A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at London
Anthony Joshua TKO7 Dillian Whyte
Retains Commonwealth heavyweight title, wins vacant British title
Records: Joshua (15-0, 15 KOs); Whyte (16-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Joshua, the 26-year-old 2012 British Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist and the No.1 heavyweight prospect in the world, was not remotely tested in his first 14 fights. He destroyed everybody with ease and had never been into the fourth round. But Whyte, 27, a prospect in his own right, finally tested Joshua in a terrific action-packed fight. Both had their moments but it ultimately ended with a brutal Joshua knockout victory that will again raise the expectations that Joshua truly is something special.
In 2009, the 6-foot-4, 247-pound Whyte knocked the 6-6, 245-pound Joshua down and handed him a loss in his third amateur bout. Through the buildup to this fight, that was a main storyline as Whyte reminded him of it constantly. When the fight finally began, with a packed O2 Arena going wild, Joshua looked like he was going to blow Whyte out. He battered Whyte throughout the first round and they even went at it after the bell. Joshua had him all but out in the second round when Whyte suddenly came back and rocked Joshua in a great round of the year kind candidate. Although a tiring Joshua was in control of the hard-hitting fight, Whyte finally extended him into the fourth round and beyond as Whyte took Joshua into the fifth round for the first time. Finally, in the seventh round, Joshua trapped an exhausted Whyte on the ropes and went to town. He unloaded punches with both hands as he rocked Whyte, who was staggering around the ring. Joshua caught up to him and pinned him on the ropes again and fired a wicked right uppercut that caught him on the chin and sent him to the mat as one arm hung over the bottom rope. He was done and referee Howard John Foster immediately stopped the fight at 1 minute, 27 seconds.
It was an exhilarating fight that more than lived up to the hype as Joshua passed a big test. He will move on to an April 9 fight back at the O2 Arena, possibly against former world title challenger Dereck Chisora (24-5, 16 KOs), who won on the undercard. There could be other huge all-British fights in Joshua's future as well, including against David Haye and world champion Tyson Fury. It is going to be a lot of fun to watch Joshua's continued rise.
Chris Eubank Jr. TKO7 Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan
Middleweight - Title eliminator
Records: Eubank Jr. (21-1, 16 KOs); O'Sullivan (22-2, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Eubank, 26, of England and the son of former middleweight and super middleweight titleholder Chris Eubank Sr., dished out a beating to the game O'Sullivan, 31, of Ireland, in an entertaining but one-sided fight.
Eubank, who won his third fight in a row, earned a mandatory shot at titleholder Daniel Jacobs with his one-sided beatdown of O'Sullivan, who repeatedly ate right uppercuts. He had mild success in the third round when he clipped Eubank with some powerful shots and bloodied his nose. But this was all Eubank, who got the stoppage when O'Sullivan's corner did the right thing and stopped the fight in the corner after seven rounds of punishment and wide deficits on all three scorecards. After massive trash talk leading up to the bout, Eubank backed his up. But O'Sullivan, who saw a six-fight winning streak end since a loss to contender Billy Joe Saunders -- who also handed Eubank his only loss 13 months ago -- didn't come close.
Ismael Barroso TKO5 Kevin Mitchell
Wins a vacant interim lightweight title
Records: Barroso (19-0-2, 18 KOs); Mitchell (39-4, 29 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Barroso, 32, a Venezuelan southpaw, traveled to Mitchell's home turf and hammered him to win an interim belt and set himself up for a mandatory shot at another Brit, full titleholder Anthony Crolla (30-4-3, 12 KOs), in the first part of 2016.
Mitchell, 31, of England, who was trying to rebound from a 10th-round knockout loss to lightweight world titleholder Jorge Linares in their terrific fight in May, was outclassed by the rugged Barroso, who was credited with a fourth-round knockdown when he landed a glancing right hand while stepping on Mitchell's foot. But in the fifth round, he scored two legit knockdowns, first on a right hand with 40 seconds left and then on a sustained barrage of blows. As he was falling to the mat, referee Howard John Foster waved it off at 2 minutes, 47 seconds. It's a big win for Barroso and a devastating defeat for Mitchell.
