Hopkins Scores Victory Over Wright
Katsidis defeats Amonset, Larios stopped by Linares

Ringside by Albert Howell and Matt Richardson
Photos by Chris Cozzone
- FightWireImages.com

In a battle of former world champions, Bernard Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs) won a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Ronald “Winky” Wright (51-4-1, 25 KOs) in their light heavyweight clash on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Wright was the busier of the two combatants early on in the bout when he labored effectively behind his jab. Hopkins worked his angles and landed more power shots, most notably in the later rounds. Hopkins' best weapon was a short right hand. There was lots of holding and wrestling at close quarters forcing referee Robert Byrd to intervene frequently to separate the two boxers. The first eight rounds were close. However, Hopkins proved the stronger fighter at the end pulling away from his opponent and winning the last four rounds.  

Round one was the chess match that everyone had predicted. Like most of the early rounds the first and second rounds were exceptionally close with Wright assuming the role of the aggressor and Hopkins laboring as the counter-puncher.

At the beginning of round three, Wright sustained a cut over his left eye due to an unintentional headbutt. With blood streaming down his face, Wright fought with a renewed sense of urgency. The southpaw Wright stalked his foe effectively throughout the rest of the round, targeting Hopkins for his patented straight left. Wright backed his opponent to the ropes where he discharged the best of his power shots.

The fourth round was much of the same with Wright forcing the action with intent. A short left hook/uppercut landed for Wright to the head of Hopkins. It was a compact and effective shot. A Wright jab snapped back the head of Hopkins. Wright then backed Hopkins to the ropes and landed a one-two combination. A straight left by Wright tagged Hopkins flush. It was Wright’s best punch of the round in a round that was Wright’s best round of the fight.

The tide turned in the fifth and sixth rounds as Hopkins mounted an effective comeback. The two combatants exchanged flurries in the fifth round with Hopkins getting the better of Wright. Wright appeared to slow down a bit in the fifth while Hopkins turned it up a notch. In the sixth round, with his back to the ropes Hopkins landed an effective volley of punches upstairs.

The see-saw battle continued as the tide turned again in the seventh and eighth rounds, this time in Wright’s favor. In the seventh stanza, a straight left by Wright tagged Hopkins. Then, it was a one-two combination that landed for Wright. In the eighth round, Wright backed Hopkins to the ropes and landed a solid power shot.

The tide turned a final time in the ninth, back in Hopkins’ favor, where it would stay for the remainder of the fight. From the ninth round on Hopkins showed that he had solved the Wright puzzle.

In the ninth round, Hopkins landed a punishing flurry inside. Hopkins then caught Wright coming in with a right uppercut. In the tenth, a Hopkins right hand landed flush on the side of Wright’s head.

Hopkins continued to control the action in the championship rounds. He unleashed a couple of well-timed flurries in the eleventh round. Both fighters came out in the final round letting their hands go with Hopkins bettering Wright during these crowd-pleasing exchanges.

Hopkins did not fulfill his promise to knock out Wright. Nonetheless, Hopkins did win a run-away unanimous decision victory. And, both fighters made good on their promise to make this battle an action-packed event. The scores read 116-112, 117-111 and 117-111 all for Hopkins.

After the fight, the 42-year old Hopkins, who has won world titles as a middleweight and light heavyweight, called out super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe saying that he wants to make a Calzaghe fight at Yankees stadium in New York. -- Albert Howell

Larios stopped by Linares

Jorge Linares picked up an interim version of the WBC's featherweight title with a dominant tenth-round technical knockout against the well-traveled Oscar Larios.

Linares (24-0, 15 KOs) was in charge from the beginning, peppering his opponent with straight shots from the outside. 

Larios held his own for a while before slowing down in the middle of the encounter. 

Linares hurt Larios badly in the closing seconds of the sixth with an accurate left uppercut. Linares capitalized on his success in the seventh and eighth as he made Larios retreat from an increasingly accurate (and painful) body attack.

A Linares victory was already anticipated in the tenth when Larios was dropped by a right under the ropes in the corner of the ring. Larios rose unsteadily at the count of eight but referee Vic Drakulich correctly called an end to the fight.

The official time of the knockout was 2:37.

