Barry Hugman's World Championship Boxing

20 November 2010. Sergio Martinez w co 2 Paul Williams.

Venue: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Recognition: WBC/The Ring. Referee: Earl Morton.

Fight Summary: A match-up between southpaws saw the champion come out on top when knocking out Williams (156), a former two-time holder of the WBO welterweight title, at 1.10 of the second. Contested at catchweights due to both men being natural light middleweights, it was soon clear that this one would not last with the punches going in thick and fast almost from the opening bell. It was much the same in the second until Martinez (157½) found a sweeping left to the jaw that ended matters there and then.

 

Unable to defend against the WBC ‘interim’ champion, Sebastian Zbik, due to his contractual agreements with HBO, the television network, Martinez forfeited the title on 11 January 2011. Desperate not to lose Martinez completely, the WBC handed him the term ‘emeritus’ title holder’ while, at the same time, promoting Zbik to full championship status. Regardless of this, Martinez continued to be recognised by The Ring magazine as being the best man in the world at the weight.

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30 October 2010. Sebastian Sylvester w pts 12 Mahir Oral.

Venue: Stadium Hall, Rostock, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Marlon Wright.

Scorecards: 117-107, 119-106, 117-107.

Fight Summary: Having given away the opening round to Oral (159¾), the champion began to find his feet before hurting his Turkish-born opponent in the fourth with a solid straight right that shook him to his boots. Although he did not go down, Oral took so many solid shots that two of the judges marked it a 10-8 round. From thereon in it was all Sylvester (159¾), despite being badly cut over the right eye from a clash of heads. Working the body well Sylvester softened Oral up, and in the eighth, ninth and 11th he had the latter over from such punches while on his way to a convincing points win.

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4 September 2010. Felix Sturm w pts 12 Giovanni Lorenzo.

Venue: Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Luis Pabon.

Scorecards: 117-111, 117-111, 118-111.

Fight Summary: As soon as the contest was underway Lorenzo (158¼) set up an attack to take the play away from Sturm (159), but it was not long before the champion got himself into gear, his speed, movement and quality punching proving to be a match winner as early as the second round. It was soon clear that Sturm was content to outbox Lorenzo, who won three rounds at most, and as the rounds passed by solid left jabs, coupled to body shots and rights to the head softened the Dominican up. Surprisingly, Lorenzo's team even thought that their man had won, although on reflection they would have realised that aggression is not everything.

 

Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam outpointed Avtandil Khurtsidze over 12 rounds at the Port of Versailles Sports Palace, Paris, France on 30 October to win the vacant WBA ‘interim’ title.

 

Golovkin went on to make a successful defence of his WBA ‘second tier’ title on 16 December when knocking Nilson Julio Tapia out in the third round at the Daulet Sports Complex, Astana, Kazakhstan.

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31 July 2010. Dmitry Pirog w rsc 5 Daniel Jacobs.

Venue: Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Recognition: WBO. Referee: Robert Byrd.

Fight Summary: Contested for the vacant title after Sergio Martinez had been stripped of the belt, the favourite, Jacobs (159), was shockingly beaten after 57 seconds of the fifth. Although starting well enough Jacobs was rescued by the bottom rope in the second, having been caught by an overarm right and solid left to the head, and should have been counted on. That was certainly a warning that Pirog (160) was dangerous, but after ignoring it and sailing through the fourth Jacobs was smashed to the floor by another big right only a round later. After counting up to 'six', the referee called the fight off to allow Jacobs medical attention.

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5 June 2010. Sebastian Sylvester drew 12 Roman Karmazin.

Venue: Jahn Sports Forum, Neubrandenburg, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Mufadel Elghazaoui.

Scorecards: 118-111, 111-117, 114-114.

Fight Summary: Showing a high work-rate the challenger gave Sylvester (159½) all the trouble he could handle when running him to a split decision draw. While Karmazin (157¾) was always working hard, banging in shots from either hand, Sylvester used a solid jab in an effort to keep him away. Having been outworked in several rounds despite landing heavily, Sylvester eventually went to the front in the final three sessions when hurting Karmazin with several heavy blows and cutting him on the left eye. Regardless of the decision, there were many who thought that Karmazin deserved better.

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17 April 2010. Sergio Martinez w pts 12 Kelly Pavlik.

Venue: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Recognition: WBC/WBO/The Ring. Referee: David Fields.

Scorecards: 116-111, 115-112, 115-111.

Fight Summary: Following a hand infection and weight-making difficulties, Pavlik (159½) put his three championship belts on the line against Martinez (159½), the current WBC junior middleweight champion. Using his speed to get inside Pavlik's long reach, the southpaw challenger took the opening four rounds before coming under fire in the seventh when dropped by a short right uppercut. Pavlik had already begun the fightback in the fifth and he took the next three sessions on the cards. However, after cutting Pavlik under both eyes in the ninth Martinez poured it on to the final bell to make sure that the title went his way. A week later, Martinez handed back his WBC junior belt in order to concentrate on the middleweights.

 

Also on 17 April, Sebastian Zbik successfully defended the WBC ‘interim’ title when outscoring Domenico Spada over 12 rounds at the Borderland Hall, Magdeburg, Germany.

 

On 1 June, Martinez was stripped of his WBO title when failing to decide within a reasonable time frame whether or not he would continue to campaign in the 160lbs weight class or remain in the junior middleweight division. Following that, Dmitry Pirog and Daniel Jacobs were signed up to contest the vacant WBO title.

 

Another successful defence of the WBC ‘interim’ title for Zbik came on 31 July when he outpointed Jorge Heiland at the O2 World Arena, Hamburg, Germany.

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30 January 2010. Sebastian Sylvester w rsc 10 Billy Lyell.

Venue: Jahn Sports Forum, Neubrandenburg, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Earl Brown.