Paulie Malignaggi W12 Antonio Moscatiello
Welterweight
Scores: 120-109, 119-110 (twice)
Records: Malignaggi (35-7, 7 KOs); Moscatiello (20-3-1, 14 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Former welterweight and junior welterweight world titleholder Malignaggi, 35, of Brooklyn, New York, thought he would finally fulfill a boxing dream by fighting for the European title, which he is eligible for because he is a dual American and Italian citizen; he grew up in Sicily, Italy. He was due to challenge Italy's Gianluca Branco for the EBU title but a few days before the fight Branco pulled out. Malignaggi remained on the card and instead faced Moscatiello, 33, of Italy, albeit for a lesser European belt.
Although Malignaggi said he struggled with himself mentally throughout the fight, he was able to stay focused and easily outboxed Moscatiello, who landed a few solid shots that Malignaggi took well. For the most part, Malignaggi jabbed him, moved, landed combinations and piled up points in the near-shutout. Malignaggi won his second fight in a row -- the other win fulfilled another dream of fighting in Italy in September -- following a one-sided ninth-round wipeout loss to Danny Garcia in August, after which Malignaggi said he might retire but quickly elected to keep fighting.
There were some other notable fights on the card also. Former light heavyweight world title challenger Tony Bellew (26-2-1, 16 KOs), 33, of England, won his sixth straight fight as he outpointed Mateusz Masternak (36-4, 26 KOs), 28, of Poland, to claim the vacant European cruiserweight title on scores of 115-113, 115-112 and 115-112.
British lightweight prospect Luke Campbell (12-1, 10 KOs), 28, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, suffered a major upset split decision loss to France's Yvan Mendy (33-4-1, 16 KOs), 30, who dropped Campbell in the fifth round and won 115-112 and 115-113 while one judge scored it 115-113 for Campbell.
Former heavyweight world title challenger Dereck Chisora (24-5, 16 KOs), 31, of England, fought for the second time in a week as a late addition to the card. He boxed Dec. 5 in Germany and scored a one-sided fifth-round knockout of Peter Erdos and returned for a third-round stoppage of Jakov Gospic (16-14, 12 KOs),33, of Croatia. Chisora did not look very good but he won easily and set himself up for a possible fight on April 8 with main-event winner Anthony Joshua.
Saturday at San Antonio, Texas
Omar Figueroa W12 Antonio DeMarco
Junior middleweight
Scores: 116-112, 115-113 (twice)
Records: Figueroa (26-0-1, 18 KOs); DeMarco (31-6-1, 23 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Former lightweight titleholders Figueroa, who turned 26 Sunday, and 29-year-old Mexican southpaw DeMarco put on an exciting scrap in the main event of the Premier Boxing Champions card on NBC.
Figueroa, of Weslaco, Texas, was nearly 10 pounds overweight at 151 pounds and PBC refused to answer questions about the specific contract weight but it had been announced as a junior welterweight (140 pounds) bout. It was the second fight in a row Figueroa was over the initial contract weight. Still, Figueroa, who said he came into the fight with healthy hands for a change, showed good stamina because he threw punches non-stop for the entire fight.
He dominated the first six rounds and won on sheer volume, connecting on 414 of 1,092 punches (38 percent) while DeMarco landed 225 of 587 (38 percent), according to CompuBox. DeMarco came on in the final few rounds and tagged Figueroa with some solid shots but Figueroa's chin held up and his punch output. His mostly power shots were tremendous.
In the 11th-round, DeMarco staggered Figueroa with a series of headshots and appeared to have him in serious trouble, but he survived and then won the 12th round to lock down the decision. Figueroa, his face swollen, went to the hospital for precautionary reasons after the fight but was OK. The loss was DeMarco's third in a row. It was also his return from a brief retirement that lasted only a few weeks following a shutout 10-round decision to former junior lightweight titlist Rances Barthelemy on June 21.
Chris Arreola W12 Travis Kauffman
Heavyweight
Scores: 114-113 (twice) Arreola, 114-113 Kauffman
Records: Arreola (37-4-1, 31 KOs); Kauffman (30-2, 22 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Arreola, 34, of Riverside, California, and Travis Kauffman, 30, of Reading, Pennsylvania, know each other well. They have been friends for many years and sparred some 200 rounds. Sometimes that familiarity leads to a bad fight but not in this case. They made a fun fight that was close all the way with Arreola, who despite being knocked down with a combination in the third round, eked out a decision that Kauffman rightfully was upset about.
After the knockdown, Arreola slowed down and Kauffman took advantage by taking it to Arreola, a former two-time heavyweight world title challenger who was trying to rebound from poor performances in his past three bouts in which he went 1-1-1 and was lucky to get a draw with Fred Kassi in June. He also struggled to a decision against journeyman Curtis Harper and got knocked out by Bermane Stiverne in a world title fight.
