The Weekend That Was

On Friday night, ShoBox: The New Generation featured four matches from Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma. In the main event, Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic (22-1), making his first start since suffering his lone defeat on a disputed decision to Marcus Browne, dropped Travis Peterkin (16-1-1) twice in round five before the bout was stopped at 1:32.

Other televised results: Brooklyn’s Ivan “The Beast” Baranchyk (12-0) took a ten round unanimous decision over Wang Zhimin (7-1). Trey Lippe Morrison (12-0), a popular local favorite and son of the late former heavyweight champ, Tommy “The Duke” Morrison, demolished previously unbeaten Ed Latimore (13-1) of Pittsburgh with a first round TKO. And Ukrainian welterweight Ivan Golub (13-0) of Brooklyn scored a third round knockout over James Stevenson (23-3).

Kalajdzic overwhelmed Peterkin with consistent aggression, superior fighting spirit and better power. He landed 45 percent of his power shots, including 60 percent in the final round. Plus, he led 37-7 in body connects. “The one-dimensional nature of Travis Peterkin cost him big time,’’ ShoBox analyst Steve Farhood said afterward. “He was exposed tonight, and Kalajdzic rejuvenated his career after the loss to Marcus Browne.”

But Farhood saved his highest praise for the night’s welterweight winner. After a competitive, fast-paced first round, Ivan “The Volk” Golub took over as Stevenson appeared to tire. A picturesque right hook to the chin dropped Stevenson in the third. He rose by the count of five, but Golub continued his two-fisted assault, delivering over 20 unanswered punches and the referee stopped it. “To me the guy that stole the show was Golub,” said Farhood. “We keep thinking of him as a boxer but he showed tremendous power tonight. He knocked out a very sturdy opponent in Stevenson.”

On Saturday night, Philippines based ALA Promotions returned to American soil to present ‘Pinoy Pride 38′ at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. In the headlining bout, veteran Filipino world champion Donnie ‘Ahas’ Nietes (39 -1-4) moved up to flyweight to dominate former world champion Edgar Sosa (52-10) over 12 rounds. The slick Filipino won by shutout scores of 120-108 across the board to capture the vacant WBO Inter-Continental flyweight title. On the undercard, Filipino bantamweight Arthur Villanueva defended his WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title with a spectacular second round KO of Juan Jimenez.

Big punching popular former world champ Jhonny Gonzalez (62-4) returned to action Saturday night in Cancun, Mexico with a first round knockout of Hirotsugu Yamamoto (19-13).

Multi-division world champion Jorge Linares (41-3) picked up the WBA World lightweight title Saturday in Manchester with a hard-fought 12 round unanimous decision over a tough-as-nails Anthony Crolla (31-5-3). Linares’ fast hands and fluid punching carried the way early but Crolla kept coming and pressured the visitor in the middle rounds. The Venezuelan charge rocked Crolla in the sixth and found a second wind late in the fight to widen the gap. After 12 exciting rounds were in the books Linares took the win with scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 115-114. Fight fans are hoping for a rematch!

InterBox, in association with Eye of the Tiger Management, presented a stellar card of rising talent in Blainville, Quebec. In the main event of the evening, super lightweight Yves Ulysse Jr. (11-0) performed for the first time in 2016, getting up from a knockdown to rally back and stop Mexico’s Francisco Javier Perez (15-8-1). Ulysse Jr, who had been sidelined with an injury, shook off some ring rust and boxed well early. In the third round he was caught with a big punch and was in a world of trouble. He showed a lot of heart to get up and survive the round. In the fourth the Montreal charge came out with a vengeance looking to turn the tables and he staggered the Mexican with a barrage of violent shots prompting a referee stoppage.

In undercard action, big punching Quebec based Ayaz Hussain (11-1) returned to the ring for the first time since suffering a knockout loss in May and rebounded nicely with an eighth round TKO over rugged Mexican veteran Juan Armando Garcia in a super lightweight contest. Rounding out the card was rising Canadian welterweight southpaw Batyrzhan Jukembayev moving to 5-0 (5 KOs) with a sensational second round stoppage of Cecilio Santos.

Meanwhile, in Mississaugua … When the dust settled following United Boxing Promotions’ short but thrilling main event, Ryan Young (10-0) of Oakville, Ontario, was the lone man standing in the ring. His opponent, Ryan Wagner (6-4) was sent sprawling through the ropes, while the referee waved off the fight and hurriedly tended to the fallen boxer. In less than three rounds, Young administered three knockdowns, walking away with the KO victory and the Canadian super welterweight crown. Young’s combination of patience and power was utterly devastating. If last night is any indication of what’s to come, the hard-hitting champion may enjoy a very long reign.

In the co-main event, welterweight Cody “The Crippler” Crowley (9-0-0) showcased his conditioning and movement against Argentinean Marcelo Fabian Bzowski (8-3-1) in an eight rounder. Although Bzowski regularly resorted to clinching, Crowley made space and controlled the fight, dominating his more experienced opponent from bell to bell.

In Tokyo, Japan, veteran Nihito Arakawa (28-6-1) retained his national lightweight title by stopping Yusuke Tsukada (8-6) in the sixth round on Saturday. Making his first defense, Akakawa scored three knockdowns to force the stoppage. Meanwhile, in Nagoya, Shota Hayashi (28-5-1) won the vacant Japanese featherweight belt (which had been dropped by Satoshi Hosono) by ten round unanimous decision over Noriyuki Ueno (18-14-5).

Finally, Wladimir Klitschko issued a statement following cancellation of his scheduled rematch with Tyson Fury: “As you already know, the October 29 revenge against Fury is cancelled due to whatever issue Fury has this time. Screw it, I will move forward and will keep you posted when and against whom my next fight is going to be staged. I will rely on information from the sanctioning bodies, how they will move on with the titles that Fury currently has.” Klitschko vs Anthony Joshua anyone?

That’s a wrap! With reports from FightFan.com and Ace Freeman. Check them out for up-to-the minute boxing results!