By: William Holmes
The following is the boxinginsider.com notebook for the week of October 30th to November 5th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Bute and Green Victorious In Montreal
Former Super Middleweight Champion Lucian Bute (31-1) overcame a tougher than expected Denis Grachev (12-1-1) on Saturday night in Montreal at the Bell Centre. Grachev was able to catch Bute on the ropes at times throughout the fight, but Bute was able to finish strongly and eek out the decision victory. The scores were 118-110, 116-112, and 115-113 for Bute.
Allan Green (32-4) scored a 7th round TKO over Renan St-Juste (23-4-1) in the light heavyweight division on the same card. Green suffered a knockdown in the fourth round, but was able to recover and hurt St-Juste enough that he was unable to answer the bell for the 8th round.
Marco Huck Retains Cruiserweight Title
Marco Huck (35-2-1) defeated a very game Firat Arslan (32-6-2) on Saturday in Westphalia, Germany. It was a very close fight and some believed Arslan did enough to earn the victory. Huck’s nose was bloodied in the second round and Arslan appeared to control the first half of the fight while Huck controlled the second half. The crowd booed the final scores of 117-111, 115-113, and 115-113 for Marco Huck.
Demyanenko Highlights an Action Packed Card at Emerald Queen Casino
Demyanenko (22-0) scored a close split decision victory over Dadmian Frias (19-6-1) with scores of 97-92, 95-94 for Demyanenko while the other judge had it 96-93 for Frias. Demyanenko scored a knockdown in the 7th round with a left hook. Demyanenko is only two weeks removed from a decision victory over Roberto Valenzuela in Oklahoma City.
Gavin Decisions Junior Witter
Frankie Gavin (14-0) picked up the biggest victory of his career with a decision over former titlist Junior Witter (41-6-2) on Thursday night in London, England. Witter was by far the toughest and most experienced opponent Gavin has faced to date, and Gavin was able to solve the crafty veteran who put up a lackluster performance and win on the judges’ scorecards by 119-109, 117-112, and 117-110.
Yamanaka and Igarashi Victorious in Japan
Shinsuke Yamanaka (17-0) viciously knocked out Tomas Rojas (39-14-1) in the bantamweight division thirty six seconds into the seventh round with a left cross. Rojas was on the ground for several minutes, and the fight was very close on the scorecards before the knockout. Toshiyuki Igarashi (17-1-1) won a close decision against Nestor Daniel Narvaes (19-1-2) in the flyweight division with scores of 114-112, 114-112, and 113-113.
Olympians Hold Open Workout on November 7th
2012 United States Olympians Dominic Breazeale, Marcus Browne, Terrell Gausha, Errol Spence, Rau’Shee Warren and 2008 United States Olympian Gary Russell Jr. will be holding an open workout on Wednesday, November 7th at 12:00 P.M. Pacific Time. The workout will be held at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. These boxers will be making their professional debuts on November 9th on ShoBox: The New Generation on Showtime.
Derrick Webster Returns November 10th
Undefeated super middleweight Derrick “Take it to the Bank” Webster (13-0, 7 KOs) will be making his long awaited return to the ring next Saturday, November 10th, fighting at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey. The bout marks his first contest since participating in the camps of Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev, and the Garden State native is eager to show the boxing community what he learned while training with those world class fighters.
“This fight here seems different than any other fight that I’ve had,” Webster said of the bout. “Coming out of the Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev camps, I’m totally different, from the way that I shadow box, my work ethic, also my strength and conditioning. Even Denny (Brown, trainer) is seeing a lot of things that he’s been trying to show me are now being pulled out of me. My inside fight game has gotten a lot better since Andre Ward, and my power has really improved since Sergey Kovalev. He was a lot bigger than me in the camp, but I stood strong and withstood what he brought to me.”
Seth Mitchell Holds Media Workout on November 7th
Undefeated heavyweight Seth Mitchell will be holding a media workout at his training camp in Clinton, Maryland as he prepares for his November 17th fight against Johnathan Banks in Atlantic City that will be televised live on HBO. It will start at 11:30 a.m. at the Dream Team Boxing Gym at 5824 Kirby Rd. Clinton, MD 20735.
Hatton Promises Buckland-Foster Thriller
Ricky Hatton insists boxing fans will be in for an “explosion” when Gary Buckland (26-2) defends his British super-featherweight title against Stephen Foster Jr (30-3-1). They will fight on Saturday November 24th at the Manchester Arena on the same card as Hatton’s fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko. Scott Quigg (24-0-1) meets Rendall Munroe (24-2-1) for a vacant interim WBA Super Bantamweight title match and Sergey Rabchenko (21-0) will defend his European light-middleweight belt against Cedric Vitu (35-1). Tickets can be ordered at
Martirosyan, Lara, Garcia, Barros, and MAgdaleno Hold Workouts on November 7th
Vanes Martirosyan (32-0), Erislandy Lara (17-1-1), Mikey Garcia (29-0), Jonathan Barros (34-3-1), and Jessie Magdaleno (11-0) will be holding open workouts on November 7th at 11:30 A.M. Pacific Time at the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas. The gym is located at 3041 Business Lane, Las Vegas, Nev. They’ll be fighting live on Saturday, November 10th at the Lafite Ballroom at Wynn Las Vegas and it will be televised on HBO Boxing After Dark at 9:45 P.M. Easter Time.
Cleverly Aiming to Shine in US
Nathan Cleverly hopes to prove that he is the light heavyweight division’s future. He will be defending his WBO belt at the Staples Center in Los
Angeles on Saturday night against Shawn Hawk. Cleverly has often been compared to former sparring mate Joe Calzaghe and had this to say about it:
“It is inevitable that I’m compared with Joe, being just a couple miles apart and having similar boxing styles. Every fighter wants to make their own name and in the next year or so I have got an opportunity to take on the best in the world and make a legacy of my own.”
Don King Prospect Angelo “La Cobra” Santana Makes TV Debut on November 16th
Undefeated Don King Prospect Angelo ‘La Cobra’ Santana makes his first television appearance on Friday, November 16th on a ShoBox doubleheader from Gulfstream park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Santana (13-0) will face fellow undefeated prospect Juan Garcia (13-0) in the lightweight division. Omar Henry (12-0-1) will be fighting James de la Rosa (21-1) on the same card.
“Gulfstream Park is bigger and better than ever,” said King, whose offices are located in nearby Deerfield Beach. “The outdoor area where we will erect the ring over a fountain will make for one of the most intimate and elegant fight venues ever. South Florida fight fans will love it and it will look great on SHOWTIME.”
Daniel Geale Reflects on WBA Situation
After being stripped by the WBA for taking the Anthony Mundine fight, Australian middleweight champion, Daniel “Real Deal” Geale (28-1, 25 KOs) reflects on the decision made by the sanctioning organization.
“Whilst I enjoyed unifying titles and being crowned the WBA super champion it has become ultimately clear to me that it is impossible to keep all the belts,” said Daniel Geale. “I am aware of my mandatory obligations, however I felt that the challenge from Anthony Mundine was an opportunity to settle the score once and for all, and I want to thank the IBF for granting me the exception that creates a fight which will please all Australian boxing fans.
“As I proudly remain the I.B.F. World champion, I wish the WBA and whoever they crown the same short lived pleasure as I will be coming to reclaim what is rightfully mine.”