It is that time of the week again where I scour the past week’s boxing results and see what I can find. This week we feature a failed comeback, a two time Olympic gold medalist, the final fight of a legend, a possibly imaginary heavyweight, and more! The week may have been dead at the top of the sport, but there was plenty bubbling below the surface.
On the Radar Fight Results
Yafai, Eggington, Warrington, and Yildrim pick up wins on a slow weekend
Under the Radar Fight Results
Vincent Feigenbutz (26-2, 23 KOs) UD12 Norbert Nemesapati (25-6, 18 KOs), super middleweights – Germany
Normally I don’t like to talk about the WBA’s lower belts that some call world titles, but I’ll make an exception here. When Vincent Feigenbutz won the WBA interim super middleweight title in 2015, he was 19 years old. Imaginary world title or not, that is an accomplishment. He lost it a year later in a one to one, two fight series to Giovanni de Carolis, who then lost it to Tyrone Zeuge. Since dropping the belt, he has gone 5-0. Feigenbutz is still only 21. His other defeat was a KO loss when he was 16. He isn’t beating world level opponents, but he is beating full grown men with good professional boxing records. Feigenbutz is absolutely a prospect to keep an eye on. I also am just going to go and award him the WBA Super Duper Best Name In Boxing Belt right now as well.
Jose Manuel Clavero (11-10, 3 KOs) TKO3 Pablo Navascues (25-3-1, 16 KOs), middleweights – Spain
Pablo Navascues gained a little notice in 2009 when he fought an aging Javier Castillejo, one of Spain’s all time greats, to a majority draw in what turned out to be Castillejo’s final bout. Navascues only had one early career loss and looked like maybe he would carry on the mantle of being Spain’s world level fighter. Three fights later he tried for the European middleweight belt against then still unbeaten Grzegorz Proksa. There Navascues was soundly defeated by ninth round stoppage on his home soil in somewhat embarrassing fashion. Navascues promptly retired. At 41 years old, he returned this weekend after six years away and it was a mistake. Navascues was stopped in three by a .500 club fighter with barely a KO rate to speak of. Now, I imagine, he will be retired for good.
Pedro Guevara (30-2-1, 17 KOs) UD10 Oswaldo Novoa (14-8-3, 9 KOs), flyweights – Mexico
In 2014 Pedro Guervara went to Japan and won the vacant WBC light flyweight title against Akira Yaegashi. He defended it twice in Mexico before returning to Japan and losing the belt to Yu Kimura in a split decision in November of the following year. Guervara is 4-0 against middling competition like Novoa on the Yildrim/Periban bill since losing his belt. He seems to be biding his time until another title shot comes his way. In a division as weak 108, that title shot will come sooner rather than later.
Roberto Garcia (40-3, 24 KOs) UD8 Nestor Garcia (22-13-1, 17 KOs), junior middleweights – Mexico
Roberto Garcia is having a bizarre career. In 2010 he lost a shut out decision to Antonio Margarito in Margarito’s first fight back from his loss to Mosley, one fight before Pacquiao ended Margarito as any sort of top fighter. Then he stepped down and started winning at a pretty decent level through 2014 over the likes of Antwone Smith, Victor Manuel Cayo, and Breidis Prescott. Then, without losing, he stepped down even further. Now he fights eight round fights against journeyman like this one on the Yildrim/Periban undercard. He even had a six rounder in there. I don’t get it.
Abner Cotto (21-3, 10 KOs) KO1 Edwin Lopez (27-9-1, 23 KOs), junior welterweights – Puerto Rico
A cousin of Miguel Cotto, Abner’s ceiling has been well established at this point. He can excel against club fighters and journeyman, but when he has stepped up he has not found success. Cotto was stopped in one by Omar Figueroa and in five by Javier Fortuna. In between he lost a wide decision to Francisco Vargas. At the same time, he did win a few rounds against Vargas and he did drop Fortuna before Fortuna got to him. Abner Cotto is a pretty good, but ultimately not elite fighter. He is the quality of fighter that fights for the European titles, but nothing like that exists for him in North America.
Gamal Yafai (12-0, 5 KOs) TKO7 Sean Davis (12-1), super bantamweights – England
Khalid’s younger brother Gamal Yafai had shown very little power coming into this battle of British unbeatens, but he found quite a bit here dropping Davis six times in seven rounds. This was an eye opening performance for the twenty five year old prospect on his brother’s undercard. It also should have been an eye opening experience for Davis as well. Davis, who has never scored a knockout, had absolutely nothing on his shots that could conceivably bother Yafai. Accordingly, Gamal blasted away at will. Young Yafai is now a prospect to watch at super bantamweight.
