The best punch trackers on the market
10th August 2021
By: Eric Armit
The Past Week in Action
Highlights:
Kid Galahad stops James Dickens in eleven rounds to win the vacant IBF featherweight title
-Michael Conlan outpoints JT Doheny to collect the vacant WBA interim featherweight title and Lee McGregor and Tyrone McKenna score victories on the Belfast card
-Gabriel Maestre gets heavily criticized verdict over Mykal Fox to pick up the vacant WBA interim welterweight title and on the same show Eimantas Stanionis vs. Luis Collazo ends as a Technical Draw and Lucas Santamaria gets points win over Devon Alexander
-Mike Hunter, Chris Algieri and Ivan Golub return to action with wins.
-Unbeaten heavyweight hopefuls Fabio Wardley and Alen Babic score inside the distance victories
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World Title/Major Shows
6 August
Belfast, NI:
Feather: Michael Conlan (16-0) W PTS 12 TJ Doheny (22-3).
Bantam: Lee McGregor (11-0) W KO 4 Vincent Legrand (32-1).
Super Light: Tyrone McKenna (22-2-1) W PTS 10 Jose Felix (39-5-1).
Conlan vs. Doheny
Conlan collects the vacant WBA interim belt with unanimous decision over Doheny in a fiercely fought contest. There was lots of prodding and probing over the first two rounds with Conlan using a southpaw guard and doing the better work in the first and Doheny bringing his left into play and edging the second. Doheny applied plenty of pressure in the third but Conlan worked well with his jab and scored with some good counters and all three rounds had been close. Conlan clearly took the fourth working hard with his jab and clouting Doheny with a left with Doheny not throwing enough punches and he was showing a swelling below his left eye.
The fifth saw the first sustained exchanges with Conlan scoring well with right hooks to the body. He drove Doheny to the ropes and connected with a right hook to the body that saw Doheny drop to one knee. He was up immediately and given a count. Doheny buckled at the knees under more body punches but then fired back and Conlan was forced to retreat but a 10-8 round for Conlan. A low punch from Conlan in the sixth saw him get a warning and then Doheny dominated the round with Conlan spending much of the time pinned to the ropes.
Doheny pressed hard in the seventh but Conlan, switching guards, was working well with his jab throughout the round and landed lefts to the body to outwork Doheny. It was a similar story in the eighth as Conlan boxed orthodox scoring consistently with his jab and he took the round although buzzed by a right before the bell and was showing a cut on his left cheek. The ninth was close with Doheny attacking hard early and late and Conlan doing the scoring boxing on the outside and taking the points with his cleaner work.
The tenth was another close round with Doheny managing to turn it into a brawl which suited him better and he attacked hard throughout the eleventh to take that one. Conlan had more left and he outlanded Doheny in the last, Scores 116-111 twice and 119-108 for Conlan. A bit of a confidence boost after he only just squeezed past Ionut Baluta on a majority decision in April but that is the past. There may be interest in a fight with Leigh Wood who won the secondary WBA title last week or even the new IBF champion Kid Galahad.
Doheny gave it a good shot here but was lucky to be fighting for the title having lost over eight rounds to Baluta-but this is the ‘Worst Boxing Association’ and both Conlan and Doheny were unrated until suddenly being parachuted in at No’s 4 and 5 in the rating of 31 July!
McGregor vs. Legrand
McGregor is still European champion after coming off the floor to break down unbeaten Legrand and finish him with a body punch in the fourth. Both fighters settled quickly. McGregor was coming forward jabbing well and finding the target with rights and southpaw Legrand had success with left hooks to the body. McGregor was scoring well with rights in the second and looked to be on the way to winning the round when a combination of punches sent him down. When he arose and the action resumed Legrand fired a barrage of punches but the bell went before he could do any more damage.
