The Boxing Diary

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Monday, July 23, 2018

Wisaksil Wangek stops Young Gil Bae Round 1

Wisaksil Wangek stops Young Gil Bae Round 1 of their world super flyweight title fight on Saturday, 21 July 2018. The fight was held at the Workpoint Studio, Bang Phun inThailand.

Wangek, (46-4-1 41 KOs) also known as Srisaket Sor Rungvisai pummeled Gil Bae from the beginning of the very first round. He showed no respect for whatever the challenger would bring to the table. Rungvisai threw power punches that have every intention to clear the guy out as early as possible.

Gil Bae, (28-7-2 22 KOs) of South Korea showed enormous respect for what the champion has to offer. He operated with caution. He tried to fight from the outside as Rungvisai walked him down with every punch.

From the start, it is obvious that in the power category, Gil Bae had no match with the champion. On paper, the most notable opponent on Gil Bae's record was Rex Tso. He lost to Tso via fourth-round TKO in 2016.

Rungvisai on the other hand had fought top-rated fights on his last three outings. He defeated former pound-for-pound kingpin Roman Gonzalez twice. On his latest outing prior to the Gil Bae fight, he won via majority decision against Juan Francisco Estrada.

At the 2:50 mark, Wisaksil Wangek stops Young Gil Bae Round 1.

The Gil Bae fight was a step-down fight for Rungvisai. He delivered what was expected and did it early. Rungvisai's next fight is scheduled for an opponent yet to be determined. The fight will be held at the Impact Arena, Pak Kret, Thailand.

Rungvisai's stay-busy fight came out as expected. I'm expecting Rungvisai to fight top-rated opponents in the junior bantamweight division next. Jerwin Ancajas or Khalid Yafai topped my list. A showdown with Ancajas would be interesting. Both guys have power on both hands. It will be bombs away.

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Jaime Munguia defends title against Liam Smith

LAS VEGAS (July 21, 2018): Jaime Munguia (30-0, 25 KOs) defended his WBO Junior Middleweight World Championship against former world champion Liam "Beefy" Smith (26-2-1, 14 KOs) via 12-round decision in the main event of HBO Boxing After Dark on Saturday, July 21 in front of 2470 fans at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas. Munguia scored a knockdown with a counter left hook in the sixth round of a back-and-forth battle in which the native of Tijuana, Mexico eventually won with scores of 116-111, 119-110, and 119-108.

"I feel good. I'm happy. I think that the people liked it," said Jaime Munguia. "I didn't win by knockout like I always. This is the fifth decision win of my career. But I fought a good opponent who was strong. I came in very well prepared. There are no excuses and we will keep learning because this gave me a lot of experience. I'm only 21 years old and I will keep working in the gym. Liam Smith is a warrior. He is strong. There were times where I really landed punches, which really backed him up. He's very strong and can take a punch, so I have no excuses. I was always looking for the knockout. I always looked for the fight, and I went in there like a true Mexican. I think going these 12 rounds will serve me as experience."

"I don't think he's a much better fighter than me," said Liam Smith. "It was the body shots that hurt me. I wanted the title I lost two years ago. I want to stay more active than before. I'm usually known for my fitness, but was I winded in this fight. I felt my skill level made the difference in certain parts."

Alberto "Explosivo" Machado (20-0, 16 KOs) of San Juan, Puerto Rico, retained his WBA Super Featherweight World Title by beating previously undefeated Rafael "Sweet Pea" Mensah (31-1, 23 KOs) of Accra, Ghana via 10-round unanimous decision in tonight's co-main event. Machado dropped Mensah with a hard right hook in the first round and hurt him several times en route to earning three scores of 120-107.

"Though I couldn't finish him, I'm happy I went all the rounds because it was an experience I hadn't had before," said Alberto Machado. "I hurt my left hand early, so that's why I stopped throwing the left hand to the body. But I kept to the game plan that Freddie Roach had for me and used the jab and worked from a distance. I'd fight anyone. I have to talk with my promoter first, but I would like fight Francisco Vargas."

"I got hurt early with a shot," said Rafael Mensah."It took four or five rounds for me to come back. He's a tall and lanky fighter and made it tough to come back."

Yamagucho Falcao (16-0, 6 KOs) of Sao Paolo, Brazil scored a 10-round unanimous decision victory against Elias Espadas (17-4, 12 KOs) of Merida, Mexico in a middleweight bout. In what was very controversial battle, Falcao won with scores of 96-92, 96-92, and 95-93.

"We're very happy for the victory," said Yamaguchi Falcao."My opponent was very tough. We appreciate the opportunity with Golden Boy Promotions. There were several stoppages by the official that we feel we're not warranted because Espadas was ducking and coming with his head down. We look forward to the next opportunity.

Puerto Rican prospect Carlos Caraballo (8-0, 8 KOs) passed his toughest test to date as he scored a fifth-round technical knockout win against Jesus Martinez (24-4, 12 KOs) of Monteria, Colombia in a super bantamweight battle originally slated for eight rounds. Caraballo fought a patient fight, wearing Martinez down until the fight was stopped by the referee at the end of the fifth round.

"From the first bell I knew that I could manage this fight," said Carlos Caraballo. "I had him measured from the start. But I needed to fight intelligently because I knew he was a tough opponent. Right now I want to talk with my team to see what's next, but I'll be back soon."

Las Vegas native Blair Cobbs (9-0-1, 5 KOs) scored a technical knockout victory at 1:52 of the second round against Emmanuel Valadez (5-5, 4 KOs) of Agua Prieta, Mexico in a scheduled six-round super welterweight fight.