Frankie Gavin (24-3, 14 KOs) PTS8 Renald Garrido (18-15-1, 3), welterweights – England
How long ago now does it seem since Frankie Gavin was a big time prospect? It was less than three years ago that he was still unbeaten and a potential world titlist. Of course he was crazy inconsistent, somewhat unpredictable, and his personal life was rumored to be a mess, but I don’t think anyone thought he would be buried on the undercard of a super flyweight fight scraping by in an eight rounder against a complete journeyman just this short time later. Gavin is only thirty one, but he seems completely done at this point. I don’t mean to discredit Garrido here as he has only really lost to competent professional fighters, but Gavin just should have been so much more than this.
Josh Kelly (2-0, 1 KO) TKO4 Joey Vina (6-2, 1 KO), junior middleweights – England
2016 British Olympian Josh Kelly picked up his second career win and first stoppage on the Yafai undercard. At this point Kelly looks like a good, but maybe not great prospect. He also isn’t being matched as soft prospects often are in their first two fights. Both of his opponents had won at least 80% of their fights and neither had been stopped. A former model, Kelly will be a very marketable fighter should he develop the way Eddie Hearn would like him to.
Thomas Ward (21-0, 2 KOs) TD9 Jazza Dickens (22-3, 7 KOs), super bantamweights – England
Thomas Ward, who I was completely unfamiliar with prior to this weekend, picked up a British title in a mild upset over Jazza Dickens on the Warrington/Martinez undercard. Ward looked good early, bouncing in and out, landing while nullifying most of what Dickens sent back. Jazza was starting to rally back in the last third of the fight, however, when heads clashed and a really bad, diagonal cut opened over Dicken’s left eye. The fight was stopped and Ward earned a technical decision win. On a card that looked like it was designed to make sure there were no knockouts whatsoever, Ward looked on paper like one of the worst offenders on the list. One shouldn’t judge a fighter by his boxrec, however, as Ward ended up looking like he had some potential at only 22 to fight a little above British level.
Tyrone Nurse (35-2-2, 7 KOs) PTS8 Andy Keates (12-7, 1 KO), lightweights – England
British super lightweight champ Tyrone Nurse, coming off a disappointing draw to Joe Hughes, stayed busy with a win over a club fighter on the Warrington/Martinez bill. He should have won easily and he did. There is nothing else to say about this bout except that Nurse did get cut. He is expected to defend next against Jack Catteral in a fight that I feel will probably be the end of his British title reign. Hopefully the cut doesn’t delay that bout too long.
Nicola Adams (2-0, 1 KO) TKO3 Maryan Salazar (5-2), super flyweights – England
Nicola Adams, a 34 year old two time Olympic gold medalist, punched an eighteen year old girl until the fight was stopped. I feel like if these were men, well a man and a boy, we might have a problem with a 34 year old two time Olympic gold medalist being booked against an eighteen year old kid. But hey, what do I know? Anyway, Adams got her wish for three minute rounds and will likely get a title shot before 2017 is up.
James Toney (77-10-3, 47 KOs) KO6 Mike Sheppard (24-21-2, 10 KOs), heavyweights – Michigan
In what he is probably falsely claiming is his final fight, James Toney scored a devastating, highlight reel knockout. In the sixth round he kind of, sort of maybe landed a punch around Mike Sheppard’s armpit. Sheppard collapsed to the ground, for some reason, and was counted out. To be blunt, this was a farce. It has been a long time since I legitimately wondered if a fight was on the up and up, but that is where we are with James Toney in 2017. There is no doubt that Lights Out is an all time great, and I’ll never tell another man what to do with his life, but I sincerely hope this is really the end for the former four division titlist.
Courtney Pennington (11-3-2, 5 KOs) UD10 Delvin Rodriguez (29-9-4, 16 KOs), middleweights – Connecticut
Speaking of the end, 37 year old former two time title challenger and Friday Night Fights staple Delvin Rodriguez appears to be done at any sort of real competitive level. To be fair to Pennington he was coming off a decent win against former prospect Khiery Gray, but a decade ago Rodriguez would have had absolutely no issue with someone on this sort of high club level of the sport. It is not a decade ago. Rodriguez only has one win since Miguel Cotto bashed him out in three back in 2013. The end is near if not here already.
Jun Long Zhang (17-0, 17 KOs) KO2 Pedro Otas (30-4, 26 KOs), heavyweights – China
Jun Long Zhang is one of two of China’s heavyweight hopes. The other is Zhilei Zhang, so good luck with that. Jun Long owns a minor WBA belt, which is funny given that the WBA once publicly questioned whether his fights were really even happening or not. I am not kidding. They demanded video a few years ago even though they already had him ranked. Hooray, boxing. I guess they got what they needed, but I can’t find much more than quick clips. Zhilei, by the way, is definitely a real fighter having fought in the US many times. Jun Long is 35, so time is ticking. You know, if he is actually a fighter.
