Six world titles were disputed this weekend where four came out with new champions and one titlist losing his before he even threw the first punch. It was also a heavy dose of the Philippines-Mexico rivalry as the two former Spanish colonies clashed in three of the six tiffs going 1, 1 and 1, that is win, loss and draw. A not so shabby action-packed weekend followed up the most watched PPV fight of the year. Yet, skeptics said sweet science is dead.
South Africa adds another titlist
The weekend started in South Africa as hometown hero Moruti Mthalane (25-2, 16 KOs) claimed the vacant IBF Flyweight title over Julio Cesar Miranda (30-5-1, 23 KOs) of Mexico. A lopsided unanimous decision win for the Johannesburg native who controlled, outworked and outlasted Miranda all throughout the fight. The scores are 117-111, 117-111 and 118-111.
Mthalane showed flashes of brilliance in his title challenge over the then IBF flyweight titlist Nonito Donaire last November. He swung the momentum over in his favor as the fight developed after Donaire started strong. A cut over Mthalane’s eye caused by a blow hindered himself from moving past the sixth canto as advised by the referee and ringside physician. With Donaire moving up in weight, Mthalane was given another opportunity to fight for the same title. An opportunity he didn’t waste.
South African pugilists flew under the radar this year and managed to secure world title belts without much fanfare except of course in the streets of Johannesburg. Mthalane succeeded Isaac Hlatshwayo’s hard-fought win over Delvin Rodriguez in Rodriguez’s home turf in Connecticut last August to win the vacant IBF welterweight title; while Simphiwe Nongqayi surprised the boxing world by outslugging the durable Jorge Arce in Cancun for the vacant IBF super flyweight title two months ago.
Super Six upset
The last American gold medalist in the Olympics, Andre Ward (21-0, 13 KOs), seem to be in a similar position Saturday night as he became the only American to win in the first stage of Showtime’s Super Middleweight Classic. Ward captured the WBA Super Middleweight title by upsetting Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs), the tournament top seed, by technical decision in the 11th round. The ringside physician stopped the fight because of the bad cut over Kessler’s right eye. The cut was caused by an accidental head butt, one of many in a not so technical show of wares for both fighters. The scores are 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93.
Kessler’s anticipated unification bout against WBC title holder Carl Froch in the tournament’s second stage goes down the drain. Ward will instead defend the title against fellow American Jermain Taylor. It is still up in the air whether Taylor will continue after two straight brutal stoppages in his previous fights. The current tournament leader Arthur Abraham inflicted a perfectly placed right straight in the 12th round against Taylor that sends shivers down Taylor supporters.
Sonsona lost title in the morning and the perfect record later
The Philippines’ latest boxing sensation, 19-year old Marvin Sonsona lost his WBO Junior Bantamweight title in the weigh-in as he came in 2.6 pounds over the 115-lb. limit. Blame it on physiology or as what his handlers are saying as a “young man growing into a man”. He is expected to skip the bantamweight division and move right up to the 122-lb. class.
Later in the evening, the fight did not do well for Sonsona (14-0-1, 12 KOs) either as he smudged his perfect record by drawing with Mexico’s Alejandro Hernandez (22-7-2, 11 KOs). The scores are a pair of 115-113 favoring each fighter and a 114-114 on the third scorecard.
This is the second straight time that Ontario hosted a Sonsona title fight. His success against former title holder Jose “Carita” Lopez gained the teenager quite a following. Canada, by the way, unlike majority of other boxing hosts carries out the official weigh-in the morning of the fight.
Mayol stuns Sosa
Fifth time is a charm for what seems to be eternity for perennial title challenger Rodel Mayol (26-4-1, 20 KOs) of the Philippines. Mayol upsets Mexico’s Edgar Sosa (37-6, 21 KOs) in Sosa’s 11th defense of the WBC Light Flyweight title via second round stoppage.
Mayol dropped Sosa in the first round following an accidental head butt that cut Sosa. Mayol again knocked Sosa down in the second round with relentless combinations. Sosa survived the count but was immediately under Mayol’s constant attack prompting the referee to stop the contest.
Mayol previously lost and drew against Ivan Calderon for his 4th and 3rd title attempts in abbreviated fights because of, ironically, accidental head butts. He also lost to Ulises Solis and Eagle Den Junlaphan in his other title cracks.
4 months postponement ended in 88 seconds
Giovanni Segura (22-1-1, 18 KOs) was suppose to meet Sonny Boy Jaro (30-8-5, 19 KOs) last July but due to Jaro’s visa issues, Segura ended up stopping late replacement Juanito Rubillar in the sixth round. Four months later, Jaro finally got his paper work in order and arrived in Mexico to challenge Segura. It turned out Rubillar was more competitive as Jaro was stopped in 88 seconds of the first round by a vicious body shot. Segura keeps his WBA Light Flyweight title.
There were talks of a possible Segura-Sosa unification bout prior to Saturday night. Unfortunately, only Segura lived up to expectations as Sosa lost his title to Mayol. Segura against Mayol is not a bad idea as both made short work of their respective opponents where planning it for early next year is feasible. Revenge for their fellow countrymen can be a good promoting backdrop to the unification bout. The fight can be included in a Latin Fury or Pinoy Power card since Segura is a Top Rank fighter and Mayol is promoted by Manny Pacquiao.
Erdei wins close decision over Fragomeni
Kiel, Germany hosted a fairly entertaining WBC Cruiserweight title fight where Hamburg-based Hungarian Zsolt Erdei (31-0, 17 KOs) dethroned Italy’s Giacobbe Fragomeni (26-2-1, 10 KOs) in a very close majority decision that might have altering results if held in a neutral site. The scores are 115-113, 115-113 and 114-114.
Fragomeni from my vantage point, albeit streaming view off cyberspace, seem to be winning as he easily walked over Erdei’s punches. Something expected because of Erdei’s significant disadvantage in Friday’s weigh-in. Fragomeni weighed in at 195.8 lbs. to Erdei’s 178.8 lbs. Fragomeni had far more heavier connects but Erdei’s tenacity and volume seem to favor the judges’ criteria.
Erdei just last week had to relinquish the WBO Light Heavyweight title he held for more than five years to move up to the 200-lb. weight class. His gamble paid off as he becomes the first Hungarian to win world titles in two divisions. Fragomeni won the title last October against Rudolf Kraj after David Haye vacated. He managed a split draw against Krzysztof Wlodarczyk six months ago to retain the title.
Dennis Carreon can be reached at denniscmc@gmail.com
