cuban Luis Ortiz (20-0, 17) quickly saw off the totally over-matched Alex Gonzales (20-9, 10). The bout, a pointless work out for the WBA's #2 contender, was not the sort of fight that will help prepare Ortiz for a world title contest and, if anything, will further lead people to wonder what he did to get such a high ranking.

It didn't take US Olympian Dominic Breazeale (8-0, 8) much longer to take out Keith Barr (11-5, 3) who lasted less than 2 completed rounds. Breazeale, arguably the USA's most interesting Heavyweight prospect, looks like a fighter really going places though we'd love him to have a gut check sooner rather than later. If it takes Breazeale as long as it takes Deontay Wilder to be facing opponents with a pulse however we'll be happy to reassess our opinion of Breazeale.

In the longest of the three Heavyweight contests Antonio Tarver (30-6-0-1, 21) successfully claimed the interim NABA title courtesy of a fourth round TKO over Mike Sheppard (21-16-1, 9). Sheppard dropped three times in round 4 as his lack of a chin told once again. It was the 12th time Sheppard had been stopped and it's unlikely he'll get another major bout any time soon, if ever.

Fujimoto retains!

11/26/2013

In some countries the Heavyweight is historically "the division", the one that brings in the money, the one that fans care about and the one that gets attention.

Over in Japan however things are a little bit different. The division is one of the more obscure ones and in fact Japan have only ever had 2 national champions in the division.

The second of those champions, Kyotaro Fujimoto (8-1, 5), made the first defense of his title earlier this week as he defeated the top domestic challenger Kotatsu Takehara (9-9-3, 4) via a 10 round decision.

The 26 year old champion got off to a good start using his speed against the older challenger. Unfortunately for Fujimoto however the steam began to go from his sails in the second half of the fight as Takehara began to make things a little bit interesting. Unfortunately however, for the challenger, Takehara left him self too little time to do what he needed and despite having an excellent round 10 he was unable to stop the champion.

Whilst this maybe the final defense Fujimoto makes it's fair to say that Japanese fans at the Korakuen Hall did witness something very rare and something that had never actually happened before. This was the first ever time the Japanese Heavyweight title had been defended!

Boytsov and Hamer shocked (albeit in different ways)

11/24/2013

They often say that the Heavyweight division is the sports east predictable division. Whilst no division is totally predictable no other division has such big men wailing away on each other, no other division has the explosiveness of the Heavyweights and no division has the high profile of the Heavyweight division. Sure it's not everyone's favourite division but it is one that is universally interesting when well matched fighters face each other.

The unpredictability of the division was shown up this past Saturday in several contests as we had our share of action in a day that was genuinely massive in the boxing world.

The biggest shock of the day was in Germany where Russia's once promising Denis Boytsov (33-1, 26) was unexpectedly beaten by Australia's hard working but limited Alex Leapai (30-4-3, 24). This contest, which was for the WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight title, twice saw Boytsov dropped as Leapai dominated an uninspired opponent. Prior to this contest the story was that Boytsov was being lined up to fight Wladimir Klitschko, fan should be relieved that they won't be needing to see that.

On the same show as Leapai's shock victory there was also a decision in favour of the promising Otto Wallin (4-0, 3) who went the distance against Tomas Mrazek (7-44-6, 5). This was the first time Wallin had gone the distance though it's great that the youngster is getting rounds under his belt and he now has 10 rounds of action in the space of just over 5 months,

Although the Boytsov/Leapai bout was the most important of the day it was probably the second most watched thanks to a big fight in Macau between the rotund Andy Ruiz Jr (21-0, 15) and former "Prizefighter" winner Tor Hamer (21-3, 14). Hamer, who started well and fought on an even keel for two rounds, quit after the third round as things began to turn against him. This bout, for the WBO Inter-Continental and NABF Heavyweight titles, may well be the final bout for Hamer who was apparently dropped by his promoter following the loss.

If Hamer has been let go by his promoters then that may be the most shocking boxing incident of the weekend, even more so than the awful stoppage in the Froch/Groves fight in the UK.

Hamer wasn't the only American in action as there was several bouts stateside. Of those the most notable was that of Alexis Santos (12-0, 10) who was taken beyond 4 rounds for the first time in his career. Fighting against Kevin Franklin (4-8, 1), Santos was forced to go the 6 round distance to take the victory. Although this result sees an 8 fight stoppage run coming to an end it will likely serve Santos the world of good knowing that he can do 6.

As well as Santos's victory there was also success for Charles Jerome (1-0), who defeated fellow debutant William Monroe (0-1), Tyyab Beale (9-3-1, 3), who took an 8 round decision over Jon Bolden (6-7, 5), and Khalib Whitmore (3-0, 2) who defeated Martez Williamson (1-4) via 2nd round TKO.

Maddalone Vs Smith ends in a draw, could it be the end for Vinny?