McGregor came forward behind a high guard throughout the third. He was getting through with uppercuts from both hands and left hooks to the body and Legrand looked to be wilting. McGregor continued to buzz Legrand with uppercuts in the fourth and then dug in a vicious right to the ribs and Legrand dropped to one knee. Although he tried to rise he couldn’t beat the count. First defence of the European title for McGregor and his second impressive win over French opposition.
He is rated No 3 by the IBF. However the title holder Naoya Inoue knocked out No 1 Michael Dasmarinas in June and the No 2 slot is vacant. McGregor can’t go to the No 1 spot as he has not beaten an opponent in the IBF ratings. The bantams are strong in the UK with Charlie Edwards, Khalid Yafai, Paul Butler and Ukashir Farooq all attractive domestic matches if they could be made and former WBC champion Nordine Oubaali is another possibility. Since relinquishing the European flyweight title in 2018 Legrand had scored five wins but all in six round fights showing a lack of ambition-or opportunity.
McKenna vs. Felix
McKenna floors Felix early and is floored himself on the way to a unanimous decision in an exciting scrap. McKenna went in front early being credited with a knockdown in the opening round that looked more like a slip. McKenna seemed to have scored a genuine knockdown in the second but it was not counted.
Felix put McKenna down with a body shot in the third. The action was even hotter over the middle rounds with McKenna making full use of his edges in height and reach to punish Felix both a distance and on the way in. He rocked Felix in the seventh Felix was taking punishment but was not deterred and kept taking the fight to McKenna and McKenna had to fight hard to stay in front making for an entertaining scrap. McKenna was cut over his right eye and Felix had heavy swelling around his right eye McKenna was winning the rounds but not by much. Felix put in a strong last round but by then McKenna had the fight won.
Scores 99-91, 97-91 and 97-92 for McKenna. Good bounce-back victory for McKenna after losing a majority decision to Ohara Davies in September. He wins the vacant WBO Inter-Continental belt. At one time Felix was 35-1-1 with the loss being to Bryan Vazquez for the interim WBA super feather title in 2014 but he is now 4-4 in his last 8 fights.
7 August
Brentwood, England:
Feather: Kid Galahad (28-1) W RTD 11 James Dickens (30-4).
Heavy: Fabio Wardley (12-0) W TKO 1 Nick Webb (17-3).
Heavy: Alen Babic (8-0) W RTD 5 Mark Bennett (7-2).
Galahad vs. Dickens
Galahad wins the vacant IBF title as a bloody Dickens retires after the eleventh round.
Round 1
A lively opening round saw both fighters have some success, Galahad switched guard at times with Dickens sticking to his southpaw stance and connecting with good straight lefts but with Galahad that bit quicker and just taking the round. Dickens was cut over his left eye in a clash of heads.
Score: 10-9 Galahad
Round 2
Galahad dominated the second. Again he was constantly switching guard but whichever way around he was quicker and more accurate and put together some crisp combinations forcing Dickens on to the back foot.
Score: 10-9 Galahad Galahad 20-18
Round 3
Dickens was jabbing strongly at the start of the round but gradually Galahad took control. He was finding gaps for both his right and left jabs, outworking Dickens and connecting with some strong body punches.
Score: 10-9 Galahad Galahad 30-27
Round 4
A better round for Dickens. He worked hard with his jab throughout the rounds and knocked Galahad off balance with a left. Galahad was coming up short with his punches and Dickens landed a sharp right uppercut late in the round.
Score: 10-9 Dickens Galahad 39-37
Round 5
Galahad’s round. He was jabbing quickly and accurately with either hand and scoring to the body. He was putting together bursts of punches forcing Dickens onto the back foot and the pressure saw Dickens work become ragged under the speed and variety of Galahad’s punches.
Score: 10-9 Galahad Galahad 49-46
Round 6
The sixth was one-sided. Galahad was picking Dickens off at distance with jabs and hooks and punishing Dickens when he came forward. No matter what Dickens did Galahad was finding him an easy target, He was constantly moving around Dickens landing punches from different angles and with different hands and blood was seeping from Dickens’ nose.
