The past weekend was a busy one for boxing fans, featuring high-profile bouts across contents. Here we delve into the key fights and roundup all the fight action.
Price vs Teper
On Friday evening, Erkan Teper crushed David Price’s hopes of redemption and becoming a major Heavyweight player. Since losing to Tony Thompson twice in 2013, Price showcased greater discipline and poise, but was simply in too deep with the German. Teper proved he’s not just another unbeaten hype job, and took the fight straight to Price, tagging him on several occasions in the 1st round.
Teper seemed fearless as he fought for the European Heavyweight title, capturing victory upon landing a devastating left-hook to the jaw of Price. Following the 2nd round knockout, Price finds himself in a very bad place in his career. Teper is on the up, and could well prove a handful for a lot of other fighters out there. At 6′ 5″ and hungry, expect him to be avoided by many of the division’s biggest prospects.
Frampton vs Gonzalez
Carl Frampton had a meeting with the canvas twice in the 1st round against Alejandro Gonzalez. Frampton didn’t seem particularly hurt, but the knockdowns did build the confidence of Gonzalez, an already tough operator who can bang. Frampton’s own confidence wasn’t hindered, however, and following the card-damaging opener he successfully regrouped to rally back.
Though Gonzalez was always in the fight, and landing enough leather to get his foe’s attention, it was Frampton’s top-notch combinations and speed that secured a Unanimous Decision. Given Frampton’s power, it’s a wonder Gonzalez wasn’t dropped or notably rocked during any of the connecting blows. Frampton had setbacks in this fight, but showed his mettle by rallying back with a big stateside win. Gonzalez’s two point deductions also helped the Northern Ireland fighter on the cards.
Across the pond, rival Scott Quigg had already made an even bigger statement…
Quigg vs Martinez
Scott Quigg blasted out Kiko Martinez in just the 2nd round of their WBA Junior Featherweight championship bout. The Manchester headliner produced a competitive opener which saw Martinez’s pressure paying off. But shortly after the 2nd round got underway, a charging Martinez was tagged by a leg-buckling uppercut. It seemed like a well-timed trap from the undefeated Mancunian.
Quigg immediately let his hands go, unleashing a barrage of vicious blows to the head of Martinez, dropping the Spaniard twice before the referee called it a night. Quigg is one of the sport’s best finishers, and looked like one scary cat in this title defense. What makes it more interesting is that it took Carl Frampton 9 rounds to take out Martinez back in 2013 (a 12 round decision followed in 2014’s Frampton vs Martinez II). It doesn’t necessarily give Quigg an edge over his rival – but it does get you thinking, nonetheless.
On the undercard, Anthony Crolla’s excellent boxing performance was met by awfully inaccurate scorecards. 116-111 was forgivable, but 114-113 and 113-113 pointed to either incompetence or corruption. The scores allowed defending champion Darleys Perez to return home with the WBA Lightweight title. Bitter taste, indeed. For the record, though BoxingBase.com admits a few rounds were close, we had no problems with our own 118-108 score. Crolla was the better, hungrier boxer, and it just wasn’t Perez’s night. Especially after he was deducted two points for low blows.
Best of the Rest: Boxing Results
Arthur Abraham finally settled the score with Robert Stieglitz in their Super Middleweight title fight. After dominating the first 5 rounds, a full-blooded shot from Abraham in the 6th forced Stieglitz to take a knee. Stieglitz regained his feet, but not before his corner threw in the towel. Abraham continues to hold the WBO Super Middleweight title. And he hasn’t lost his punch, either.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr didn’t look spectacular in his return to the ring following a defeat to Andrzej Fonfara, but he got the job done. Chavez Jr worked to a Unanimous Decision, outpointing opponent Marcos Reyes in El Paso, Texas. Nonito Donaire was successful in his second career-rebuilding fight (post Nicholas Walters). Donaire dropped Anthony Settoul three times before scoring a stoppage in the 2nd round.
Ik Yang came up short on the cards, allowing Cesar Cuenca to leave with the vacant IBF Junior Welterweight title. Both men scored knockdowns in the bout, with Yang’s numbers taking a further hit after a 12th round point deduction occurred. Scores came in at 108-117, 109-116, 110-115. Finally, Denis Shafikov outclassed and stopped Roy Mukhlis in the 3rd round of their Lightweight contest in Macau, China.
Let us know your thoughts on Frampton vs Gonzalez, Quigg vs Martinez and the rest of the weekend’s boxing results below.
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