Larios, now a loser of three of his last five, sees his ledger drop to an overall 59-6-1 with 37 KOs. -- Matt Richardson

Katsidis decisions Amonsot in show-stealer!

In one of the best action fights of the year, lightweight Michael Katsidis won a unanimous 12-round decision against the very game Czar Amonsot.

Judges scorecards read 116-110, 115-111 and 114-112 all for the still unbeaten Katsidis. While Katsidis was the clear victor, he absorbed a frightening amount of punishment, sustaining cuts and bruisers around both eyes. "I said I was going to bring new blood to the sport and I guess you got it," a still witty Katisidis said afterwards. Despite being knocked down in the second and tenth rounds the southpaw Amonsot gave as good as he got for the majority of the fight.

Katsidis did well early one landing accurate straight right. Amonsot found success early on in the second appearing to temporarily buckle Katsidis knees. Amonsot walked into a right though that dropped him to a knee. Still, by the end of the frame it was Katsidis who appeared worse for wear.

Katsidis kept coming in on Amonsot in the third and fourth rounds but was unsuccessful in getting his punches off and wound up appearing to lose both rounds. He came back well in the fifth and sixth though, landing good straight rights down the middle of Amonsot's guard. Katsidis continued to press the action in the seventh though the pace slowed in the eighth.

Referee Jay Nady stopped the action in the ninth to have Katsidis injuries checked by a doctor but the fight was allowed to proceed. At this point Katsidis was heavily bruised with cuts over his left eye and under his right.

A right hook wobbled Amonsot in the tenth and he went down shortly afterwards in the midst of a Katsidis combination. Both men slowed in the eleventh, appearing to save themselves for the final round. But the final two rounds were anticlimactic as both men appeared to have taken the round off.

With the win "The Great" Katsidis picked up the WBO interim 135-pound title. He remains unbeaten at 23-0 with 20 KOs. Amonsot meanwhile is now 18-3-1 with 10 KOs. -- Matt Richardson

Andrade stops Muller in two

Recent world title challenger Librado Andrade (25-1, 19 KOs) handed late substitute Ted Muller (19-12-2, 9 KOs) his fifth straight loss, winning by second-round TKO in their eight-round super middleweight match.

Andrade showed no ill effects from his 12-round war against Mikkel Kessler, just four months prior, during which Andrade sustained a heavy beating from the Danish champion. Rather, Andrade stepped up his game against Muller winning in dramatic fashion and proving that he is still a top contender in the division.

The two combatants emerged from their stools to begin round one determined to fight the bout in close quarters. There was plenty of crowd-pleasing action from the outset. Andrade landed crisp uppercuts throughout the first round. Andrade was able to land his left uppercut to the chin of Muller nearly at-will.

Upon establishing the uppercut, Andrade turned his attention to the body, landing murderous hooks to the midsection of his foe. The opening stanza was all Andrade. Nevertheless, Muller was game and kept fighting back. At the end of the first round, a straight right by Andrade drilled Muller in the face. Muller was just about out on his feet when the bell sounded to end the round. It was a classic case of a fighter being saved by the bell.

To begin the second stanza, Muller appeared determined to demonstrate his foot work in trying to keep Andrade and his brutal attack at bay. Nevertheless, it was not long before Andrade found his target again tagging Muller with savage power shots. It was a left uppercut followed by a strong straight right that prompted referee Tony Weeks to step in and halt the bout with Muller still on his feet.

It was a good stoppage by Weeks as Muller had sustained an enormous amount of abuse in this short but action-packed bout. Andrade was declared the winner by technical knockout at 1:48 of round two. -- Albert Howell

Hopkins stops Berrio

Junior welterweight Demetrius Hopkins returned from his controversial win over Steve Forbes with an easy blowout of the overmatched Jailer Enrique Berrio.

Hopkins (27-0-1, 11 Kos) out-boxed his opponent for the majority of the first before dropping him with a light flurry along the ropes in the final minute of the round. Referee Joe Cortez completed the mandatory eight-count but the ending was inevitable. Another combination put Berrio on the canvas again shortly afterward prompting Cortez to wave it off at the 2:57 mark.