11/23/2013

The American Heavyweight scene might only be a shadow of what it once way but it still gives us some entertainment every so often. This past Friday was one such night for fans spread across the states thanks to several interesting contests.

The highest profile bout of the evening was in New York where the always entertaining Vinny Maddalone (37-8-1, 28) fought to an unexpected 8 round draw with Maurenzo Smith (12-7-3, 9). In all honesty it was probably Smith who deserved the nod and Maddalone, who has been in with Tyson Fury and Tomasz Adamek amongst others is clearly coming to the end of his very fun career.

In California there were two bouts. One of those saw Javier Torres (6-0-1, 3) taking a surprisingly close decision over Kevin Howard (3-12-1, 1) whilst the other saw Justin Davenport (1-0-1, 1) stopping the previously unbeaten Justin Goslee (2-1, 2) in just 2 minutes of their bout.

At the Twin River Event Center in Rhode Island Jesse Barboza (7-1-1, 5) scored his most notable victory to date as he defeated the more experienced Arthur Saribekian (23-5-1, 18) via 2nd round TKO

In the Star Plaza Theatre in Indiana Raphael Murphy (8-0, 7) was taken the distance for the first time in his career as Grover Young (7-11-1, 4) took him 6 rounds. On the same show Felix Abner (4-3, 3) took out the winles Francois Russell (0-6).

On a show in Florida James Hammortree (1-0, 1) scored a debut victory against fellow debutant Richard White (0-1) whilst the promising Nat Heaven (8-0, 6) stopped Theo Kruger (10-12-2, 3) to extend his winning record.

Out side of the US in South Africa there were two more Heavyweight contests. One of those saw Elvis Moyo (4-5-2, 1) taking a majority decision over Osborne Machimana (18-8-2, 13), who British fans may remember losing to David Price. The other contest saw the undefeated Kevin Lerena (9-0, 6) out pointing the wunderfully named Big Ben Marcell Mulumba (1-1).

The most mysterious contest of the night appears to have been in Argentina where Jorge Alberto Ramos (2-11-0-1, 2) fought to a 1 round no decision with Jose Manuel Farias (2-2-1-1). Sadly we've no details about what happened here, though we'd love it if someone can let us no.

Glazkov's unbeaten run continues, Teper scores big KO, Tua retires

11/18/2013

Some days are bigger than others and this past Saturday was one of the busiest in recent memory for the Heavyweight division which appeared to have a bit of everything. Including things we can't even attempt to explain.

First we began with action in Oceanic region with contests in both Australia and New Zealand, with the more notable of the two being New Zealand, for once.

It was in New Zealand that former Heavyweight title contender David Tua (52-5-2, 43) finally got sent to retirement dropping a decision to man mountain Alexander Ustinov (29-1, 21). These two battled each other for the WBA Pan African Heavyweight title, if anyone can explain how then we'll happily reward you in some way, a title that now belongs in Ustinov's hands courtesy of a unanimous decision. The loss for Tua, his second successive loss, saw him later announcing his retirement.

On the same card there was a second Heavyweight contest as Bobby Tuigamala (1-0, 1) stopped Clint Foai (0-4) in the second round.

Over in Australia fans got to see fringe contender Mark de Mori (25-1-2, 22) taking a rare decision as he over-came the generally testing Ivica Perkovic (20-22, 15) to claim the WBF Heavyweight via a 12 round decision. On the same card here Hunter Sam (8-2-2, 4) out pointed Clarence Tillman (11-14-2, 6) for the World Boxing Foundation Asia Pacific Heavyweight title. We'll be honest we're hoping this will lead to a Mori/Sam bout in 2014.

Whilst Tua was a big name in the 1990's and early 2000's a new emerging name in the division was in action in the USA as Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov (16-0-1, 11) extended his loss-less streak. Glazkov, fighting late replacement Garrett Wilson (13-7-1, 7), put on an enjoyable encounter though maybe not one that would have interested fans like the original bout, which was to be Glazkov v Tomasz Adamek, would have done.

Although one big puncher, Tua, retired another seemed to almost kick start his career this past Saturday as Erkan Teper (12-0, 8) scored an eye catching KO over Martin Rogan (16-5, 8). This KO, which happened inside a round in Germany, can be seen in the GIF at the bottom of this page. Unfortunately at 31 years of age Teper hasn't got too much time to waste.

On the same German show Franz Rill (4-0, 3) stopped Ivo Andelic (8-2-1, 3) and veteran Luan Krasniqi (31-4-1, 14) defeated former Thai fighter Uwe Hueck (0-1) via decision. The Krasniqi/Hueck fight was the main event and fought with the procededs to go to charity.

On a different German show Nico Feulner (1-0, 1) defeated Stefan Albers (0-4) in just 55 seconds.

In the UK the promising AJ Carter (4-0, 2) scored his most notable victory to date stopping Radek Linka (5-2, 5) in the second round.