Kauffman, facing easily the best opponent of his career, landed a very low left hand in the ninth round that took more starch out of Arreola, who took the recovery time allotted and seemed a bit refreshed when the fight resumed. Arreola finished the fight well, although Kauffman rocked him with a right hand in the opening seconds of the final round.
"I pulled it out in the championship rounds," said Arreola, whose face was marked up. "I was in great shape and that was the difference in my winning. Yes, I would give Travis Kauffman a rematch. Any time, we can do it again."
Kauffman, who had been cut over his right eye, complained about the decision, saying, "I'm not the only one that thought I won the fight. The entire crowd thought I won the fight. I fought a great fight. I came here to win. I'm not a slouch, I'm a fighter. I've been doing this my entire life. I didn't get the victory that I deserved tonight, but I was able to win over the crowd and I won over America. The crowd came in cheering for Chris. They left cheering for me."
Victor Ortiz TKO8 Gilberto Sanchez Leon
Junior middleweight
Records: Ortiz (31-5-2, 24 KOs); Sanchez Leon (33-14-2, 13 KOs).
Rafael's remarks: Last Dec. 13, former welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz, 28, a southpaw from Oxnard, California, badly broke his wrist on the final punch of a third-round knockout victory against Manuel Perez. Ortiz had surgery and made his return one year later in his second fight with head trainer Joel Diaz.
Ortiz, fighting at 150 pounds, was not matched tough against Orlando Lora (31-6-2, 19 KOs) and when he dropped out, replacement Sanchez Leon, 34, of Mexico, posed even less risk. But the idea here was for Ortiz to get in some rounds, shake off the rust and make sure his wrist was OK. He took care of that as he pounded his way to an easy win against Sanchez Leon, who was in survival mode for almost the entire fight and barely threw any punches against a much busier Ortiz, who scored knockdowns on right hooks in the first and third rounds. Sanchez Leon, who lost his second fight in a row and his fourth in his past five, was also penalized a point by referee Mark Calo-Oy in the third round for holding.
In the eighth round, as Ortiz blasted away almost at will, Sanchez Leon's corner threw in the towel and Calo-Oy stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 57 seconds. The win was Ortiz's second in a row following a three-fight losing streak -- all by knockout -- to Floyd Mayweather, Josesito Lopez and Luis Collazo.
"In three years, I've only fought twice," Ortiz said. "There was a lot of rust. But I'm just happy to get back in the ring. I feel no pain whatsoever (in my wrist). I'm happy for that and ready to move forward. My past is in my past. I want to go for it. Any of the top welterweights, I want them."
Also on the card, 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha (17-0, 8 KOs), 28, of Cleveland, dominated Said El Harrak (12-4-2, 7 KOs), 28, of England, in their middleweight bout as he knocked him down in the second round and cruised to a shutout decision, 100-89 on all three scorecards. In another undercard fight, San Antonio junior lightweight prospect Mario Barrios (14-0, 8 KOs), 20, impressed his hometown crowd by knocking out Manuel Vides (18-5, 11 KOs), 25, of Panama City, Panama, 31 seconds into the sixth round of their eight-rounder.
Saturday at Moscow
Enzo Maccarinelli KO4 Roy Jones Jr.
Cruiserweight
Records: Maccarinelli (41-7, 33 KOs); Jones Jr. (62-9, 45 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: When this fight was made there were few who thought it could possibly end without a crushing knockout. Maccarinelli, 35, of Wales, a former cruiserweight titlist, and Pensacola, Florida's Jones, who turns 47 on Jan. 16, both have awful chins and have suffered multiple brutally violent knockouts. This fight was about who was going to land the big punch first and shatter the chin of the other guy. That honor went to Maccarinelli, who scored a horrific knockout of the year-caliber as he put poor Jones to sleep face-first and, hopefully, brought an end to his career before he gets hurt in the ring.
Jones, in his first fight in Russia since becoming a Russian citizen, came into the fight riding an eight-fight winning streak against weak opposition. Maccarinelli, although way past his prime, was a quantum leap in competition for Jones, an all-time great, who won world titles four divisions from middleweight to heavyweight and held down No. 1 on the pound-for-pound list from about 1994 to 2004. But he has been a shell of himself for a decade and simply refuses to retire while commissions continue to license him despite the massive erosion of his once awe-inspiring skills.
