The World This Week by Oliver Fennell Nov 20th 2007

Oliver Fennell sums up the international action of interest. Results with relevance to British boxing are in bold. We will not reveal The Contender results out of respect for those who wish to watch the series without knowing what happened. November 12 Cassius Baloyi secured a shot at his old IBF super-featherweight title by outpointing fellow ex-champ Gairy St Clair in a rematch between South African veterans in Gauteng. Baloyi took a unanimous decision over his old victor in what was a final eliminator for the right to fight champion Mzoke Fana – another Springbok. Baloyi is known to British fans for wins over Steve Robinson, Brian Carr and Peter Judson. November 13 Evergreen Spaniard Javier Castillejo earned another title opportunity by knocking out old foe Mariano Carrera in six rounds in Goeppingen, Germany. Carrera had stopped Castillejo to take the WBA middleweight title in a shocker 11 months ago, but the Argentinean was later stripped for failing a drug test, and the fight result was changed to a no-contest. Castillejo, 39, earns a rubber match with Felix Sturm on the back of this official WBA eliminator. Javier is a two-time world champion who has been a pro for 19 years and has mixed it up with the likes of Harry Arroyo, Saoul Mamby, Julio Cesar Vasquez, Laurent Boudouani, Keith Mullings, Roman Karmazin, Fernando Vargas, Sturm and Oscar De La Hoya. British names on his resume include Del Bryan, Lindon Scarlett. A remarkable pro. November 14 Some things just aren't meant to be – and maybe a result between Asian contenders Jimrex Jaca and Ryu Miyagi is one them. They have now fought twice, with both contests ending in technical draws, in a total of less than three rounds. Three months ago in Manila, a head clash prevented Miyagi from continuing, and as it took place in the second round, the fight had not gone long enough to go to the cards. An immediate rematch was scheduled, again in Manila, and this time it was Jaca who was opened up by an inadvertent skull. This time the fight was less than a round old and the outcome was the same. A third contest would seem logical, but Jaca and Miyagi might wonder if there would be any point! November 15 Former two-time world heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman continued his comeback and had a struggle against quality trialhorse Zuri Lawrence before triumphing in the 10th and final round. Lawrence blows hot and cold, from whitewashing Jameel McCline to getting bombed out in two by Dominic Guinn, so Rahman's result against him, in Reading, Pennsylvania, is probably better than it looks. Rahman, of course, won and lost against Lennox Lewis in his prime. Kronk cruiserweight Johnathon Banks retained his NABO title for the first time by outscoring Derrick Brown in Plymouth, Michigan. Banks is now 18-0. On the undercard, Irish Olympian Andy Lee enjoyed an early shower after registering a KO 1 over Marcus Thomas. November 16 Former WBO bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez bounced back from the loss of his belt to Gerry Penalosa in August, posting a 10-round unanimous decision over Jose Angel Beranza in Cicero, Illinois. An interesting promotion took place in the unlikely but beautiful destinationof St Lucia in the Caribbean. The biggest name was former world middleweight champion William Joppy, who continued his comeback at light-heavy by knocking out the usually reliable trialhorse Etienne Whitaker in the first round. At the other end of the career scale, American Olympian Andre Ward improved to 14-0 with a TKO 5 over fellow-unbeaten super-middle Roger Cantrell. Also at super-middle, Hector Camacho Jr resurfaced and posted a six-round stoppage over Joshua Smith, who has now lost his last 20 fights. Quite a comedown for Camacho, who was once a highly-ranked contender down at light-welter. Finally, some British interest as London light-welter Ashley Theophane stopped Marcos Hernandez in three. Theophane provided a ‘local' angle for the crowd, as his parents are from St Lucia. Italian veteran Guiseppe Lauri fought for the second time since his rematch defeat to Ted Bami, posting a routine six-round points win over Laszlo Komjathi in Pisa. Light-welterweight Lauri has also lost to Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter. He has now beaten Komjathi three times, although this is the first time the Hungarian has lasted the distance against him. Komjathi is also known to British fans, having been in with Amir Khan and Lee Meager. November 17 Joan Guzman outscored Humberto Soto in a keenly-awaited super-featherweight showdown in Atlantic City. Pre-fight predictions were split, but in the event Guzman won by comfortable margins. He retained his WBO super-featherweight championship and will now presumably be asked to accommodate a challenge from interim holder Alex Arthur (who has his own assignment next month, against Stephen Foster Jr). On the undercard, hot prospect Abner Mares went to 15-0 and defended his NABO bantamweight title by widely outscoring Damian David Marchiano. Demetrius Hopkins – nephew of Bernard – also saw action, pitching a shutout over Enrique Colin in a light-welterweight 10-rounder. Finally, Olympian Rock Allen also registered a whitewash points success, his coming against Braulio Lopez over eight rounds, also at light-welter. A day after the St Lucia show, another small Caribbean island hosted a big time boxing show. This time it was Turks and Caicos in the spotlight, and Zab Judah headlining. Judah stepped up to light-middleweight for this one, taking the lightly-regarded and vacant IBC title with a unanimous decision over Ryan Davis. Judah is now two weight divisions above the one in which he won his wfirst world title and arguably produced his best form, including a win over Junior Witter in Scotland. In a highly-anticipated Euro heavyweight showdown in Magdeburg, Germany, youth prevailed over experience as Alexander Dimitrenko outlasted Timo Hoffman. It was a battle of the giants, with both men standing 6'7”, and the undefeated Dimitrenko came hrough a stern test of his credentials, including a fifth-round knockdown. Hoffman was down twice each in rounds four and 12, the latter time for the finish. Dimitrenko retained his WBO Intercontinental laurels. On the undercard, European heavyweight champion Vladimir Virchis scored an impressive knockout win over the durable Robert Hawkins. Virchis lowered the boom in round five and, by stopping his man, did what the likes of David Tua and Samuel Peter couldn't. All three of the German-based heavies on this bill (Dimitenko and Virchis are actually Ukrainian) are well known to British observers. Dimitrenko has beaten Julius Francis, while Virchis has bested Francis and Sprott, and Hoffman has won and lost against Michael Sprott, as well as being beaten by Henry Akinwande. Costa Rican heavyweight prospect Carl Davis Drummond earned the best result of his 23-fight unbeaten career by outpointing former cruiserweight champion Kelvin Davis over 10 rounds in San Jose. Davis was coming back from a neck injury suffered in New Zealand in the summer when he fell off a bridge while doing roadwork in preparation for a fight with Shane Cameron.

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