Fight Summary: Coming in at short notice for Pablo Navascues, who failed a drugs test, Lyell (156¾) put up spirited resistance against a champion who let him off the hook several times prior to the contest coming to an end in the tenth. Sylvester (159¾) started well enough, landing heavy shots from both hands in the opener and cutting Lyell's nose badly in the second, before easing off as the rounds went by. Following the eighth, which Lyell took on aggression, Sylvester picked it up in the ninth before the referee stopped the contest 36 seconds into the tenth session after the American's corner showed the towel. At the time of the stoppage, Lyell had been badly hurt by a heavy left-right and was under severe attack.

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19 December 2009. Kelly Pavlik w rsc 5 Miguel Angel Espino.

Venue: Beeghly Centre, Youngstown, Ohio, USA. Recognition: WBC/WBO/The Ring. Referee: Steve Smoger.

Fight Summary: Despite giving his all the brave challenger did not have the tools to beat Pavlik (160), who met him with solid blows from either hand that had destruction written all over them. At the end of the opener Espino (159) was deducted a point for punching after the bell, and in second and third when the two men went head-to-head Pavlik was cut on the right eye. It hardly made any difference to Pavlik, who twice dropped Espino with right uppercuts in the fourth before going to town in the fifth. The fight ended after Espino, who had been floored for a count of 'five' by lefts and rights, continued taking a beating until the referee brought matters to a halt at 1.44 of the session on the instructions of the latter's corner.

 

On the same day, Sebastian Zbik successfully defended the WBC ‘interim’ title against Emanuele Della Rosa when winning on points over 12 rounds at the Sport & Congress Centre, Schwerin, Germany.

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19 September 2009. Sebastian Sylvester w pts 12 Giovanni Lorenzo.

Venue: Jahn Sports Forum, Neubrandenburg, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: David Fields.

Scorecards: 116-112, 115-113, 112-116.

Fight Summary: Contested for the vacant title after Arthur Abraham decided to move up a division, it was Sylvester (159¼) who became the new champion after outscoring the tough Lorenzo (160). Right from the opening bell Sylvester made it his fight, his speed and movement leaving Lorenzo nonplussed at times. Although Lorenzo was always dangerous with solid hooks from either hand, many of which missed, Sylvester boxed with intelligence and the belief that he could make his punches count.

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11 July 2009. Felix Sturm w pts 12 Khoren Gevor.

Venue: Nurburgring Race Track, Nurburg, Germany. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Jean-Louis Legand.

Scorecards: 115-113, 115-113, 117-111.

Fight Summary: Fighting flat out, the southpaw challenger gave Sturm (159¼) all the problems he could handle, plus some more. In a difficult contest to score all three judges plumped for Sturm, while there were many who thought Gevor (159¾) had done enough. Making the fight from the opening bell Gevor did not leave Sturm alone, realising that he had to get inside if he wanted to win. Although taken out of his stride, it was Sturm who produced the better quality before being taken to hospital suffering a haematoma to his right ear.

 

Gennady Golovkin won the vacant WBA ‘interim’ title when knocking out Milton Nunez in the opening round of their contest at the Roberto Duran Arena, Panama City, Panama on 14 August 2010, prior to being promoted to ‘second tier’ status on 14 October 2010.

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27 June 2009. Arthur Abraham w rsc 10 Mahir Oral.

Venue: Max Schmeling Hall, Berlin, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Earl Brown.

Fight Summary: It was Oral (158¾) who started the better in this one, taking the opening three rounds when outboxing the champion. Having woken up in the fourth Abraham (159¾) set up Oral with some solid body shots before dropping him with a right to the head, and he repeated the knockdowns in the fifth and sixth. Strangely, when Oral was put down in the fifth the referee called it a slip. Although Oral came back well in the seventh by the tenth he was a spent force. With Abraham concentrating on the body, Oral was floored an additional three times, more from exhaustion than anything else, before the referee stopped the contest at 1.23 of the session after the towel was thrown in.

 

When Abraham relinquished the IBF title on 11 July in order to compete in the ‘Showtime’ super middleweight tournament, Sebastian Sylvester and Giovanni Lorenzo were signed up to find a new champion. Sylvester was the IBF international champion, having beaten Lajuan Simon (w pts 12 at the Max Schmeling Hall on 27 June) on the undercard of Abraham versus Oral, while Lorenzo had beaten Dionisio Miranda (w co 2 Prudential Centre, Newark, New Jersey, USA on 27 February) in an eliminating contest.

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25 April 2009. Felix Sturm w rsc 7 Koji Sato.

Venue: Konig Sports Palace, Krefeld, Germany. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Luis Pabon.

Fight Summary: In a battle of left hands, the champion ultimately showed himself to be a cut above Sato (159¾). Although Sato threw some solid shots, Sturm (159) always appeared to be in control of the situation, especially when landing with better quality. Suffering from a rapidly swelling right eye Sato fought back hard, but in the seventh it was all over when he was driven into a corner following a terrific left hook to the body and rescued by the referee with 14 seconds of the session remaining.

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14 March 2009. Arthur Abraham w pts 12 Lajuan Simon.

Venue: Ostee Hall, Kiel, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Benjy Esteves Jnr.

Scorecards: 117-110, 118-109, 117-110.

Fight Summary: Sticking with the champion all night, Simon (157¼) proved to be a tough man to dislodge, and despite being push-punched to the canvas in the third he was quickly back into the action. Not deterred, Simon continued to make a nuisance of himself, banging in left hooks when and where he could, while the poorly conditioned Abraham (159¾) looked to take time out. Despite being unable to put Simon away, the points were always with Abraham.

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21 February 2009. Kelly Pavlik w rtd 9 Marco Antonio Rubio.

Venue: Chevrolet Centre, Youngstown, Ohio, USA. Recognition: WBC/WBO/The Ring. Referee: Frank Garza.

