The World This Week by Oliver Fennell Jan 29th 2008

Oliver Fennell sums up the international action of interest. Results with relevance to British boxing are in bold. January 23, Barnaul, Russia Former European super-middleweight champion David Gogiya was upset by eight-fight novice Dmitri Sukhotskiy, who beat him on a majority nod over eight. Only last time out, Gogiya was contesting an IBF eliminator against Vitali Tsypko (l pts 12), so this was a significant setback. January 25, Puerto Madryn, Argentina Omar Narvaez retained his WBO flyweight title for the 12th time, outpointing Colombian challenger Carlos Tamara, who could only manage to win a round on two cards, and none on another. At 32 years old and undefeated in 26 contests, time-served Narvaez is overdue a unification attempt. January 25, Cicero, Illinois, USA Hugo Cazares won a collision of ex-champs, beating Kermin Guardia on points in a light-flyweight 10-rounder. Cazares lost a split decision to Ivan Calderon last time out, and with it his WBO crown, but this win puts him in the running for a rematch or an alternative title shot. Guardia, WBO strawweight titlist from 1998 to 2001, is still a handful but past his peak at 38. January 25, Saraburi, Thailand Ex-WBA super-featherweight ruler Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai stopped obscure visitor Mar Suvanichev in three rounds. So Nanthachai lost his belt to Vicente Mosquera in 2005 and has won nine contests since to go to an impressive-looking 53-3. But who was Suvanichev? Record-keeping website BoxRec had no record of any previous contests, nor did it even have a nationality listed for him, and I certainly had never heard of him before. In the chief support, Medgoen Singsurat returned from his 47-second defeat to Jorge Arce, outpointing compatriot Denpayak Sor Pisanu over six rounds at bantamweight. January 26, Jakarta, Indonesia Long-reigning WBA featherweight holder Chris John retained for the ninth time by stopping Roinet Caballero of Panama in seven rounds. The finish came from a corner retirement, taking John to an impressive 40-0-1. He really deserves to be showcased in the United States or Europe, but fans in the West are typically not enthused by Asian boxers. A win over Juan Manuel Marquez two years ago should have been a breakthrough for John, but he has instead been treading water against lesser-known challengers. January 26, Berlin, Germany Russian phenom Alexander Povetkin qualified for a world heavyweight title shot after just 15 fights, beating American contender Eddie Chambers in the final of the IBF's tournament to find a number one contender. Povetkin overcame a strong start by Chambers, adjusted his game and never looked back, earning a clear unanimous decision after 12 rounds. Povetkin had beaten Chris Byrd in the first bracket of the tournament and is now the official challenger for Wladimir Klitschko. Chambers, with twice Povetkin's pro experience at 30-1, defeated Calvin Brock in his first-round match. In the chief support, two-time European middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester retained his belt with a wide unanimous decision over Frenchman Francois Bastient. Sylvester holds a 2006 win over Steve Bendall from his first reign. January 26, Macao The first-ever professional boxing card in the territory was headlined by heavyweights Derrick Rossy and Ray Mercer. Cynics may scoff that it was a meeting of a has-been and a never-will-be, but nevertheless they put on an entertaining bout, with Rossy surviving a final-round knockdown to outpoint the 46-year-old Mercer. With the victory, Rossy picked up the WBF, NABO and WBC Asian championships. The latter is curious – now, apparently, all a boxer has to do to qualify for a regional championship is fight in that region. Certainly African-American Mercer and Puerto Rican Rossy don't look Asian to me. Mercer gave a good effort for his age – a lifetime ago he mixed it up with the legends of a previous generation in Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Larry Holmes.

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