The 6-foot-4 Maccarinelli, with a five-inch height advantage, towered over Jones, who did not look in his usual fantastic condition, and pressed the action through the first few rounds. Jones never looked comfortable and then with 90 seconds left in the fourth round Maccarinelli nailed Jones with a right uppercut he never saw coming. It badly hurt him and knocked him down. Jones survived, but not for long as Maccarinelli went right at him and was teeing off. He landed several hard punches before landing a flush right hand to the side of the head that sent Jones crashing to the mat. He hit face-first and did not move except for some weird-looking leg twitching. Referee Ingo Barrabas immediately stopped the fight at 1 minute, 59 seconds as medical personnel rushed to Jones. He was down for a few minutes before being put on his stool and given oxygen as a precaution. This knockout was about as bad as it gets and should be the last time anyone sees Jones in a ring.
Saturday at Glendale, California
Sullivan Barrera TKO5 Karo Murat
Light heavyweight - Title eliminator
Records: Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs); Murat (27-3-1, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Barrera, 33, a Cuban defector based in Miami, originally was supposed to face Montreal-based Russian Artur Beterbiev in a Nov. 28 title eliminator in Quebec City but the fight was scrapped because Barrera could not travel to Canada due to visa issues. But when Beterbiev suffered an injury the path was cleared for Barrera to face Murat in the United States, and in a featured fight on HBO Latino.
Barrera and Murat, who were squaring off for the right to become one of the mandatory challengers for three-belt world titleholder Sergey Kovalev, put on a good scrap but Barrera was in control most of the way. He dropped Murat with a powerful right uppercut just as the bell sounded to end the fourth round and when Murat came out for the fifth round he was still not totally recovered. Barrera jumped all over him and was strafing him with power shots to the head and body when referee Wayne Hedgepeth intervened 25 seconds into the round. When Barrera gets his title shot it will be a very easy fight to make because he and Kovalev are both promoted by Main Events. It is likely that HBO would buy the fight as one of Kovalev's interim bouts prior to a major fight with former super middleweight champion Andre Ward that is supposed to take place next fall, assuming both continue to win.
Murat, 32, an Armenia native who fights out of Germany, was bidding the secure his second shot at a world title, having been soundly outpointed by then-titleholder Bernard Hopkins in 2013.
Arif Magomedov KO7 Jonathan Tavira
Middleweight
Records: Magomedov (17-0, 10 KOs); Tavira (12-4, 9 KOs).
Rafael's remarks: Magomedov, 23, a good-looking prospect from Russia, made it look easy in a one-sided fight against Tavira, 31, a southpaw from Mexico, who lost his third bout in a row. Magomedov knocked Tavira down in the fourth round courtesy of a pair of crunching right hands to the chin. Tavira put himself deeper in a hole when referee Zac Young properly docked a point from him in the sixth round for continually pulling Magomedov's head down. In the seventh round, Magomedov connected again with a very solid right hand to the chin that hurt Tavira and dropped him again. He beat the count but was in no position to continue and Young waved off the fight at 55 seconds.
In the nominal main event between Mexican junior welterweights, Pedro Campa (19-0, 14 KOs), 23, recorded a one-sided decision against Aaron Herrera (29-4-1, 18 KOs), winning 100-90, 100-90 and 98-92.
Saturday at Tucson, Arizona
Oscar Valdez TKO3 Ernie Sanchez
Featherweight
Records: Valdez (18-0, 16 KOs); Sanchez (15-7-1, 6 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Valdez, 24, a two-time Olympian from Mexico, is one of boxing's most exciting prospects, and looked great crushing Sanchez, 23, of the Philippines. Valdez lived for about 10 years during his childhood in Tucson, Arizona, which is where he learned how to box, so it is a second home to him and this bout, which headlined UniMas' "Solo Boxeo Tecate" series, was something of a homecoming fight. He was thrilled to fight there as a pro for the first time and electrified the crowd. He cruised through the first two rounds before crushing Sanchez. They both landed simultaneous left hooks to the chin, and while Valdez took it with no problem, Sanchez went down hard. He struggled to his feet but was a shaky, wobbly mess and referee Wes Melton rightfully stopped the bout at 59 seconds. Valdez won his four fights of 2015, three by knockout, and is primed for a big 2016.
"I landed the sweet shot, a left hook I felt from my knuckles to the top of my shoulder," Valdez said. "Now I want to fight anyone in my division who is wearing a title belt. Doesn't matter who."