With the loss Berrio drops to 11-3 with 7 KOs. -- Matt Richardson

Allen remains undefeated

Rock Allen (11-0, 7 KOs) remained undefeated winning a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Ramiro Rivera (4-5, 3 KOs) in their six-round super lightweight bout.

Rivera was determined to stay on the outside and box Allen from a distance. In the first half of the fight Rivera was mildly successful in keeping his foe at bay, but as the fight wore on, Allen became more adept at cutting off the ring and forcing Rivera to engage him. Allen’s body assault proved successful in slowing down Rivera and forcing him to fight.

In round one, it was an Allen overhand right (his best of the fight) that visibly shook his opponent.

Allen emerged from his stool to begin the second stanza, landing another big overhand right. In round three, Allen forced his opponent to the ropes where he unleashed a volley of power shots. By the end of the third, it was evident that the accumulation of Allen’s hard punches was having their desired result. Rivera could no longer sustain the high mobility he demonstrated early on in the bout.

In the last three rounds, Allen controlled the action, forcing his foe to engage in toe-to-toe exchanges. Rivera never stood much of a chance as the bout became more of a slugfest than a boxing match.

Although game, Rivera never could win a round. The bout was scored 60-54 on all three scorecards with Allen crowned as the victor via unanimous decision.

There were no knockdowns in the bout. -- Albert Howell

Rodriguez remains undefeated

Jose Rodriguez (12-0, 2 KOs) remained undefeated by winning a split decision over Keenan Collins (12-2, 8 KOs) in their eight-round super welterweight bout.

In round one, Collins landed a murderous right hook to the body of his opponent. Collins followed up with another big right to the side of his foe’s midsection. Rodriguez was the busier fighter earlier on, mitigating Collins’ effective body work with his constant pressure. Round two was much of the same with Collins landing the effective body punches and Rodriguez landing the bigger number of punches overall.

The rest of the fight was a see-saw battle, making the bout difficult to score. For those favoring effective power punching Collins proved his case. But, for those preferring to give the nod to the more active fighter Rodriguez was their man.

In the end, the bout was scored for the busier fighter Rodriguez via split decision. The scorecards read 78-74 and 77-75 for Rodriguez and 78-74 for Collins. There were no knockdowns in the fight. -- Albert Howell

Dominguez wins majority decision

The first bout of the evening matched junior featherweights Juan Dominguez (2-0, 0 KOs) and Lucian Gonzalez (2-4, 0 KOs) in a four rounder. Dominguez emerged as the victor in a close hard-fought battle.

Both fighters demonstrated fast hands and a desire to attack the head. In round one, it was Gonzalez coming in straight forward leading with both the left jab and the straight right. Dominguez assumed the role of counter-puncher, catching his foe coming in with counter hooks upstairs. Dominguez rocked his opponent in the opening stanza with a strong counter shot. Gonzalez recovered well, but it remained Dominguez’ round, thanks to his crisp counter punching.

In the second stanza, Gonzalez continued to show his desire to be first, as he pressed the action, moving forward through most of the round. The pace remained strong in this heated battle between the two young warriors. A Dominguez left hook upstairs stunned Gonzalez, and a second big left hook upstairs stopped Gonzalez in his tracks. The second round was a bit closer than the first, but like the first, a Dominguez round.

The third round was Gonzalez’s best of the fight. Gonzalez backed Dominguez to the ropes and unleashed a volley of mean body shots to begin the third. Dominguez worked his way off the ropes but was clearly affected by Gonzalez’s body assault. Later in the round, Gonzalez backed his foe to the ropes a second time where he got the better of his opponent. An overhand right by Gonzalez tagged Dominguez, punctuating the round for Gonzalez and helping narrow the gap in the fight.

Just when it seemed that the tide had turned in Gonzalez’s favor, Dominguez rallied back in the fourth and final round. Dominguez found his rhythm in the center of the ring and landed a crushing left jab that snapped back the head of his foe.

In a scrap between two evenly matched young warriors it was Dominguez that proved the hungrier fighter, controlling the action in the fourth winning the round and the fight. Dominguez was declared the victor by majority decision by scores of 38-38, 39-37, and 39-37. There were no knockdowns in this crowd-pleasing contest. -- Albert Howell