Score: 10-9 Galahad Galahad 59-55
Round 7
Dickens found a way into the fight in the seventh managing to land a series of good punches. Galahad looked to be taking a breather in what was quiet round for him which allowed Dickens to claw back a point.
Score: Dickens 10-9 Galahad 68-65
Round 8
A bit of a messy round with too many clinches as a tiring Dickens found it hard to get away from Galahad’s jab. Galahad was able to thread punches through Dickens’ guard and keep control of the action with Dickens face a bloody sight.
Score: 10-9 Galahad Galahad 78-74
Round 9
Galahad rocked Dickens with a left in the ninth and continued to rack up the points as he slotted jabs through Dickens’ guard. Dickens tried hard to get inside but was taking too much punishment and was on the ropes under heavy pressure at the end of the round.
Score: 10-9 Galahad Galahad 88-83
Round 10
Dickens got through with a hard left in the early action but again was continually under fire from Galahad’s jab and did not look to have much left as Galahad piled on the punishment shaking Dickens with a body shot. Galahad had been warned a few times for stepping on Dickens’ foot and when he did it again the referee deducted a point.
Score: 9-9 Galahad 97-92.
Round 11
Dickens fought bravely through a painful eleventh doing what he could to stay in the fight but his face was a mask of blood. He had nothing left to give and his team retired him at the end of the round.
Galahad gets his second win over Dickens having stopped him in two rounds for the British super bantamweight title way back in 2013. There might be some interest in a return match with Josh Warrington who won a split decision over Galahad in an IBF title defence in June 2019 or even with Leigh Wood now the holder of the secondary WBA title. Dickens had earned his place in this title fight with a run of eight wins including victories over Nathaniel May, Leigh Wood and Ryan Walsh. He will look to regroup and find his way to another title chance.
Wardley vs. Webb
Wardley survives a frantic start from Webb to batter Webb to defeat after 2:30 of the opening round. Webb went straight after Wardley jabbing and moving in to throw right crosses. Webb continued to come forward throwing punches with Wardley being backed up and on the defensive and looking to be in trouble as Webb unloaded chopping rights. Wardley suddenly went on the attack and shook Webb and forced him to the ropes.
Wardley pounded Webb with a barrage of punches with Webb floundering and after a couple of neck-snapping shots from Wardley the referee jumped in just as Webb fell to the canvas. For a while it looked as though Wardley might be in serious trouble but he comes away with his eleventh win by KO/TKO. Webb had scored an impressive stoppage of unbeaten German Erik Pfeifer in March but found that Wardley had a stronger chin and a harder punch.
Babic vs. Bennett
Babic beats Bennett in five rounds. Babic was connecting with heavy punches from the start and Bennett lost his mouthguard twice in ten seconds late in the opening round and almost went down just before the bell. The fight turned into a bar room brawl with lots of head down wild punching with Bennett shipping heavy punishment but staying upright marching forward as he had promised and banging back.
Babic was in danger of punching himself out and he tired in the third but over the fourth and fifth he handed out a savage beating and the fight should could have been stopped during either round but wisely Bennett retired after the fifth. All eight of the Croatians’ wins have come inside the distance and he is ready to step up. Bennett showed incredible courage. After the fight Babic proposed to his girlfriend and she accepted so a win/win night for him.
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Minneapolis, MN, USA:
Welter: Gabriel Maestre (4-0) W PTS 12 Mykal Fox (22-3).
Welter: Eimantas Stanionis (13-0, 1ND) ND 4 Luis Collazo (39-8,1ND).
Welter: Lucas Santamaria (12-2-1) W PTS 10 Devon Alexander (27-7-1).
Maestre vs. Fox
Maestre wins the vacant WBA interim title with a unanimous decision over substitute Fox a decision widely described as disgraceful. Fox was 5” taller than Maestre and that difference dictated the tactics with Maestre rolling forward trying to get past Fox’s jab to work to the body or trap him against the ropes. That aggression saw Maestre get past Fox’s jab enough to edge the first. Maestre continued to come forward in the second but overreached himself when throwing a right and a left hook counter from Fox put him down. Maestre was up immediately and landed a good body punch later in the round. Fox stuck to his boxing and Maestre continued to march forward with both having success over the third and fourth which were close but were pocketed by Fox.