Fight Summary:  Starting as he meant to carry on, the champion walked into Rubio (160) with a solid jab that continually pushed him back. It was only in the sixth that Rubio began to let the punches go, but that was it. The seventh saw Pavlik (159) take back command of the situation and at the end of the ninth Rubio was retired by his corner when they decided that their man had taken enough. Pavlik, who won every round, showed yet again that his long left jab was paramount to his success.

 

At the Race Arena, Nurburg, Germany on 11 July, Sebastian Zbik outpointed Domenico Spada over 12 rounds to win the vacant WBC ‘interim’ title.

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8 November 2008. Arthur Abraham w rtd 6 Raul Marquez.

Venue: JAKO Arena, Bamberg, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Wayne Kelly.

Fight Summary: Boxing at his best Abraham (159¾) was too good for his southpaw challenger, who was simply not up to the task in hand. The problem for Marquez (160) was that he just could not handle Abraham's power and was continually forced to give ground as the latter bored in. Already showing wear and tear, when Marquez was cut over the right eye in the fifth things got progressively worse for the American. Despite there being no warning of what was to come, Marquez was retired at the end of the sixth when it was clear to his corner that it was his only option.

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1 November 2008. Felix Sturm w pts 12 Sebastian Sylvester.

Venue: Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Guillermo Perez Pineda.

Scorecards: 118-110, 118-110, 119-109.

Fight Summary: Once again Sturm (159½) proved to be the master boxer, his left hand finding holes in the challenger's defence all night long. There was no doubting that Sylvester (159½) came to win and he fought strongly at times, but he was forced to take punches when opening up. Even though Sturm speeded up towards the end, throwing both hands, Sylvester was still there right in front of him, always looking to unload. At the final bell, although soundly outscored it was Sylvester who got the plaudits for his game display.

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5 July 2008. Felix Sturm w pts 12 Randy Griffin.

Venue: Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Germany. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Guillermo Perez Pineda.

Scorecards: 116-112, 116-113, 118-110.

Fight Summary: Much improved from their earlier contest, this time round Sturm (159½) established his jab from the start to outbox the challenger in virtually all rounds other than the third, eighth, ninth and 12th. Although Griffin (159¾) never stopped trying to find a chink in Sturm's armour he was unsuccessful even if his aggression was impressive. Afterwards, Griffin was sure he had won, but had Sturm packed more power the American would never have reached the final bell.

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7 June 2008. Kelly Pavlik w rsc 3 Gary Lockett.

Venue: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Recognition: WBC/WBO/The Ring. Referee: Eddie Cotton.

Fight Summary: Hurt in the opening round things got worse for Lockett (159½) in the second as Pavlik (159) used his big reach advantage to bang in blows from both hands, the challenger being forced to take a knee on two occasions to limit the damage. In the third after giving it one last effort, when Lockett was dumped from a left-right to the head the referee stopped the contest at 1.40 of the session. The decision was effectively made for him when the Welshman's corner threw the towel in.

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5 April 2008. Felix Sturm w rsc 7 Jamie Pittman.

Venue: Castello Castle-Keeper Arena, Dusseldorf, Germany. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Russell Mora.

Fight Summary: Showing plenty of spirit the southpaw challenger gave it his best shot, throwing plenty of leather in the early sessions, but after his right eye was cut and swollen in the third things became even tougher as Sturm (158¾) picked his punches and waited for the inevitable to happen. Pittman (160) looked as though he had nothing left in the fifth after being floored by a left to the body, but he made it into the sixth only to be knocked over again. Gamely continuing, when Pittman was dropped by a right-left in the seventh the referee humanely called it off 36 seconds into the session.

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29 March 2008. Arthur Abraham w co 12 Elvin Ayala.

Venue: Sparkassen Arena, Kiel, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Roberto Ramirez.

Fight Summary: After making his usual slow start the champion was back on equal terms coming into the fifth, and although knocking Ayala (159¾) down in that session the latter was soon on his feet and going well. Showing excellent defensive skills and a good jab, Ayala was making life tough for Abraham (159¾), who was clearly not at his best. Coming into the final session, Abraham, well in front, finally caught up with Ayala, and after a cluster of punches put the latter down he was counted out with just 28 seconds of the fight remaining. On review it was discovered that it was Abraham's left forearm that had administered the kayo blow.

 

Due to meet his mandatory challenger, Raul Marquez, on 4 October, the fight had to be postponed due to Abraham going down with flu on the morning of the contest.

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8 December 2007. Arthur Abraham w rsc 5 Wayne Elcock.

Venue: St Jakob Hall, Basle, Switzerland. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Wayne Kelly.

Fight Summary: Having gone well for the opening four rounds despite being knocked over in the second by a right to the head, Elcock (159) came out for the fifth with no little confidence after inducing a swelling over the champion's right eye, courtesy of solid jabs. As a known slow starter Abraham (160) had merely been biding his time, and in the fifth a cracker of a right hand sent Elcock into the ropes for a standing count. Still not recovered, Elcock was then caught by a crashing right hand followed by a left hook that saw the referee call the contest off at 1.58 of the session with the latter stunned and held up by the ropes.

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20 October 2007. Felix Sturm drew 12 Randy Griffin.

Venue: Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Germany. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Guillermo Perez Pineda.

Scorecards: 115-114, 114-117, 114-114.

Fight Summary: Clearly a gruelling contest, Sturm (159¾) just about held on to his title as Griffin (159½) took him all the way. Attacking throughout, throwing punches from both hands, Griffin made life difficult for Sturm. Having been taken out of his stride Sturm eventually upped his work-rate and went back to his boxing, and had he not taken the last two sessions he would have lost his title.

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29 September 2007. Kelly Pavlik w rsc 7 Jermain Taylor.

Venue: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Recognition: WBC/WBO/The Ring. Referee: Steve Smoger.

