Saturday, December 18, 2010
BERNARD AND CANUCK FAVORITE DRAW AFTER 12
Montreal, Canada – Jean Pascal, (174.1 lbs), Quebec, Canada D 12 Bernard Hopkins, (174.6), Philadelphia, PA (WBC 175 lb. title) Pascal (26-1-1, 16 KOs) and the never say die Hopkins (51-5-1, 32 KOs) put on a surprisingly interesting fight in front of a raucous pro-Pascal crowd. After Pascal knocked down Hopkins in round one (the first time in over a decade), it looked like Hopkins’ finally got old. When Hopkins hit the canvas again in the fourth, he was older. But Hopkins’ subtle body work began to show in the sixth round. Hopkins was in control until the tenth when Pascal decided he wanted to keep his title. The championship rounds saw both men go toe-to-toe until the final bell. The two knockdowns were huge for Pascal as the scorecards read Hopkins 114-112 and 113-113, 114-114.
STOP THE PRESSES: PAULIE SCORES A KO!
Paul Malignaggi, (148.8), Brooklyn, NY TKO 6 Michael Lozada, (148.6), Mexico City, MX. Upset alert!! Malignaggi (28-4, 6 KOs) makes his welterweight debut with his new Golden Boy promoters an upset of sort, he actually scored a stoppage of Lozano (36-7-1 29 KOs) at 2:33 of round six. Dominating from the opening bell the Maligning faced a weaker caliber opponent than what he is usually is accustomed to. Maligning used speed and skill and the sixth round it was clear that Lozano had no fight in him. Complaining to the referee and lifting the leg of his opponent, a move that cost Lozada a point. Referee Jean Guy Brosseau stopped the mismatch with Lozano in trouble and caught in the corner.
ESPN IN ESPANOL
Tijuana, Mexico– Erik Morales, (139.7), San Ysidro, CA UD 12 Francisco Lorenzo, (138.3), Irvington, NJ. Mexican legend Morales (51-6, 35 KOs) had all he could handle and more against late sub Lorenzo (35-9, 16 KOs). Lorenzo applied constant pressure on Morales the entire fight but Morales landed the harder and sharper blows. Morales grazed Lorenzo with a right hand in round five never hurting the Dominican. Both combatants were not afraid of exchanging blows late in the fight as the outcome was still in question. Scores were 116-111, 114-113, and 115-112.
Alejandro Sanabria, Mexico City, MX TKO 2 Sergio Lopez, Ensenada, MX. Sanabria (26-1, 21KOs) had a short workout with Lopez (12-3, 8KOs). Sanabria hurt Lopez with a hard right hand making him back up to the ropes. A hook from Samaria had Lopez drop his hands and from there it was only a matter of time before referee Juan Morales Lee jumped in. Time was 1:42.
FOX SPORTS NET IN MEXICO AS WELL!
Campeche, MX– Ramon Garcia, (107), La Paz, Mexico UD 12 Omar Soto, (107), Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. (WBO 108 lb. title) Garcia (15-1-1, 8 KOs) having been credited with knockdowns of Soto (15-7-1, 6 KOs) in rounds four and ten, wins easily with scores of 120-106, 119-107, and 118-108.
ARCE TAKES OUT SEMI-STIFF?
Jorge Arce, (121.5), Sinaloa, MX TKO 1 Adolfo Ramos, (121.5), Monitos, Colombia. Arce (56-6-2, 43 KOs) had an easy time here flooring Ramos (16-11-1, 10 KOs) early in the first round. Arce then began raining punches in bunches until the end at 2:06 of the first.
WBO CHAMP HAS CLOSE CALL
Berlin, Germany– Marco Huck, (199), Bielefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany SD 12 Denis Lebedev, (198), Chekhov, Russia (WBO 200 lb. title) In a close tension filled fight between champion Huck (31-1, 23 KOs) and previously unbeaten #1 challenger Lebedev (21-1, 16 KOs) it was Huck who landed the heavier shots against the heavy pressure from Lebedev. Lebedev had no answer for Huck’s right hand and was cut over the left eye in round nine. Lebedev made it close by pouring it on in the final two rounds but in the end the scoring went 115-113 twice for Huck and 116-112 for Lebedev.
Alexander Povetkin, (229.5), Moscow, Russia UD 10 Nicolai Firtha, (259 lb), Akron, OH. Povetkin (21-0, 15 KOs) wins easily over Firtha (19-8-1, 8 KOs). Povetkin was in control the entire fight and clearly won though Firtha was competitive until the end. Scores were 98-92, 100-90, and 99-91. Afterward, Povetkin said he may have broken his right hand in round one
Yoan Hernandez, (199), Halle an der Saale, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany TKO 1 Ali Ismailov, (197.5), Saint Petersburg, Russia. Hernandez (23-1, 12 KOs) scores an easy win over Ismailov (18-4-1, 13 KOs). Hernandez staggers Ismailov with a right to the chin and Ismailov falls through the ropes and the “fight” was stopped. Time was 2:23.
Mar del Plata, Argentina– Luis Lazarte, Mar del Plata, Argentina D 12 Ulises Solis, Jalisco, MX (IBF 108 lb. title) Lazarte (48-9-1, 18 KOs) retained his title against former champion Solis (32-2-2, 21 KOs) by majority draw. The official judges’ scorecards read 113-113 twice and 117-109 for Solis. It was a sloppy match; many of the rounds were very hard to score. Lazarte was penalized a point in rounds four and ten for hitting Solis behind the head.
Edwin “Ace” Ayala