At the end of the fourth Fox was in front on all three cards 38-37 twice and 39-36. Maestre managed to get inside to score to the body in the fifth and sixth and although Fox was still landing his right jab and straight lefts Maestre looked to have taken both close rounds. Fox dominated the seventh and eighth as he moved and jabbed frustrating Maestre’s attempts to land anything significant. The judges were now seeing Maestre’s aggression as the deciding factor with two having Maestre in front 76-74 and 76-75 with the third card reading 76-76. Fox boxed cleverly in the ninth continually spearing Maestre with right jabs, snapping his head back with a left hook and landing right hooks inside.
Maestre put in a big effort in the tenth and eleventh to take those rounds but Fox boxed his way through the last and looked a clear winner. The judges did not see it that way as they scored the fight 117-110, 115-112 and 114-113 for Maestre bringing down on themselves a whole chorus of dissent. Lou DiBella was incensed to the point of demanding an investigation into boxing and the WBA. Fox certainly looked to have won this one but Maestre is the now the holder of the interim WBA title.
The 34-year-old Venezuelan double-Olympian said he was willing to give Fox a rematch. Maestre won a slew of medals as an amateur so his short record as a pro is deceptive. Fox came in as a substitute after Cody Crowley, the intended opponent for Maestre, tested positive for COVID-19. Despite having been floored and outpointed by Lucas Santamaria in his last fight Fox was parachuted into the WBA ratings for 31 July at No 12. He did not deserve the title shot but he deserves a return.
Stanionis vs. Collazo
Stanionis looked to be too strong for veteran Collazo. Stanionis took the fight inside from the first bell going to the body with hooks from both hands. Collazo tried to punch with him but was outworked. Stanionis used the same tactics in the second looking to tire the 40-year-old Collazo. In the third Collazo made a fast start but was being hurt by body punches and was rocked by a right. Collazo banged back hard but Stanionis was landing heavy rights and Collazo had a swelling under his left eye.
They were trading punches in the fourth when their heads clashed. Collazo took a step back and went down pawing at a cut near his right eye. Initially it seemed as though the fight would be stopped in the Lithuanian’s favour but then realising Collazo was dazed from the head clash the referee gave Collazo time to recover and when Collazo was still unable to continue and with the fourth round not completed it was declared a No Decision.
Wins over Thomas Dulorme and Justin DeLoach have seen Stanionis rise to No 1 with the WBA and he looked on his way to a win here. Collazo, a former holder of the WBA secondary title, sees his second consecutive fight end due to his suffering a cut. However in that fight against Kudratillo Abdukakhorov in October 2019 as the fight was not stopped until the tenth round and as Abdukakhorov had built a big lead Collazo lost on a technical decision.
Santamaria vs. Alexander
Californian Santamaria achieves a career best win as he gets a wide unanimous verdict over Alexander. The younger man used plenty of movement circling a static Alexander and darting in with jabs and quick rights. Alexander was tending to hold his gloves at thigh level and throw jabs up from there. He had a slightly higher work rate but the pace was slow.
It looked a close fight until Santamaria upped the pace over the late rounds. On punches landed there was not much of a gap between them but it was Santamaria throwing the harder punches who impressed the judges more although the fight looked much closer than the scores suggest. The judges gave the decision to Santamaria 98-92 twice and 97-93. The seesaw swings up again for Santamaria. He had floored and outpointed Mykal Fox in August 2020 but then lost to Paul Kroll in October so he will be hoping to build on this win.
This was Alexander’s first fight for over two years and he was nowhere near meeting the contract weight and had to do a deal to get accepted at 154lbs to Santamaria’s 148 ½ lbs and stated that he had injured his right bicep in the first round. He needs a win as he is now 1-5-1 in his last seven fights.
