The highlight of the day was in the US as many fans got their first glimpse of Cuban banger Luis Ortiz (21-0-0-1, 18). Ortiz, ranked #2 by the WBA, may be one of the best Heavyweight's "you've never seen" though got a chance to show case his skills, speed and accuracy as he stopped the tough Monte Barrett (35-11-2, 20) in just 4 rounds. The Cuban looked classy and skilled from the opening bell though a southpaw straight left in round 4 was the real highlight as he broke Barrett's nose and forced the referee to step in.
Ortiz's victory was the 4th Heavyweight bout on the card and followed a controversial KO from the unbeaten Gerald Washington (12-0, 9) who landed the fight ending blow on Skipp Scott (16-2, 10) when Scott was on a knee. The decision for Lou Moret to allow the KO to stand will likely be over-turned and the bout should be a no contest. For the first round it was looking like an entertaining, though relatively unskilled, brawl.
Prior to Washington fans got to see Olympian Dominic Breazeale (10-0, 9) taken the distance for the first time in his career. Breazeale, taking a big step up to fight Nagy Aguilera (19-8, 13) found out that he's not going to knock out everyone he touches but this was the sort of bout that will help him develop a lot, lot more than his previous 9.
Breazeale wasn't the only man to see his KO streak come to an end as Michael Hunter (4-0, 3) was given 6 good rounds by Rodney Hernandez (5-2-1, 1).
Witht he victories for Washington, Breazeale and Hunter it appears that the US is starting to see an interesting new generation in the Heavyweight division and we certainly can't complain about it.
Whilst the major action was in the US, Australia had an interesting domestic competition dubbed "Last Man Standing" that was similar to the "Prizefighter" competitions done in the UK.
The competition saw former OPBF and Australian champion Michael Kirby (14-4-2-1, 8) come out on top with victories over Nathan Briggs (21-7, 16), in his quarter final, and over Tafa Misipati (1-3) in the semi final.
Interestingly Misipati scored his first career victory in his quarter final as he over-came Kingsley Enedeghe (1-5) via a decision that needed an extra round. The men were drawn over 3 rounds forcing a 4th round decider.
On the opposite side of the competition it was MMA fighter Tai Tuivasa (3-1, 2) who impressed as he beat Brett Smith (13-9-2, 7) in his opening fight and then Willie Nasio (3-1, 3) in his quarter final.
Nasio had beaten Royce Sio (1-3, 1) in just 37 in a very impressive performance.
Although Tuivasa was only the runner up some have said his performances were so impressive as novice they they are more excited about him now than of anyone else who was in action in the card.