Errol Spence is 'The Truth' in Vegas; Wade comes through tough Brinson

By Peter Wells:

Errol Spence (right) lands his foolproof punch of the fight on Cruz (left)

In the main event of Friday night’s ShoBox card, Errol Spence Jr continued his impressive switch from a successful amateur career to the pro’s as he dismantled experience world level fighter Ronald Cruz in his 13^th fight.


Spence won every round on the way to a 10 round points victory in Las Vegas.

Spence displayed a good variety from his southpaw stance but in truth needed little more than the solid left hand that kept Cruz on the back foot all fight. Cruz was gallant throughout but offered little to test the rising boxing star as he suffered damage to both eyes while taking a pounding that gradually got more one-sided as the fight wore on.

The first minute saw nothing more than a few parried jabs from both fighters before Spence drove in two left crosses, both blocked by the high guard of Cruz. Ronald Cruz lunged for a right downstairs but came up short. Spence found his way through with a right, left to the body, another two lefts landed to the body of Cruz before Spence landed twice upstairs with long left hands to the side of Cruz’s face.

Both pawed with their jabs again in the 2^nd, Cruz looking to turn his jab into a left hook. A left to the body was followed up by a smart right to the head from Spence before the two once again tangled up. A left uppercut swept through Cruz’s guard before Spence tapped Cruz with three successive jabs.

Spence unloaded with a three punch combination but Cruz managed to cover up well. A right hand over the top grazed the cheek of Spence. A hard right landed to the temple of Cruz as Spence looked to up the intensity as he pounded away at a Cruz that looked content behind a high guard that was beginning to get breached.

Cruz slightly more aggressive drove a right hand through the guard of Spence who in turn found Cruz’s chin with a left uppercut. Having never been previously stopped it would take something special from Spence even though he was dominating, he was not hurting Cruz with any of his variety of shots. Cruz coming forward went downstairs with a right hand and was then tagged on the chin by a looping left.

Swivelling to the right Spence slammed home another three punch salvo. Holding onto the back of Spence’s head Cruz landed two right uppercuts in close before Spence forced Cruz back to the ropes where he went to work. Spence popped another left straight down the pipe as Cruz failed to react. A solid double jab was followed by a swooping left from Spence.

Cruz stuck in cruise control took another four punch combination before Spence landed a straight left for good measure. Spence’s movement also added to Cruz’s frustrations as he swung wildly with a left hook. Spence caught Cruz off balance with a right hook as he stumbled forward.

Cruz found his way through with a more urgent right hand to open the 7^th before they held on, arms clinched as they moved across the ring. A left uppercut landed on the eyebrow of Cruz. A sneaky left hand connected from Cruz prior to Spence digging into the body.

Cuts over both eyes didn’t help matters for Cruz who continued to take punishment from Spence who was in full control.

Cruz’s early aggression in the 8^th was once again taken away from him as Spence landed his best punch of the fight as a left hook clubbed into his right cheek. Looking for an impressive stoppage Spence poured forward landing more hurtful punches on the chin of a brave Cruz.

Back to the ropes Cruz continued to take punishment in the final two rounds from a rampant Errol Spence. Punches that weren’t landing for Spence were hitting the gloves of Cruz, rather than hitting thin air. A solid left cross slashed across the chin of Cruz to end the 9^th. The Puerto Rican born fighter continued to show what a solid chin he possessed if nothing else as Spence managed to find the target with multiple more left hands.

Cruz was extremely brave but Spence was sensational and that quality is what saw him take a shutout points victory 100-90 – on all three scorecards - as he moves to 13-0(10) while Cruz drops to 20-4(15).

 

In the co-feature bout, Dominic Wade continued his unbeaten run with an entertaining victory over Nick Brinson. Both fighters were wobbled in a fun contest, where Wade’s bright start led to him tiring in the later stages as Brinson pushed hard to turn the tide. Wade once again displayed a solid jab that won him any close rounds whereas Brinson worked exclusively in spurts that only really came into effect later in the contest.

Both fighters met in the centre of the ring but soon enough Wade was forcing Brinson back. Behind a hard jab Wade backed Brinson up with a straight right hand to the body and the head.

A left hook almost landed for Brinson before Wade stuck out a solid jab, pushing Brinson towards the rope with a one-two. Wade’s jab was a potent weapon for the undefeated fighter, Brinson looking to use his speed to quickly fire in the right off of a decoy jab. A right hand clipped Wade as he looked to fire in another jab or a long left hook. 