Fight Summary: Aiming to get his hands on three championship belts, Pavlik (159½) walked into the champion from the bell only to be dropped in the second after being caught heavily on the head and follow-up blows. Somehow getting through all the punches coming his way to reach the end of the round, Pavlik came back strongly to take the next two sessions before Taylor (159) picked it up to win the fifth and sixth when utilising his boxing skills. In the seventh Pavlik showed what a powerful puncher he was when slamming in a tremendous right to the head that had Taylor staring into oblivion, and when two further heavy blows dropped the latter the referee stopped the contest immediately. The finish was timed at 2.14.

 

A return match made six pounds above the middleweight limit saw Pavlik outpoint Taylor over 12 rounds at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada on 16 February 2008.

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18 August 2007. Arthur Abraham w rsc 11 Khoren Gevor.

Venue: Max Schmeling Hall, Berlin, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Pete Podgorski.

Fight Summary: In a hard-fought encounter, Abraham (160) had to pull out all the stops to overcome his southpaw challenger who came to fight. It was not until the fifth that Abraham got into gear, shaking Gevor (160) up in the sixth with a left-right, and going up a gear. However, Gevor kept going despite being hurt on several occasions before coming undone in the 11th. Hurt by a big left hook in that session, Gevor was rescued by the referee at 2.41 after another heavy left hook had deposited him on the deck in a crumpled state.

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30 June 2007. Felix Sturm w pts 12 Noe Tulio Gonzalez Alcoba.

Venue: Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Germany. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Roberto Rodriguez.

Scorecards: 120-108, 118-110, 116-112.

Fight Summary: Making his first defence a successful one, Sturm (159¾) took control from the opening bell when scoring well with the jab as Gonzalez Alcoba (159½) had difficulty breaking down his rigid defence. For round after round it followed the same pattern, and even after the eighth when Gonzalez Alcoba was tired and ready to be taken Sturm let him off the hook when continuing to take no risks. It was only in the 12th that Sturm followed up his openings, but Gonzalez Alcoba survived. The third round was probably Gonzalez Alcoba's best when concentrating on the body, and his punching was solid enough to leave the right side of Sturm's face bruised and swollen by the end.

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26 May 2007. Arthur Abraham w rsc 3 Sebastien Demers.

Venue: JAKO Arena, Bamberg, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Ernest Sharif.

Fight Summary: Coming back after suffering a broken jaw in his last contest, Abraham (160) soon picked it up against the limited Demers (159), who had done most of his fighting in a lower division. Getting to grips with Demers in the third, Abraham hurt his man with a cluster of blows before dropping him with a solid right to the head. Although Demers made it up, once he had stumbled the referee immediately called it off, the finish coming with just three seconds of the session remaining.

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19 May 2007. Jermain Taylor w pts 12 Cory Spinks.

Venue: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Recognition: WBC/WBO/The Ring. Referee: Michael Ortega.

Scorecards: 117-111, 115-113, 111-117.

Fight Summary: Putting his three championship belts up for grabs against a crafty southpaw in Spinks (159¾), the holder of the IBF junior middleweight title, once again Taylor (159¾) was disappointing in a fight that never took off. With Spinks always moving on the back foot and ducking low when coming forward, Taylor had great difficulty in lining him up. All the harder punches of the fight came from Taylor and how one of the judges had Spinks winning nine rounds was beyond most of the observers.

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28 April 2007. Felix Sturm w pts 12 Javier Castillejo.

Venue: Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Raul Caiz Jnr.

Scorecards: 116-112, 116-112, 115-114.

Fight Summary: Castillejo (158¼) was making his first defence after being handed back the title when Mariano Carrera was stripped. In a return match, Sturm (159½) gained revenge for a previous defeat when moving well and countering Castillejo to good effect. It was clear that Castillejo was the harder puncher, but Sturm came back strongly from the seventh onwards to rack up the points. Although Castillejo took the last two sessions it was not enough, and had he concentrated on the body things may have been different.

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9 December 2006. Jermain Taylor w pts 12 Kassim Ouma.

Venue: Alltel Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. Recognition: WBC/WBO/The Ring. Referee: Frank Garza.

Scorecards: 118-110, 117-111, 115-113.

Fight Summary: Defending his three championship belts Taylor (159½) was always in control of the tough Ouma (158½), who though continually trying was too small to do serious damage. Boxing a lazy fight, Taylor allowed his southpaw challenger back into it at times, especially in the remaining three sessions. Cut on the left eye in the fifth, Taylor used his five-inch reach advantage to negate rather than attack, only coming to life in the last minute of each round. In the main, while Taylor looked lethargic at times Ouma could take much credit from his performance.

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2 December 2006. Mariano Carrera w rsc 11 Javier Castillejo.

Venue: Estrel Congress Centre, Berlin, Germany. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Guillermo Perez.

Fight Summary: Castillejo was making his first defence after the WBA had decided not to recognise Jermain Taylor any longer. Concentrating on the body, Castillejo (159½) was on the border line several times before being deducted two points, in the fourth and the tenth. Both men were taking and giving plenty throughout, but in the 11th Castillejo was badly hurt after a left hook and three-punch combination from Carrera (159½) opened him up. With Carrera banging in punches without return the referee rescued Castillejo on 2.25 mark.

 

The Spaniard was reinstated as champion on 23 February 2007 after a second drug sample taken from Carrera tested positive for a banned substance, the result being reclassified as a no contest.

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23 September 2006. Arthur Abraham w pts 12 Edison Miranda.

Venue: Rittal Arena, Wetzlar, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Randy Neumann.

Scorecards: 114-109, 115-109, 114-109.

Fight Summary: In what was an extremely tough, close fight, Abraham (160) had to fight on with a broken jaw from the fourth, while the challenger threw his chances of winning away when being deducted five points, two in the fifth for butts, two in the seventh and one in the 11th for low blows. Had Miranda (160) not been so wild with his deliveries the title would have been his, but he lacked the control required to close the fight down. Even though Abraham looked as though he was done for on several occasions he would come back strongly to hold Miranda off.