Jose Benavidez Jr. W10 Sidney Siqueira
Junior middleweight
Scores: 100-90 (twice), 99-91
Records: Benavidez Jr. (24-0, 16 KOs); Siqueira (26-11-1, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Benavidez, 23, of Phoenix, holds an interim junior welterweight belt but took this non-title fight to stay busy. It was supposed to be a welterweight fight, but Benavidez, who probably will never see junior welterweight again, came in 5½-pounds over the contract limit. It is inexcusable. But the fight went on after a deal was worked out and he toyed with 38-year-old Brazilian journeyman Siqueira for a virtual shutout decision, his third decision loss in a row. Benavidez blamed his badly missing weight on being ill, which is usually when one loses weight.
"I haven't felt that well for awhile," Benavidez said. "It started with a stomach virus. But I wanted this fight and got into the ring. I had my speed but not all of my power. The good thing was that I went 10 rounds and got some good work in."
Two of Top Rank's best prospects also won the card. Philadelphia super middleweight Jesse Hart (19-0, 16 KOs), 26, needed only 54 seconds to knock out Andrik Saralegui (8-4, 6 KOs), 34, of Mexico, who lost his second fight in a row by knockout and third of his past four. Middleweight Esquiva Falcao (12-0, 9 KOs), a 26-year-old southpaw who claimed Olympic silver in 2012, dropped Hector Munoz (23-17-1, 15 KOs), 37, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the second round and stopped him at 2 minutes, 2 seconds of the fourth round.
Saturday at Kiev, Ukraine
Oleksandr Usyk TKO7 Pedro Rodriguez
Cruiserweight
Records: Usyk (9-0, 9 KOs); Rodriguez (22-2, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Usyk, 28, won the Olympic heavyweight gold medal for Ukraine in 2012 and is a star at home, where he has had all of his pro fights. He is the mandatory challenger for world titleholder Krzysztof Glowacki, of Poland, and put that status at risk against Rodriguez, 29, a Cuba native fighting out of Miami, but had little problem -- even though Rodriguez disgracefully came into the fight seven pounds over the contract weight of 200 pounds.
Usyk was aggressive throughout the fight. In the sixth round, he was teeing off on Rodriguez before connecting with a flush left uppercut that dropped him to his knees with a few seconds left in the round. In the seventh round, Usyk knocked him down again with a barrage of punches. Although Rodriguez beat the count he was in bad shape and referee Yuri Koptsev waved off the fight at 1 minute, 57 seconds.
"Rodriguez had a great deal of experience and was crafty so it took me a couple of rounds to time him but once I put my punches together I was hurting him with each shot," Usyk said. "It was a good stoppage. He was badly hurt, I'm happy with my performance."
Friday at San Juan, Puerto Rico
Felix Verdejo TKO2 Josenilson Dos Santos
Lightweight
Records: Verdejo (19-0, 14 KOs); Dos Santos (27-4, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Verdejo, the 22-year-old 2014 ESPN.com prospect of the year and 2012 Puerto Rican Olympian, is a star in the making. Even when he fights unknown opposition, such as Dos Santos, his fans go wild, which is why a virtual sellout crowd of 8,133 packed the Roberto Clemente Coliseum. And they did not seem to care less that he blew Dos Santos away with ease in the truTV-televised main event. Verdejo is the heir-apparent to Miguel Cotto as Puerto Rico's No. 1 fighter. It appears to only be a matter of time. With Puerto Rican legend Felix Trinidad -- a friend and supporter of Verdejo's at ringside -- Verdejo easily won the first round against Dos Santos, 30, of Brazil, and then violently ended the fight in the second round. Verdejo landed a huge overhand right hand on the chin that dropped Dos Santos hard to all fours. He showed by beating the count, but he was wobbly and badly dazed, forcing referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. to wave off the bout at 2 minutes, 21 seconds. It was a spectacular finish for Verdejo, who was coming off a six-month layoff and surgery to remove bone spurs from his left hand. Verdejo did not have to use his left hand much against Dos Santos and came out of the fight with his hand feeling fine, which should mean a return to the ring in February or March.
Nonito Donaire W12 Cesar Juarez
Wins a vacant junior featherweight title
Scores: 117-109, 116-110 (twice)
Records: Donaire (36-3, 23 KOs); Juarez (17-4, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: What an unexpectedly sensational fight! We have a late entry in the race for fight of the year as Donaire and Juarez, with an iron chin and massive heart, produced a dramatic and hard-hitting fight that had knockdowns, blood, ebb and flow and drama -- everything you want in a fight.