The least important contest of the day came in Poland where the debuting Wlodzimierz Letr (0-1) was defeated Cruiserweight Artsiom Charniakevich (1-1, 1).

Low level Friday fights

11/16/2013

Sometimes the action in the Heavyweight division can be some what lacking. That's exactly what we had this past Friday with the only bouts that we have results for coming at a very low level.

In Hungary this saw Tibor Balogh (12-1-2, 8) stopping Zoltan Somosi (15-10, 7) inside a round. It took just a round longer for Nikola Milacic (2-0, 2) to get rid of Radovan Kuca (0-10-1) in nearby Germany.

In Britain we had two bouts, the most telling of which was a 16 second (yes, you read that right) blast out by Adam Machaj (2-0, 2) who took out Deyan Mihailov (1-5-2) in amazingly quick fashion. Machaj was joined by on that card by Paul Drago (4-0) (original name Pavelas Nevedomskis) who managed to out point Danny Fleary (2-0) over 4 rounds.

The highest profile bout of the night was in the US as Elijah McCall (12-3-1, 11) swiftly dispatched of the limited Ricky Thompson (3-7-1, 2) who suffered his fifth stoppage loss in 11 bouts courtesy of a first round TKO.

Ric Flair, Michael Sprott, the Shadow of James Toney and Anthony Joshua!

11/15/2013

Thursday night saw the latest edition of "Prizefighter" as the 8 man tournament returned for a special "USA v UK" edition at Heavyweight. Whether you like them or not "Prizefighter" is something that appears to be here to stay and in all honesty we enjoy them. As said several times last night on various forums "they may not be world class boxing but they are usually fun" and that's what draws the neutrals in.

Sadly we, the hardcore, are out numbered so any boxing is better than no boxing.

The tournament, which featured James Toney, Jason Gavern, Damian Wills, Brian Minto (team USA) and Michael Sprott, Tom Little, Matt Legg and Larry Olubamiwo (team UK) may have been a case of has-beens and who? But it was fun, mainly due to Jason Gavern who genuinely was bundle of fun.

The first round of fights saw the aforementioned Gavern defeating Olubamiwo (10-4, 9) by decision with "The War Machine" suffering a knockdown; Brian Minto defeating Tom Little (3-2) via what appeared to be a clear decision in the eyes of everyone but the sole judge who had Little winning; James Toney stopping the completely out classed Matt Legg (6-2, 2) and Michael Sprott coming through against Damian Wills (31-4-1, 24).

Following the quarter finals we were left with Gavern v Toney and Sprott against Minto. Despite the quarters being some what unmemorable the semi's were certainly exciting and genuinely interesting. The first saw Gavern taking a majority decision over Toney (76-9-3-2, 46) in a bout that featured more than it's share of entertainment with the third round in particular being great fun. The second saw arguably the fight of the night with both Sprott and Minto going at it for the 3 rounds. Unfortunately for Minto (38-7, 24) it was he who came up short losing a close decision.

This left us with a final of Sprott against Gavern (25-16-4, 11), who had been sending the crowd into fits of "wooo", a la professional wrestler Ric "The Nature Boy" Flair. Unfortunate the final failed to live up to the excitement of the semi-finals as Gavern suffered an elbow injury that really troubled him in the final round of a bout that Sprott (40-21, 17) won with a safety first approach.

As well as the Prizefighter there was, as mentioned, a bout featuring Olympic gold medal winner Anthony Joshua (3-0, 3). Joshua, fighting over-weight Croatian Hrvoje Kisicek (5-7, 1), was given arguably the most pointless work out of his career so far. Although it's fine to do things slowly at this point in Joshua's career this really wasn't a match worth making. In all honest, Joshua will have had a more meaningful work out by getting out of bed. Kisicek, who had extended Hughie Fury 6 rounds just a few weeks ago looked dreadful here and the result, a second round TKO for Joshua, said more about Fury than it did about Joshua.

Across the Atlantic in the US we had yet more Heavyweight action.

Hard hitting American prospect Charles Martin (12-0-1, 10) surprisingly stopped the usually durable Joey Dawejko (8-3-2, 3) in the fourth round, after dropping him in the third. This was on a show that also featured an opening round blow out for Greek-born American Thanasis Michaloudis (6-0, 6) who swiftly despatched Robert Dunton (9-10-1, 6).

Cuban extends unbeaten run

11/13/2013

Former Cuban amateur standout Robert Alfonso (3-0) continued his unbeaten professional run this past Tuesday night as he scored his third successive victory. Alfonso, fighting journeyman Jamal Woods (3-9-1, 3), won every round of a 4 round contest as he continued on the right track.

Alfonso, who we did worry about weight wise managed to come in at just over 244lbs. Still over what we would imagine his best fighting weight would be, but still better than what he was last time out.