 

Immediately after the contest Abraham was taken to hospital to have his jaw operated on, following which he would be out of the ring for eight months.

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17 June 2006. Jermain Taylor drew 12 Ronald Wright.

Venue: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Recognition: WBA/WBC/WBO/The Ring. Referee: Frank Garza.

Scorecards: 115-113, 113-115, 114-114.

Fight Summary: With his four championship belts on the line, Taylor (160) appeared lucky to retain them after his southpaw challenger cruised through the final session instead of making sure of the points. Wright (159¾) had taken the fight to Taylor from the beginning, outjabbing the latter for much of the time, but was forced to take heavy blows in return. Despite being the harder puncher, Taylor, whose left eye was almost closed at the final bell, was never able to build up momentum as Wright continually took him to the ropes and negated his power. The Boxing News stated "Wright fought hard for 33 minutes and tamely for the last three", having thought that all he had to do to was remain on his feet.

 

On 15 July, Javier Castillejo, a former two-time WBC junior middleweight champion, stopped Felix Sturm in the tenth round to take the latter’s WBA ‘second tier’ title at the Color Line Arena, Hamburg, Germany. Castillejo was handed full title status on 14 December when the WBA decided not to recognise Taylor as their ‘super’ champion any longer. The WBA’s decision was made after Taylor was matched against Kassim Ouma, an opponent who failed to meet their criteria.

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13 May 2006. Arthur Abraham w pts 12 Kofi Jantuah.

Venue: The Stadium, Zwickau, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Robert Byrd.

Scorecards: 115-112, 117-110, 116-111.

Fight Summary: Starting slowly, Abraham (160) was forced to take some heavy shots in the early sessions before taking over from his challenger at the halfway stage, solid jabs and blows from head to body taking him to the front. Being deducted a point in the seventh for punching behind the head barely concerned Abraham as he continued banging in punches that hurt Jantuah (158¾) and forced him to hang on. Jantuah even came back to stun Abraham in the tenth with a cracking right to the jaw, but ultimately lacked the weapons required to win.

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4 March 2006. Arthur Abraham w pts 12 Shannan Taylor.

Venue: EWE Arena, Oldenburg, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Wayne Kelly.

Scorecards: 120-107, 120-107, 120-106.

Fight Summary: Losing every round on all three scorecards and having a point deducted in the sixth for repeated low blows made it a bad night for the challenger, who never looked like disturbing Abraham (159¾). While Taylor (159½) kept out of serious trouble it was more to do with Abraham conserving his energy than anything else. Hurt in the fourth by body shots and again in the ninth, Taylor kept his boxing together without ever being in a position to take over.

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10 December 2005. Arthur Abraham w rsc 5 Kingsley Ikeke.

Venue: The Arena, Leipzig, Germany. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Samuel Viruet.

Fight Summary: Contesting the vacant title Abraham (159) proved too good for Ikeke (159), starting faster and getting his punches off better, especially the right over the top followed by a left hook. Although the taller Ikeke tried hard enough he could not get going. In the fifth Ikeke was caught by a heavy right-left-right combination that saw him eventually stumbling to the floor after the referee had waived it over with 84 seconds of the session remaining.

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3 December 2005. Jermain Taylor w pts 12 Bernard Hopkins.

Venue: Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Recognition: WBA/WBC/WBO/The Ring. Referee: Jay Nady.

Scorecards: 115-113, 115-113, 115-113.

Fight Summary: As in their first contest there was nothing between them, both men showing each other too much respect, and many of the rounds were so closely contested that they could have gone either way. With neither man looking like going down, much of the action was plain boring. Boxing News got it right when they reported that Taylor (159), the champion, won by default, with Hopkins (160) relying on one big punch to finish it rather than busying himself.

 

At the Color Line Arena, Hamburg, Germany on 11 March 2006, Felix Sturm outpointed Maselino Masoe over 12 rounds to take over the Western Samoan’s WBA ‘second tier’ title.

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16 July 2005. Jermain Taylor w pts 12 Bernard Hopkins.

Venue: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Recognition: World/The Ring. Referee: Jay Nady.

Scorecards: 115-113, 115-113, 112-116.

Fight Summary: Regardless of the fact that most experts had the champion winning, and despite the ridiculous last round score from one of the judges that if corrected would have meant that Hopkins (160) retained his belts, the real problem was in the latter getting his tactics wrong and allowing Taylor (160) too much leeway. Having let Taylor build up a fair lead by the end of the eighth, when Hopkins at last realised that he had to get busy he took the last four sessions on all cards other than the one already mentioned. However, it was not enough. There were no knockdowns, but the fight stats over 12 rounds showed that Hopkins landed 96 to Taylor’s 86, while in the last four sessions the champion connected with 56 to the challenger’s 23. Prior to this, Hopkins had made 20 successful defences of the IBF title.

 

When Taylor relinquished the IBF title on 11 October due to contractual problems, Arthur Abraham and Kingsley Ikeke were matched to decide a new champion.

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19 February 2005. Bernard Hopkins w pts 12 Howard Eastman.

Venue: Los Angeles, California, USA. Recognition: World/The Ring. Referee: Raul Caiz Jnr.

Scorecards: 119-110, 117-111, 116-112.

Fight Summary: Unable to find the answer to the ageless champion’s ability to control a fight, Eastman (159½) was beaten by a fairly substantial points margin, never really showing up. It was a case of Hopkins (159½) having just too much of everything, and although Eastman took the fight to his rival he never forced home any attack which might have left him open to the counters. With Hopkins picking his punches before moving out of range as the challenger predictably stalked him, the contest was hardly exciting. Although Eastman was never embarrassed it was a bridge too far for him.

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18 September 2004. Bernard Hopkins w co 9 Oscar De La Hoya.

Venue: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Recognition: World/The Ring. Referee: Kenny Bayless.