"I felt great," said Blair Cobbs. "I'm ready to move up. I'm ready to start calling out names. I'm ready to move up the ladder and one day be a contender in the welterweight division. We're just starting, but in the ring I said 'now is the time.' I had just fought earlier this month, but I said 'the time is now,' took a day of rest and came back."

Oleksandr Usyk wins unanimous decision Murat Gassiev

Oleksandr Usyk wins the unanimous decision of Murat Gassiev on Saturday night, 21 July 2018 at the Olimpiyskiy, Moscow, Russia. Usyk unified the cruiserweight division and won the World Boxing Super Series.

Usyk, (15-0, 11 KOs) continued the winning streak and got the nod of all three judges. The scorecards read 120-108, 119-109, 119-109 for the unanimous decision win.

From the start, Usyk displayed superior movement and generalship inside the ring. He was moving around and sticking with his jab in a southpaw stance. The Ukrainian fought tall with his jab and kept the taller Gassiev at bay. Usyk kept the fight from outside while moving to his right. The first half of the fight went to Usyk on my scorecard.

Gassiev, (26-1, 19 KOs) tried to fight from inside but was unsuccessful. He was greeted with jabs and combinations from Usyk as he tried to come in. Gassiev stepped up the offense in the seventh round. He landed combinations to the body. Usyk felt the punches but complained to the referee that those were low blows. The referee signaled to continue the fight as Usyk complained. Gassiev continued to press forward landing lead rights to the head. It was a good round for Gassiev.

In round 8, Gassiev continued to press on, moving forward but not throwing jabs. On the other hand, Usyk moved around using his jab as a yardstick to keep his distance from Gassiev. The Big Bear, California resident followed Usyk instead of cutting the ring off. He was caught often too squared at Usyk's line of fire.

In the last four rounds, Usyk continued to look like a masterful matador trying to tame a raging bull with his surgical fists. Usyk showed superior boxing skills and putting on a masterful performance. He used footwork, jab, and effective combination punching to overwhelm Gassiev.

Gassiev fired several haymakers that if it could find its target can turn the fight to his favor. But those haymakers landed in the air. The two boxers hug each other and showed sportsmanship after the final bell.

With the win, Usyk remained undefeated with the cruiserweight world title listed on his resume. Usyk ranked number 1, while Gassiev ranked number 2 in the cruiserweight division of Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB), hence Usyk is the new TBRB's world champion in the cruiserweight division.

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Lamont Roach Jr. Knocks out Deivi Julio Bassa in Sixth

CANCUN, MEXICO (July 20, 2018): Lamont Roach, Jr. (17-0-1, 7 KOs) of Washington, D.C. delivered a spectacular sixth-round technical knockout victory over Deivis Julio
Bassa (20-5, 12 KOs) of Monteria, Colombia to capture the vacant WBO International Super Featherweight Championship in the scheduled 10-round main event of the July 20 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at the Oasis Arena in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Roach Jr. showed a more aggressive side of himself, dropping Bassa with a right hand at the end of the third round and punishing him until Bassa's corner called a halt to the fight at the end of the sixth round.

"My mentality was to make a statement and to show that I belong at the top super featherweight division," said Lamont Roach Jr. "Anybody that's in my way is in trouble. There were no difficulties in him being a southpaw because we were coming off fighting a lefty in Orlando Cruz and we were preparing for the rematch. We also got great sparring against left-handed fighters, including Mike Reed. The WBO Super Featherweight Title will be on the line next week, so I'll be taking a close look at that fight to see who wins."

In the co-main event, Juan Sanchez (24-6-1, 11 KOs) of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico scored an eight-round unanimous decision win against Florentino Perez (11-4-1, 7 KOs) of Monterrey, Mexico in a featherweight battle. Sanchez won with scores of 76-75, 77-74, and 78-73.

Alexis Bastar (11-1-1, 5 KOs) of Cancun, Mexico defeated Rigoberto Nava (3-3-4) of Mexico City, Mexico in the first televised bout. Bastar won with three scores of 57-56.

Roach, Jr. vs. Bassa was a 10-round fight for the vacant WBO International Super Featherweight Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Cancun Boxing. The event is sponsored by Tecate, "THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING" and Hennessy, "Never Stop, Never Settle." The fights took place on Friday, July 20, 2018, at Oasis Arena in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Saturday, July 14, 2018

Manny Pacquiao vs Lucas Matthysse boxing results

Manny Pacquiao vs Lucas Matthysse early results from the undercards in Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

  • Teofimo Lopez TKO6 William Silva.

  • Regis Prograis TKO8 Juan Jose Velasco - Prograis stops Velasco to the mat with brutal body shots. Velasco went down grimacing in pain. Watch below highlight from Top Rank.

  • Moruti Mthalane UD12 Muhammad Waseem

  • Jhack Tepora TKO9 Edivaldo Ortega.

  • Manny Pacquiao TKO7 Lucas Matthysse - The Pacman dropped Matthysse in the third, fifth, and seventh rounds. In the seventh, referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight to save the champion from further beating.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrives Kuala Lumpur for Pacquiao-Matthysse fight

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Manny Pacquiao vs Lucas Matthysse fight.

Filipino reporter Abac Cordero posted on Twitter a snap of President Duterte and his delegation arriving Kuala Lumpur.

Manny Pacquiao will face Argentina's Lucas Matthysse for the world welterweight title at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday morning (Malaysia time).