3 August
New York, NY, USA:
Heavy: Michael Hunter (20-1-1) W TKO 4 Mike Wilson (21-2).
Welter: Chris Algieri (25-3) W PTS 10 Mikkel LesPierre (22-3-1).
Welter: Ivan Golub (20-1) W PTS 10 Eric Walker (20-4).
Light Heavy: Joe Ward (4-1) W PTS 6 Troy Williams (5-1-1).
Hunter vs. Wilson
Hunter stops a brave Wilson in the fourth. Wilson took the fight to Hunter in the first and Hunter let him come and tagged him with some hefty left hooks to the body and rights to the head. Wilson continued to come forward in the second and third but Hunter was raking him with punches and Wilson was floundering under the punishment at the end of the third.
Hunter blasted Wilson with punches in the fourth landing some neck-snapping uppercuts before dropping Wilson with a beautifully timed right counter which put Wilson down. He made it to his feet but was unsteady and bleeding heavily from his nose and the fight was stopped. A good run including victories over Fabio Maldonado and Sergey Kuzmin and a split draw with Alexander Povetkin has seen Hunter reach No 6 with the WBA. This was posted as a WBA eliminator but who knows which version of the four WBA titles it was an eliminator for.
Wilson, 38, had lost to Hunter in the final of the 2007 US National Championships. He had weighed 198 ½ lbs in his last fight in September 2019 but was somehow rated No 14 heavyweight by the WBA. Hunter was 217 ¼ lbs for this fight which would put him comfortably inside the WBC’s Bridgerweight division which might suit him better.
Algieri vs. LesPierre
No sign of rust as former WBO super light champion Algieri outpoints LesPierre in his first fight for over two years. Algieri looked sharp from the start outboxing and outworking LesPierre. Algieri scored with scorching body punches in every round with LesPierre never able to pose a threat. Algieri dealt out unrelenting punishment over the sixth and seventh and although LesPierre had his moments he had to survive a savage onslaught from Algieri in the ninth to last the distance.
Scores 100-90 twice and 99-91 for Algieri. He lost big fights against Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan and Errol Spence but has won his last four fights and was impressive here although at 37 time is running out for him. Trinidadian-born southpaw LesPierre went 21-0-1 at the start of his career but was outclassed and decision by Maurice Hooker in a WBO super light title challenge and was floored twice in losing on points to Jose Pedraza in his last fight in July 2020.
Golub vs. Walker
Ukrainian southpaw Golub comes away with a unanimous verdict against a competitive Walker. It was Walker who settled first and looked to have pocketed the first two rounds with Golub getting into the fight over the third and fourth. The fight turned Golub’s way when he dropped Walker late in the fifth. They both landed well over the next three rounds with Golub putting the decision beyond doubt by flooring Walker in the ninth.
Scores 98-90, 97-91 and 96-92 for Golub. He wins the vacant USBA belt with his seventh victory since losing on points to Jamontay Clark in 2017. Walker, 38, suffers his second loss in a row having dropped a decision against WBA No 1 Israil Madrimov in August last year.
Ward vs. Williams
Irish southpaw Ward remains active with a decision over unbeaten Williams. Ward won all six rounds but suffered a cut in the fifth that may keep him out for a while. Scores 60-54 from the three judges. The 27-year-old Ward was World Junior and Youth champion and a three-time European Championships gold medallist as well was winning two silvers and a bronze at the World Championships. His loss was brought about by a knee injury in the second round of his first pro fight. Williams was having his first fight for two years.
7 August
Ekaterinburg, Russia:
Light: Fedor Papazov (22-4) W KO 9 Arslan Magomedov (7-2-1).
Papazov scores spectacular ninth round kayo victor over Magomedov. Papazov had problems early with the height and reach edges Magomedov enjoyed. In the first as Papazov over reached himself with a jab a left counter sent him back and his knee touched the canvas but the referee did not give a count.