A solid left hook staggered Wade to open the 3^rd round, Wade held as they got involved in a neutral corner. Wade’s quick recovery saw him regain control of the fight, snapping a right hand that didn’t land clean as Brinson dipped down along the ropes. Brinson began to look for more long hooks which all were wild and wide of the target. In a clinch near the ropes Brinson pounded away with his free right hand to the body of Wade. Dominic Wade ended the round on top as he caught Brinson with a hard left hook followed by several damaging one-twos down the pipe. Brinson fought fire-with-fire as he launched a left of his own that momentarily stunned Wade at the bell.


Wade went downstairs with a right before firing in three solid jabs leading into another two jabs which caught Brinson on the side of his head. Brinson fired away but Wade had his guard up in position to repel that attack. Brinson began to target the body, two left hooks and a right were notable punches he landed in the final minute of the round.

Wade (left) lands a grazing blow on Brinson (right)



The two exchanged again in the 5^th; wide swings from Brinson were countered by the straighter shots of Wade. It was now Wade thoroughly on the back foot, Brinson again taking it to him on the ropes. Brinson pounded the body of Wade in an off round for Wade in the early going. The last 30 seconds saw Wade stick the jab in the face of Brinson who missed wildly with his own shots.

Brinson was able to find a way through with a straight right cross. A left hook to the head was followed by the same shot to the body from Brinson before he was tagged by a right hand. A right hand landed for Brinson, Wade walking his opponent down with more hard jabs. Wade clubbed Brinson with three punches down the middle before Brinson returned fire to the body.

Brinson caught Wade with a counter right over an unusually lazy jab, Wade slammed Brinson with a right of his own. A jab from Wade was well blocked by Brinson but Wade then found his way through with a right uppercut before landing several bombs while Brinson leaned on the ropes. Another right uppercut connected with Brinson’s chin.

Wild shots came in from Brinson, but Wade was not working nearly enough as Brinson was able to find his way inside too easily, even though Wade tucked up well. While taking the round, Brinson wasn’t able to take full advantage of Wade’s inactivity as his attacks proved too crude.

The 9^th carried a similar pattern to the 8^th as the pace dropped, especially from Wade. A snapping left hand caught a weary looking Wade, a right hand then landed from Brinson as Wade slid off the ropes.

A wild left landed high on the temple of Wade while the rest of Brinson’s combination was off target. A solid one-two caught Brinson as he piled forward looking to turn the tide at the 11^th hour. The two exchanged before Brinson caught Wade with a snapshot of a right hand as Wade left himself open.

I had the contest 97-94 to Wade while the judges saw it similarly at 96-94 and 97-93 (twice) to Dominic Wade who improved to 16-0(11) while Brinson dropped to 16-2-2(6).

Burns stunned by Zlaticanin; Limond shows his class; Simmons leaves it late

By Peter Wells:

Ricky Burns (left) & Dejan Zlaticanin (right)

Last night was supposed to go swimmingly for Ricky Burns, it was set up to be Burns' night, a chance to regain the fine form he had lost in recent outings, and a chance to put himself back in the title picture. Instead the recently dethroned WBO Lightweight champion was hit by a further sucker punch as he was beaten by unknown Dejan Zlaticanin.

The Montenegrin remained undefeated, topping his previous low key victories with the win of his career thus far. There was little doubt that Zlaticanin had potential, bouncing up the WBC rankings with good wins that included a unanimous one over Boxcino Tournament winner Petr Petrov.

But unfortunately for Burns, no one will be heralding Zlaticanin as the next big thing, his style is unconventional to say the least, swinging left overhand haymakers from the hip. While these shots did seem wild, they had accuracy and timing attached to them, and that is what caught Burns out, as the Scotsman was unable to avoid the bombs.

Burns was dropped and shaken several times, and while coming on strong in the second half of the fight, it wasn't enough as he lost a split decision.

Burns was levelled by a left over his own right hand inside 20 seconds of the 1st round. Burns rose but was under heavy pressure for the rest of the session.

Burns was not working enough and it was a theme of every round that Dejan would land one overhand left flush to the chin. An elusive target, Zlaticanin moved forward without a jab, the biggest disappointment in Ricky's performance being that he did not take full advantage of his jab. Instead Ricky fired the occasional volley of shots that usually resulted in Dejan tagging the home favourite with a hard left from the southpaw stance.

Not doing enough was allowing for the one-bombs to steal the rounds for Dejan, who would then pound Ricky on the ropes to further stamp his name on the rounds as they passed by.