Fight Summary: At the age of 39 Hopkins (156) put his WBA, WBC and IBF titles, as well as The Ring Championship Belt, up for grabs against De La Hoya (155), the WBO champion, in a match that would unify the title for the first time since 1986. In contention during the opening four rounds, having disrupted Hopkins’ rhythm when snapping in four or five blows to the body before making off, De La Hoya was looking to move on. However, by round five he was running into stiff lefts. As each round came and went it was apparent that De La Hoya was having trouble getting inside Hopkins’ jab. Not only that, but the latter’s size and strength was also beginning to bother him. Having won the last two rounds on all the cards Hopkins began to step it up in the ninth, and following a solid left jab he stepped inside with a cracking left hook to the body that sent De La Hoya down to be counted out at 1.38 of the session. Afterwards, De La Hoya, who had never been floored by a blow to the solar plexus before, said that the punch had paralysed him.

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5 June 2004. Oscar De La Hoya w pts 12 Felix Sturm.

Venue: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Recognition: WBO. Referee: Vic Drakulich.

Scorecards: 115-113, 115-113, 115-113.

Fight Summary: Making his debut in the 160lbs division, De La Hoya (160) started brightly when winning four of the opening five rounds before the champion picked up his work-rate to make the contest a close-run thing. Had Sturm (160) turned southpaw earlier than the 11th he might well have won as De La Hoya found himself under a little bit of pressure, especially when being forced to take solid right uppercuts. However, the fight was really decided by the fact that De La Hoya threw punches in clusters, mixing them up from head to body, while Sturm, in the main, concentrated on single shots. De La Hoya became a world champion at six different weights on winning, having been an undefeated WBO champion at junior lightweight, an undefeated IBF/WBO champion at lightweight, an undefeated WBC champion at junior welterweight, a WBA/WBC champion at welterweight and a WBC champion at junior middleweight.

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5 June 2004. Bernard Hopkins w pts 12 Robert Allen.

Venue: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Recognition: IBF/WBA/WBC/The Ring. Referee: Joe Cortez.

Scorecards: 119-107, 119-107, 117-109.

Fight Summary: Clearly the superior man, the champion took on an old opponent in Allen (160), being happy to box his way to an easy points win until struck low in the fifth. While Allen was deducted a point for the infringement, Hopkins (159) upped the pace, dropping his rival with a crashing right to the head in the seventh. Although Allen was on his feet at ‘six’, Hopkins went after him before settling down again to box his way home against a dangerous southpaw. All the quality punches came from Hopkins, his body punching and fast lead rights making sure that he would be the man to face the winner of Oscar De La Hoya v Felix Sturm in a battle to unify the division.

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20 December 2003. Felix Sturm w pts 12 Ruben Varon.

Venue: Ostsee Hall, Kiel, Germany. Recognition: WBO. Referee: Roberto Ramirez.

Scorecards: 120-108, 120-108, 118-110.

Fight Summary: Sturm (159¾), making his first defence, gave an excellent display of boxing as he outclassed Varon (158¾) from start to finish, breaking his nose and cutting him over the right eye. Although Varon started as though he meant business, landing a few solid left hooks, he was soon being contained and outboxed by the stronger Sturm who surprisingly failed to go for a stoppage win when it had looked imminent. Content to take no risks, Sturm won every round on the cards.

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13 December 2003. Bernard Hopkins w pts 12 William Joppy.

Venue: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. Recognition: IBF/WBA/WBC/The Ring. Referee: Earl Morton.

Scorecards: 119-108, 119-109, 118-109.

Fight Summary: Although Joppy (159) went the distance, winning a side-bet, despite there being no knockdowns the champion was far too good for him. Pacing himself superbly Hopkins (160) was on top in virtually every round bar the seventh when Joppy scored with a hard right uppercut, and by the eighth he was back controlling his rival from the centre of the ring. Coming out for the 11th, his left eye swelling up, Joppy gave it one final go before being forced to take a sustained beating right through to the final bell.

 

On 1 May 2004, at the Jai-Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, Maselino Masoe stopped Evans Ashira inside two rounds to win the WBA ‘second tier’ title that had been vacated following Joppy’s defeat.

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13 September 2003. Felix Sturm w pts 12 Hector Velazco.

Venue: Estrel Convention Centre, Berlin, Germany. Recognition: WBO. Referee: Rocky Burke.

Scorecards: 115-113, 116-112, 113-115.

Fight Summary: Putting up his title for the first time after being appointed champion, Velazco (159¼) took on Sturm (158¾) who came in as a late substitute for the injured Bert Schenk. Coming out in a southpaw stance before switch-hitting throughout, and showing much cleverness, Sturm took an early lead despite being chased all over by Velazco. With the Argentine just not getting enough punches off it was Sturm doing the better work even though he was boxing on the back foot and landing with no real snap. Whenever he had to Sturm took Velazco’s best shots, being good value for the split-decision win.

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29 March 2003. Bernard Hopkins w rtd 8 Morrade Hakkar.

Venue: First Union Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Recognition: IBF/WBA/WBC/The Ring. Referee: Frank Cappuccino.

Fight Summary: In what was a bad mismatch it was soon clear that Hakkar (159) did not belong in the same ring as the champion when sprinting around the perimeter and barely stopping to land punches. Having somehow got through five rounds, Hakkar dropped down in the sixth after taking a body shot, and with Hopkins (158½) failing to go to a neutral corner and the referee not spotting it he was probably resting on one knee for about 20 seconds. Twice in the seventh the Frenchman was on the floor without a count. In the eighth he went down again without the referee bothering to call it a knockdown. With Hopkins working the head and body when Hakkar slumped on his stool at the end of the session his corner retired him.

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6 April 2002. Harry Simon w pts 12 Armand Krajnc.

Venue: Bygningen Circus Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark. Recognition: WBO. Referee: Michael Ortega.