Even though Donaire, 33, a Philippines native fighting out of San Mateo, California, won wide on the scorecards, this was an absolutely grueling fight, which he called the toughest of his 14-year career. In the end, Donaire survived to win one of the belts recently stripped from inactive Guillermo Rigondeaux, who had initially won it from Donaire in their 2013 unification fight. Donaire, a four-division titleholder (five if you count interim titles), won his seventh full belt in a grinding fight that early on looked like it would be easy.
Donaire, in his third bout of the year since returning to junior featherweight following a sixth-round knockout to Nicholas Walters that cost him his featherweight world title in October 2014, dominated the early rounds with clean punching as he repeatedly rocked the stationary Juarez, 24, of Mexico. In the fourth round, Donaire had Juarez ready to go. He dropped him twice, first on a clean right hand and then with a booming left hook, Donaire's best punch. Amazingly, Juarez survived, but he took insane punishment in the round as well as in several others.
But he was doing damage also and had some big moments in the second half of the fight, after Donaire slipped in the sixth round and injured his left ankle, making getting leverage on his punches difficult. Juarez swelled Donaire's left eye in the fifth round and during a big eighth round, had Donaire hurt and in trouble while also cutting his right eye. Juarez also had Donaire on the ropes and in trouble in the ninth round and should have gotten credit for a 10th-round knockdown, which referee Ramon Pena ruled a slip. Although Donaire looked shaky in the late rounds, he bloodied Juarez's nose in the 10th round and closed the show with a big 12th round to leave no doubt who had won this terrific fight.
Friday at Houston
Regis Prograis TKO8 Abel Ramos
Junior welterweight
Records: Prograis (16-0, 13 KOs); Ramos (14-1-2, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Prograis, a 26-year-old southpaw, who left New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and relocated to Houston, looked sharp taking out Ramos in the main event of Showtime's "ShoBox: The New Generation" quadrupleheader. It was his second consecutive impressive win against a previously undefeated opponent on the series, having won a lopsided eight-round decision against Amos Cowart in August.
Prograis was just as dominant against Ramos, 24, of Casa Grande, Arizona, whom he toyed with. He badly cut Ramos over the left eye in the sixth round and battered him until Ramos' corner stopped the fight after the eighth round. Prograis is a quality prospect whom fans should want to see more of.
"I didn't think I was going to stop him, but I did," Prograis said. "We stuck to the game plan and I am happy. He was really messed up. I don't like to talk bad about my opponents, but I definitely hurt him and think that maybe they should've stopped it earlier. You never want to hurt anybody that bad where it can affect them in the long run."
In the co-feature, lightweight Dardan Zenunaj (11-1, 9 KOs), 28, of Belgium, a late substitute opponent, upset Bryant Cruz (16-1, 8 KOs), 26, of Port Chester, New York, dropping Cruz in the fourth and seventh rounds before Cruz's trainer Ronnie Shields threw in the towel after the seventh round of a fight Cruz was down 67-64 on all three scorecards.
Middleweight Steve Rolls (13-0, 7 KOs), 31, of Toronto, survived a third-round knockdown and rallied to knock out Steed Woodall (9-1-1, 6 KOs), 21, of England, with an onslaught of right hands at 2 minutes, 46 seconds of the fourth round.
In the opener, junior welterweight Ivan Baranchyk (9-0, 8 KOs), 22, a native of Russia fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, impressively blew away late substitute Shadi Shawareb (9-1-2, 5 KOs), 25, of Oklahoma City, knocking him out with a left hook at 2 minutes, 28 seconds of the first round.
Friday at Kobe, Japan
Hozumi Hasegawa W10 Carlos Andres Ruiz Machuca
Featherweight
Scores: 96-93, 95-93, 95-94
Records: Hasegawa (35-5, 15 KOs); Ruiz (14-2, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Japanese southpaw Hasegawa, 34, a former long-reigning bantamweight and featherweight titleholder, was a dominant bantamweight titleholder from 2005 to 2010. He won his second fight in a row since a seventh-round knockout loss challenging then-junior featherweight titlist Kiko Martinez in Osaka, Japan, in April 2014.
Hasegawa had a very tough time with Ruiz Machuca, 22, of Mexico, surviving two knockdowns. In the final moments of the third round, Ruiz Machuca dropped Hasegawa with a right hand on the chin and again hit the deck because of a right hand in the fifth round. Hasegawa survived and was able to outbox Ruiz the rest of the way thanks to his speed, movement and counterpunching.