Ricky Burns taking a count in the opening round

It wasn't only Ricky Burns who had a fault in his work as Sky Sports coverage went down for rounds 6-9. Reports suggest that while Dejan still landed enough with the overhand left, Burns was moving more and edging his way back into the contest. When Sky picked it back up again in the 10th that was exactly how the fight was panning out, Ricky now looking in control of the action. A huge left hand tagged Burns just before the bell in the final round.

A terrific performance from Dejan was rewarded by scorecards of 115-113 (twice) to Zlaticanin and 115-113 to Burns.

Burns dropped to 36-4-1(11) and he will need to think hard about his next step in the boxing ring as his run of bad form continues. Domestic rivals such as Anthony Crolla will surely be chomping at the bit to get it on with the former two-weight world champion. Zlaticanin moves to 19-0(13) as he goes in search of a title fight with WBC champion Omar Figueroa.

The co-feature provided drama and entertainment as Willie Limond 38-4(10) retained his Commonwealth Light Welterweight title while claiming the British title off Curtis Woodhouse 22-7(13).

Woodhouse was dropped twice by the Scottish fighter in a fight where the quality of Limond shone through against the raw determination of Woodhouse.

Woodhouse started the opener behind a strong jab, Limond throwing very little in response. Woodhouse may still have nicked the round but Limond made a case for himself when a right hand landed around the ear of Woodhouse which momentarily backed him up to the ropes, a warning of the underrated power that Limond carries.

The pair jostled for position in the centre of the ring, Woodhouse fell short with a right and was countered well by a left-right by Limond who ended the round well again.

Woodhouse became more assertive in his work in the 3rd, two right hands backing Limond up, but it was Woodhouse who ended the round with disappointment etched across his features as he was dropped by a perfect left uppercut set up by a right cross.



Curtis Woodhouse (left) on the ropes against Willie Limond (right)

Limond started the 4th strongly, Woodhouse still shaken by the left at the very end of the last session. Limond backed Woodhouse onto the ropes but Curtis quickly regained his composure, digging hurtful left hooks downstairs.

Woodhouse dug to the body again, a place he would target for much of the contest. Woodhouse began to stick combinations together, but Limond covered up well taking nothing flush. After another good opening to the round from Woodhouse it was Limond who ended it on top, a trick picked up over 42 nights in the ring.

The 6th was one of Woodhouse's best rounds as he seemed to be in control for the whole 3 minutes. That's not to say it wasn't a close round, but Limond did not take over in the final 1:40 like he had in the previous 5 sessions.

Woodhouse was slowly upping the ante, and Limond wasn't all too content on going up with him. Instead Limond worked in his own spurts, once again showing his veteran noose.

Woodhouse was forcing Limond to work hard, but Limond had plenty of energy left in the tank, and he was expending it with confidence in the 8th round. Woodhouse while not quite in desperation mode, was beginning to walk onto punches that were handing the round to Limond.

It was a nip-and-tuck affair, neither really in command of any exchanges, but Limond was now moving more, jabbing and moving with Woodhouse growing in frustration. A three punch combination and a right downstairs from Woodhouse was responded by a stubborn jab and a right cross from Limond.

Woodhouse looked in control of the 11th as he was pushing for a knockout that he likely needed. But then came another sucker punch as he walked onto a right uppercut that sent the former football player to the canvas for a second time. Limond ended the round on top as Woodhouse was backed up heavily against the ropes.

For the opening two minutes of the final round Woodhouse's attack was ineffective but he ended the round with a champions finish. Hard body shots were followed by two hard left hooks and a big right over the top, but Limond was never in danger as he saw out the final 20 seconds to claim a majority decision win.

The scores read 113-113 and 116-111, 117-109 for Limond.

The opening bout of the televised card was an up-and-down encounter as bitter rivals Stephen Simmons10-0(5) stopped Wadi Camacho 12-3(8) in the 10th and final round.

The two Cruiserweights had come close to trading blows at the weigh in the day before and it was the much calmer Camacho that seemed in charge early. An intelligent jab and left crosses down the middle were able to tame the wild attacks from Simmons.

Then in the 3rd the jab of Wadi became a tentative weapon as Simmons was able to reach with the right hand without paying the price even when he came up short.



Wadi Camacho (left) backed up by Stephen Simmons (right)

There was now little conviction to Wadi's work as Simmons took over, big right hands were met by roars from his home crowd.

The momentum changed again in the 5th as Camacho began to find his groove once again, Simmons sat back in his own corner as Camacho wailed away.

Simmons darted in with one punch attacks that were easy enough to time for the Londoner. Camacho a little jaded himself couldn't take full advantage of the wild attacks from Simmons.