Scorecards: 116-112, 116-112, 116-113.

Fight Summary: The contest was fairly even during the opening few rounds, but eventually Simon (159) established a reasonable lead, his solid combination punches being effective despite not hurting the champion. A great competitor, Krajnc (159½) was always up for it, looking as strong as when he started at the final bell. However, it was Simon, a former undefeated WBO junior middleweight title holder, who had the quality. There were no knockdowns.

 

With Simon failing to make a defence following injuries sustained during a car crash, Hector Velazco forced Andras Galfi to retire at the end of the seventh round to win the vacant WBO ‘interim’ title at the Luna Park Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina on 10 May 2003.

 

Velazco was appointed champion on 29 June 2003 after Simon was stripped when it was recognised that he had not fully recovered and still had legal issues to be sorted out.

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2 February 2002. Bernard Hopkins w rtd 10 Carl Daniels.

Venue: Sovereign Centre, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA. Recognition: IBF/WBA/WBC/The Ring. Referee: Frank Cappuccino.

Fight Summary: Attacking Daniels (160) from the opening bell the champion continued to march forward for ten rounds as his cute southpaw opponent stayed on the back foot for most of the time. When Hopkins (158¾) did manage to close Daniels down, the latter took what was on offer. It was only in the ninth that Daniels began to ship heavy punishment, blows to head and body sending him lurching round the ring. At the end of the tenth, which he had somehow managed to get through, Daniels made the decision not to continue knowing he had no chance of winning.

 

On 10 October, William Joppy, who retained the WBA ‘second tier’ title when stopping Naotaka Hozumi inside ten rounds at the Ryogoku Sumo Arena, Tokyo, Japan, would be Hopkins' next challenger.

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3 November 2001. Armand Krajnc w pts 12 Paolo Roberto.

Venue: Hanse Hall, Lubeck, Germany. Recognition: WBO. Referee: Joachim Jacobsen.

Scorecards: 117-111, 118-110, 118-111.

Fight Summary: Shrugging off a bad start when he was rocked by a right hook to the jaw, the champion, beginning to dictate matters, took control after the third round as Roberto (160), a hard-hitting southpaw, ran out of ideas. In the sixth Roberto was lucky to be still in the fight after a tremendous right to the head had him all over the place, but he stuck at it when surviving to the final bell as Krajnc (160) tired.

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29 September 2001. Bernard Hopkins w rsc 12 Felix Trinidad.

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: IBF/WBA/WBC. Referee: Steve Smoger.

Fight Summary: After an opening round in which he had good look at the new WBA champion, Hopkins (157) moved up several gears to gradually take Trinidad (158½) apart prior to stopping him at 1.42 of the 12th. Hopkins was just far too good for Trinidad, whether it be boxing or fighting. Stumbling around in the 11th it was clear that Trinidad was almost finished for the night, and in the final session Hopkins opened up with both hands before sending his man down heavily with a short right to the jaw. Although Trinidad struggled up at ‘nine’, on seeing that he was not ready to continue the referee decided the fight was over.

 

Hopkins was awarded The Ring Championship Belt at the end of 2001. With the WBA recognising Hopkins as a ‘super’ champion, William Joppy took over their ‘second tier’ title when outpointing Howard Eastman over 12 rounds at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada on 17 November.

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12 May 2001. Felix Trinidad w rsc 5 William Joppy.

Venue: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Arthur Mercante Jnr.

Fight Summary: Moving up a weight to take on Joppy (158¾) for his WBA title, the former undefeated IBF and WBA junior middleweight champion made the transition without a hitch, starting well by dropping his rival with heavy left-right combinations towards the end of the first. From there onwards it was all one-way apart from in the third when Joppy made a big effort to take Trinidad (159½) out of the fight with heavy right hands. Coming straight back in the fourth Trinidad decked Joppy for the mandatory ‘eight’ count with a big left hook before going to work in similar vein in the fifth. Trinidad was now totally on top, ripping in blows to head and body, and after pounding away at Joppy the latter crashed to the floor from a right to the jaw. At this point the referee called the fight off on the 2.25 mark when the stricken fighter somehow got to his feet at ‘four’ in no condition to continue. Thus Trinidad, who was also a former undefeated IBF/WBC welterweight title holder, joined the ranks of three-weight world champions.

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14 April 2001. Bernard Hopkins w pts 12 Keith Holmes.

Venue: MSG Theatre, Manhattan, NYC, New York, USA. Recognition: IBF/WBC. Referee: Steve Smoger.

Scorecards: 119-118, 118-109, 117-110.

Fight Summary: In a contest that would unify the IBF and WBC titles, Hopkins (159) took over Holmes’ WBC crown when winning virtually every round even after having a point deducted for low blows in the fifth. In that session Holmes (157½) was given about a minute’s rest, but it made no difference. There were no knockdowns as such, despite Holmes, who also suffered a cut to his left eye in the fifth, going down on one knee on four occasions. Holmes was taken out of his stride throughout by Hopkins, who waged a physical battle right from the start. Although the clever southpaw, realising that he was way behind, tried to match his rival in the latter stages he was put in his place after being bombed to head and body by heavy punches.

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2 December 2000. William Joppy w rsc 4 Jonathan Reid.

Venue: Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Joe Cortez.

Fight Summary: As a late substitute for Guillermo Jones and then Julio Garcia, the unbeaten Reid (160) proved no match for the champion, being totally outclassed. On the back foot from the beginning Reid got through the opening two rounds unscathed before he was blasted to the floor in the third by a salvo of punches and then saved by the bell when under another heavy attack. With it being more of the same in the fourth, when Joppy (159½) smashed Reid down with a solid left-right combination the referee immediately stopped the fight with 17 seconds of the session remaining.

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1 December 2000. Bernard Hopkins w rsc 10 Antwun Echols.

Venue: Venetian Casino & Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Tony Weeks.