Papazov had success with over hand rights landing heavily in the fourth and opening a cut over the left eye of Magomedov. Papazov tired over the second half of the fight and was caught with heavy rights in the eighth. Magomedov continued to take the fight to Papazov and he became over confident standing and exchanging at short range and a savage straight right from Papazov sent him crashing to the canvas and out.
A valuable win for Papazov as he had lost two of his last three fights. Magomedov was 6-0-2 going in but he showed his inexperience in standing and trading with Papazov.
Fight of the week (Significance): Kid Galahad’s victory over James Dickens should open the door to some big money outings for Galahad.
Fight of the week (Entertainment): Tyrone McKenna and Jose Felix provided ten rounds of action.
Fighter of the week: Kid Galahad the new IBF featherweight title holder
Punch of the week: The right cross from Fedor Papazov that finished Arslan Magomedov was fearsome. Honourable mention to the right from Michael Hunter that floored Mike Wilson which was perfectly timed and executed.
Upset of the week: The points win for Lucas Santamaria over Devon Alexander was a bit of surprise as Santamaria was coming off a loss
Prospect watch: Irish light heavyweight Joe Ward is finally getting fights following a fourteen month layoff and he has a long list of outstanding achievements as an amateur behind him.
Observations
-The fight for the World Boxing Association interim featherweight title between Michael Conlan and TJ Doheny featured cynical behaviour, typical of the WBA. In their ratings published 30 June neither Conlan or Doheny appeared anywhere. In the 31 July ratings Conlan suddenly popped up at No 4 and Doheny at No 5 even though Doheny lost his last fight to Ionut Baluta who is not in the rankings.
Timing is everything. Eduardo Ramirez sent an email to the WBA relinquishing the interim title on 2 August and suddenly Conlan vs. Doheny is for the interim title. Wow that was quick. Imagine Conlan and Doheny managing to be fit and ready at only four days notice! Believe that if you like. Additionally Mykal Fox having lost his last fight did not stop the WBA from popping him in at No 12 one week before he fought Gabriel Maestre for the interim welterweight title.
Timing is everything. At a weekend when there were two WBA interim title fights up pops Gilberto Mendoza-the President of the ‘Worst Boxing Association’- to tell the world that his organisation intends to reduce the number of titles in each division.
President Mendoza filled me with hope. They are going to “gradually eliminate this flexibility we have with titles” I know that I said earlier (2016) that I intend to reduced the numbers of titles and did not do it”
Wow we didn’t notice that-what a surprise!
“I am not saying we intend to keep only one champion in each weight category but in most weight categories. I do not know in which categories the interim champion title will be removed”
Which means they will be retaining interim titles. Cross your fingers Conlan and Maestre that your titles don’t become redundant and if your fighter is offered a chance at a WBA interim title ask for a two year warranty.
“and in what divisions the titles of regular (secondary) and super champions will remain. We intend to add value to our Gold belts”
So to sum up, the WBA President stated they will still have Super, Secondary, interim and Gold titles and he called a press conference to announce this momentous decision and the plan to implement it will be in place-soon!
-I love one promoter’s attempt to solve the problem of a wet and slippy canvas. In a professional show in Egypt on Friday after lots of slipping and sliding they stopped the show and covered the ring in Persian carpets held in place by duct tape. Unfortunately it did not work and had to be ripped up later but you have to give him an ‘A’ for effort.
Two female bouts at the weekend were fought over three minute rounds which seems to be the way things will go. I don’t know enough about any additional health hazards for female boxers in fighting three minute rounds but if they can run marathons and competed in a decathlon why should three minute rounds be too much for them? I guess they could take a gradual approach and replace 10 x 2 minutes with 8 x 3 initially
– One of the fighters going three minutes at the weekend was IBF minimumweight champion Yokasta Valle. She has been told by his father that she is the inspiration for six-year-old Emiliano Herrera who is battling against leukaemia. Yokasta invited him to the fight and made a present to him of her gloves in what was a very moving moment. There are plenty of wonderful people in boxing.