The 8th round saw both have big success, the right hand of Simmons met head on by the left of Camacho. Another right landed flush for Simmons in the 9th as he was clawing his way back into control of the contest.

Camacho ahead on the scorecards was caught by another hard right in the final round and finally his resistance was broken as he stumbled forward and onto the canvas. Wadi was never allowed out of the danger zone as Simmons zoned in for the stoppage, which came within moments of the referee waving them back into action.

The two embraced at the end showing great sportsmanship after the unpleasantness before the contest.

Terence Crawford vs Yuriokis Gamboa Preview

By Peter Wells:

Terence Crawford (left) & Yuriokis Gamboa (right)

Identical records, but the similarities are halted there between Terence Crawford and Yuriokis Gamboa. Both stand at 23-0(16), but their paths to boxing and world titles have been far from identical.

Yuriokis Gamboa fled Cuba to realise his professional dream in Germany, having set out to Colombia before heading to Germany to apply for a visa to enter the USA. The precious Gold Medal he won at Athens 2004 was sold to support his family, who had to stay in Cuba, prior to him defecting. After an impressive start to his professional career in Europe he headed to Miami, Florida where he gradually rose through the rankings before capturing the WBA Featherweight title from Whyber Garcia (TKO 4).

Gamboa's form has been sporadic, but the exciting Cuban has won every time, quickly becoming a fan favourite due to his offensive brilliance and defensive lapses. Gamboa has not seen action for 12 months, and many have been questioning the Cuban talents' motivation, something that has often lacked with Cuban fighters after switching to the paid ranks.

The quality is there, and he'll need every bit of it against hot prospect Crawford. The Nebraska native has gone about his business at Lightweight the conventional route before dispatching Ricky Burns (W UD 12) to capture the WBO Lightweight title last time out. At 26, Crawford is still on the rise while Gamboa at 32 must take this opportunity to fulfil the potential his amateur pedigree predicted. His moment in the sun should have come 3 years ago when he looked set to face rival Juan Manuel Lopez, but the Puerto Rican was shocked in 8 rounds by Orlando Salido, and the super fight that boxing was craving has never been mentioned again.


Gamboa with Promoter 50 Cent

Crawford, a polished boxer, enjoys fighting at range, mixing it from head to body, lacking the power but speed is something that comes in abundance. His accuracy is something Gamboa has often lacked, but the Cubans power and explosiveness have helped him hugely along the way. The question will be whether Gamboa's power will still be as present at Lightweight, and a hard to hit Crawford will make it harder for the Cuban to experiment.

At 5ft 5in, Gamboa can be an elusive target himself, but he often squares up when in range and his hands down approach could see him as an easy target for Crawford.

Crawford cannot afford to settle into a slow pace as he will be in danger of being outworked. At 5ft 8in Crawford can use his height and reach advantages to frustrate Gamboa - who can be very easily rattled.

The pick is for Crawford to disrupt Gamboa's rhythm enough with a sharp jab followed by a right cross, which should land with enough regularity to rack up the points. Gamboa should be slightly ahead by the halfway stage, his work rate enough to sway the judges, even if the cleaner work is coming from the American. As the fight enters the final stretch Crawford will grow stronger, Gamboa upping his urgency will see him caught on the way in, although he will likely get through with enough hooks and overhand rights to keep the rounds fairly tight.


Crawford celebrates winning his first world title in Scotland

While it will not be a case of home-cooking, Crawford can take a close, maybe split, decision victory in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

Unfortunately the undercard does not live up to the main event on paper, the pick being a match-up of unbeaten Middleweights as Matt Korobov 23-0(14) takes on Jose Uzcategui 22-0(18).

Former Olympian Korobov seems to have been on the prospect ladder for a long time now, meaning the time to step up is soon approaching. Uzcategui's best win came last time out when he stopped former world title challenger David Alonso Lopez (KO 6). Korobov can take a clear victory on the scorecards in this 10 rounder.

Sergio Martinez vs Miguel Cotto Preview

By Peter Wells:

Miguel Cotto (left) & Sergio Martinez (right)

With the sunset nearing on two sensational careers, Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez will engage for possibly the final time in a super-fight. Following Saturday night these two adored fighters will have a combined total of 99 professional fights.

Cotto 38-4(31) will make the bold move to Middleweight, having fought at Welterweight just 4 1/2 years ago. That risk is then levelled out by Martinez's recent injury troubles, his exceptionally preserved body is letting Martinez 51-2-2(28) down when he needs it most.