Fight Summary: Following on from their previous dramatic encounter it was no surprise that the pair started brawling almost from the start. In the second round when the champion put Echols (160) down for at least 30 seconds from a punch to the back of the head, the referee neither counted nor deducted points before telling them to fight on. Then, in the sixth, with decisions going against him the challenger picked Hopkins (158½) up and body slammed him. Hopkins was hurt but consented to fight on, while Echols had two points taken away. After Hopkins had been pushed to the floor in the seventh he came back strongly to batter Echols through the ropes for a count, the latter being saved by the bell. Both men were throwing heavy blows from there on before Hopkins, who had lost a point for holding in the eighth, forced the referee to rescue the badly battered and tottering Echols at 1.42 of the tenth session.

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7 October 2000. Armand Krajnc w rsc 6 Bert Schenk.

Venue: Estrel Convention Centre, Berlin, Germany. Recognition: WBO. Referee: James Condon.

Fight Summary: Having lost his title through injury, Schenk (159½) was given the opportunity to regain it when meeting the current champion, Krajnc (159), but unfortunately for him he was eventually found wanting. Starting slowly, the southpaw Schenk lost the first two rounds before getting back into the fight when winning the third and fourth with solid counters proving effective. He was also going reasonably well in the fifth, but halfway into the session he was in trouble, and after taking a heavy right hook to the head followed by a body shot in the sixth he dropped to his knees. Back on his feet, having taken a mandatory ‘eight’ count, Schenk merely covered up before the referee stopped the fight on the 2.51 mark when he was not hitting back.

 

Further to reports that Krajnc had split from his management and renounced his WBO title during the summer of 2001, when the championship was declared vacant a match was made between the WBO junior middleweight champion, Harry Simon, and Hacine Cherifi. The contest went ahead at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum, Bayamon, Puerto Rico on 21 July 2001, Simon outpointing Cherifi over 12 rounds of a fight billed for the vacant title. However, when it later transpired that Krajnc had not vacated the championship, despite a letter from his lawyer to that effect, the WBO was eventually forced to accept that Simon v Cherifi was merely an ‘interim’ championship fight. The WBO then stated that the winner of a projected Krajnc v Paolo Roberto contest would have to defend against Simon.

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16 September 2000. William Joppy w pts 12 Hacine Cherifi.

Venue: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Joe Cortez.

Scorecards: 119-106, 118-107, 118-107.

Fight Summary: According to the reports the fight was never close, Cherifi (159) winning just one round - the fifth - and being dropped twice before going down heavily on all the cards. Right from the start it was clear that Cherifi was in for a hard night when Joppy (160) walked into him throwing solid uppercuts and combinations. Although Cherifi came through the attack and stoically resisted the champion’s efforts to finish early, he was dropped in both the eighth and ninth rounds before being smashed to the floor just as the bell rang to end the ninth. Regardless of the fact that the knockdown did not count Cherifi was left badly stunned, but he somehow made it to the final bell despite taking a battering all the way. To make matters even worse for the Frenchman was a point deduction in the sixth for hitting on the break.

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20 May 2000. William Joppy w rsc 1 Rito Ruvalcaba.

Venue: Grand Casino, Tunica, Mississippi, USA. Recognition: WBA. Referee: Fred Steinwinder.

Fight Summary: Up against the WBA’s mandatory challenger, Joppy (157¼) made a fast start when sending the hapless Mexican back on his heels from the first two blows of the fight. Although Ruvalcaba (155¾) remained upright it was clear that he was unlikely to be around much longer as Joppy wound up the punches, and after slamming in three big rights that catapulted him off the ropes the referee stopped the contest with 67 seconds of the first round remaining.

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13 May 2000. Bernard Hopkins w pts 12 Syd Vanderpool.

Venue: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Recognition: IBF. Referee: Bill Page.

Scorecards: 118-110, 118-109, 116-112.

Fight Summary: Coming in at late notice after the champion’s original opponent, Brian Barbosa, was injured, Vanderpool (160) made a reasonable fist of it without ever looking likely to win despite taking the opening three rounds. According to The Ring magazine, Hopkins (158½) was strangely passive for a fighter looking to be considered among the elite and while he opened up at times, because he never went after the southpaw Canadian with a vengeance, the fight became messy. In the third, sixth and seventh rounds both men were on the floor together. Towards the end, in the 12th, Hopkins began to place his punches better, and after he had got Vanderpool up against the ropes the referee jumped between them. It looked like Hopkins was getting a stoppage win, but it turned out that the referee thought he had heard the final bell which went moments later.

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29 April 2000. Keith Holmes w rsc 11 Robert McCracken.

Venue: The Arena, Wembley, London, England. Recognition: WBC. Referee: Alfred Asaro.

Fight Summary: Being inactive for over a year did not help the challenger’s cause when trying to wrest the title from Holmes (158). Boxing off the back foot Holmes’ southpaw skills were too much for the brave McCracken (159½), who was dropped by a hard left to the side of the head in the third before cuts appeared around both eyes and his left eye began to close in round five. Although McCracken tried to find a way through Holmes’ defences it was not his night, and even after the American had a point deducted for holding in the tenth he came on strongly to have the Brummie stumbling and on the verge of going down. There was little action in the 11th, but when McCracken’s left eye began to worsen the referee gave it a few moments before calling the fight off on the 2.24 mark.

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11 March 2000. Armand Krajnc w co 2 Jonathan Corn.

Venue: Hanse Hall, Lubeck, Germany. Recognition: WBO. Referee: Mark Nelson.

Fight Summary: Putting up his title for the first time, Krajnc (159¾) wasted little time in going for Corn (159¾), and by the end of the opening round it already looked as though the little known American would not be around for much longer. Picking up where he left off Krajnc was soon letting the punches go and, after chasing his man down, heavy blows to the head saw Corn almost knocked out of the ring before being counted out at 1.29 of the second.