 Devon Alexander vs Lucas Martin Matthysse |
Tavoris ‘Thunder’ Cloud (22-0, 19 KOs) remained undefeated and retained his IBF light heavyweight title, knocking out Yusef ‘Mack Attack” Mack (29-4-2, 17 KOs) at 2:57 in the 8th round. The champion set Mack up in the corner, landing a huge left hook followed by a blistering combination, capped off with a right hand that sent Mack to the canvas. The challenger got to his feet at the count of 8, but referee Sam Williams found Mack in no condition to continue and stopped the contest.
WBC #7 heavyweight Bermane ‘B-Ware’ Stiverne (21-1-1, 20 KOs) scored a spectacular TKO victory over WBC #4 Ray ‘The Rain Man’ Austin (28-6-4, 18 KOs), landing a powerful right hand to the top of the head. Austin, who jumped up at the count of nine, complained loudly to referee Mike England after the stoppage. Stiverne, who captured the WBC Silver heavyweight title, continually walked down the former title contender Austin, and caught his opponent at :43 seconds into the 10th round. Stiverne is also now the mandatory challenger for WBC champion Vitali Klitschko. Austin was ahead 86-84 on two cards and third card was 85-85 draw. Fightnews had it 88-82 Stiverne.
Ryan ‘The Irish Outlaw’ Coyne (17-0, 6 KOs) added the WBA Fedelatin cruiserweight title to his WBC USNBC championship by defeating substitute David McNemar (13-1, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision. Coyne, who was to face WBA champion Guillermo Jones, had to go 12 rough rounds in order to successfully defend his regional crown. Scores were 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113.
Cornelius ‘K9’ Bundrage successfully defended his IBF junior middleweight world title, scoring a unanimous 12 round decision over Sechew ‘Iron Horse’ Powell. The champion controlled the action by dictating the pace and distance throughout the contest, limiting Powell to single shots. The three judges saw the fight differently as Patricia Jarman scored it 115-113, Shafeeq Rashada 119-109 and Joe Pasquale had it 117-111.
Cory Spinks (38-6, 11 KOs) pounded a very tough Shakir Ashanti (16-11, 4 KOs) for ten rounds, winning a unanimous decision. The former 5 time champion landed the right hook at will, punishing Ashanti both behind the ear and to the body. Spinks shook off both his opponents punches and the memories of his shocking loss last year to current IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius ‘K9’ Bundrage, by winning all three judges scorecards 100-90.
Former interim WBA crusierweight Champion Valery Brudov (39-3, 27 KOs) walked down and knocked out tough competitor, Jimmie Franklin (9-14-2, 5 KOs) at :42 of the 2nd round. Brudov, displaying the skills of a former champion, used a strong left uppercut in combination with a very accurate right hand to knockdown Franklin midway through the 1st round. Franklin showed a considerable heart to get up and continue the action, only to be knocked down by another straight right hand at the end of the round. A wobbly Franklin got again and got back to his stool only to be met by a vicious left uppercut and a series of powerful left hooks to the head and body. Brudov put together a stinging left hook to the body followed bay a ripping left hook to Franklin’s ear, ending the contest by knockout at :42 of the second round.
Undefeated light heavy Nelson Linares (20-0-1, 12 KOs) worked off some ring rust after almost two years out the ring to win an eight unanimous decision victory over journeyman Jose Spearman (28-17-5, 11 KOs). Doubling and tripling a strong right hand jab, Linares to control of the contest early on keeping the veteran Spearman at bay. Early in the 3rd round, Linares worked Spearman to the body, backing him across the ring, finishing the barrage with a up and down combination. Linares started the 6th with a blistering 4 punch combination that temporarily slowed his opponent, but then Spearman recovered to thrown a right to Linares body, causing the undefeated fight to stumble against the ropes. The action heated up in rounds 7 and 8 with both fighters content to stand in the middle of the ring and trade punches, earning a hearty ovation from those in attendance. Judges scorecards read 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74.
Lightweight Yuri Romanov (22-2, 15 KOs) worked behind the right hand, punishing Darien Ford (11-21, 4 KOs), scoring a 5th round knockout. Romanov worked the game Ford around the ring with combinations, knocking Ford down in the 2nd. The end came at 1:50 in the fifth round as Romanov knocked Ford down 3 times en route to the TKO victory.
Heavyweight Chaen “Checkmate” Chess scored a second round TKO in his pro debut against winless Michael Lunsford (0-4).
Sturm retains WBA title