Martinez comes into the contest off the back of the brightest spell of his career - which at 39 is remarkable as he has improved with age. Since a controversial loss to Paul Williams (MD 12), 'Maravilla' has found a new level that puts him up their as one of the best fighters on the planet. Kelly Pavlik (UD 12) was left a bloody mess, Paul Williams (KO 2) was at the wrong end of one of the most spectacular one punch knockouts in recent memory in their rematch and Sergey Dzinziruk (TKO 8), Darren Barker (KO 11) and Matthew Macklin (RTD 11) were all tough but were found wanting as Martinez drew nearer to greatness.

Then in September 2012 he went on to silence Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (UD 12) with an excellent boxing display that he almost let slip as Chavez came close to pulling off a miraculous stoppage in the final round. After retaining the WBC Middleweight title that was so wrongly taken away from him, the cracks began to show as his body betrayed him in his homecoming in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Martinez was lucky to escape with a decision win against Martin Murray (UD 12). But injuries sustained in that fight have left the Argentinian on the side-lines for over 12 months.

One has to imagine that if Martinez's body is not where it should be, if any of those past injuries are still lingering, then Saturday night may spell the end of his amazing career. Martinez has promised that he feels 100%, but then again what kind of a fighter would admit to not being at his best before such a huge event.

Martinez dominates Chavez Jr before the infamous 12th round

Madison Square Garden in New York, where this contest will be held, has been a haven for Miguel Cotto and his beloved Puerto Rican fans. But his unbeaten streak there was ended in December 2012 by Austin Trout (UD 12), in a defeat that had many questioning how much Cotto had left. From the 7th round onwards Trout elevated himself to dominate Cotto, seeming close to stopping the boxing legend much like Manny Pacquiao (TKO 12) and Antonio Margarito (TKO 11) had done earlier in his career.

Cotto has already shown his bounce back ability in the past, rising from defeats to the aforementioned Margarito and Pacquiao to reign as world champion, but this time could be different. A 3rd round stoppage of Delvin Rodriguez was impressive but the opponent was tailor-made, and the step up in weight is a concern for a fighter that has many miles on the tank.

If Martinez has fully recovered from those harassing injuries then it seems likely that the bigger man can thwart Cotto's early aggression before the culmination of punches finally breaks him down.

However Martinez's style does not resemble that of Margarito or Pacquiao, although he hits harder than his knockout percentage suggests.

With all things taken into equation, one does believe that while the injuries will not be so apparent after so long out the ring for Martinez, they will have some lasting damage on the champion's qualities in the ring. His movement may not be up to the same standard we are so used to seeing, and that could be crucial against a Cotto that is so adept at making the ring feel like a phone box.

Cotto destroys Rodriguez last time out

Some have questioned Martinez's chin, especially Cotto's trainer Freddie Roach, but many of the knockdowns he has suffered in his career were flash knockdowns with the blame lying on his balance rather than his chin. Then in the case of the Chavez fight, the Mexican was around a stone heavier than Martinez come fight night, something Cotto will not be.

While not really having the physique of a Middleweight, Cotto should cope well with the move up in weight, but if he expends too much energy early on looking to take Martinez out of there, then he could be made to pay in the later rounds.

The pick is for Cotto to jump on top of Martinez early, giving the champion little room to manoeuvre. Sergio will struggle to find a rhythm but he will have opportunities to land his own heavy artillery as Cotto stalks. Cotto may send Martinez to the canvas in the opening five rounds, but Martinez's jab will then become more of a factor as he ekes out a bit of distance between the pair. This separation may be short lived however as Cotto closes in once again, Martinez unable to find an answer as Cotto goes in search of a late stoppage. The tempo and intensity will drop in the championship rounds as Cotto takes a unanimous decision win to become world champion in a 4th weight class.

But as this uncertain prediction shows, there are so many questions left to be answered, many of the answers will define how this fight will pan out.

A decent looking undercard sees Wilfredo Vazquez Jr 23-3-1(19) take on Marvin Sonsona 18-1-1(15). Last time these two met in 2010, Vazquez Jr won in 4 rounds but things have not gone quite to plan since for the Puerto Rican. In an explosive fight the tentative pick is for Vazquez to revive himself as a title challenger at Featherweight with a 6th round stoppage.

Elsewhere Andy Lee 32-2(22) should have too much for John Jackson 18-1(15) - son of Julian Jackson - over 10, while Jorge Melendez 28-3-1(26) will hit far too hard for late replacement Javier Francisco Maciel as he can win within 5 rounds.

Also watch out for the rising star Felix Veredjo 12-0(9) as he takes on Engelberto Valenzuela 8-1(3) in what could be another explosive performance.