The World This Week by Oliver Fennell Aug 7th 2007

Oliver Fennell sums up the international action of interest from the past seven days. Results with relevance to British boxing are in bold. July 31 Two David Haye victims clashed for the European cruiserweight belt vacated by the Londoner, with Giacobbe Fragomeni grinding out a unanimous decision over Vincenzo Rossitto in Pavia, Italy. This followed the form guide, as Fragomeni had pushed Haye hard over nine rounds nine months ago, while Rossitto folded inside two in 2005. On the undercard, European light-middleweight holder Michele Piccirillo outscored French journeyman Sylvain Touzet in a six-round non-title contest. Piccirillo, also a former world welterweight champion, holds wins over Michael Jones and Geoff McCreesh. August 2  Globetrotting Kenyan contender Evans Ashira turned up in Pag, Croatia, where he posted a third-round disqualification victory over perennial loser Florin Oanea of Romania. Ashira, a two-time world title challenger and former opponent of Joe Calzaghe and Howard Eastman, has now fought in a different country in each of his last six contests. For the record, Oenea has now been disqualified seven times, although BoxRec does not list what his misdemeanours have been. Whatever is happening, somebody needs to look into whether this apparently unambitious competitor with a 4-23-3 record (including 15 consecutive defeats) should continue to be licensed. August 3 European bantamweight champion Simone Maludrotto retained his belt for the eighth time and secured a world title shot by outpointing Mohamed Bouleghcha of France. Maludrotto, who has beaten Ian Napa and Damaen Kelly while defending his crown, was knocked down in round seven by Bouleghcha but went on to claim a unanimous verdict. He will now face WBC 118lb ruler Hozumi Hasegawa in Japan on December 23. The Canadian boom continued with the emergence of Jean Pascal with a unanimous decision over former world title challenger Kingsley Ikeke in Montreal. Pascal picked up the NABF super-middleweight strap with the victory, which takes him to 18-0 and a world ranking. A battle between American heavyweight prospects saw Kevin Johnson outpoint Damian Wills over 10 rounds. Damian, the son of 1980s fringe contender Mark Wills, could not get past Johnson's world class jab and lost most of the rounds in Doraville, Georgia. European super-middleweight titlist David Gogiya picked up an easy unanimous decision against overmatched compatriot Valery Makeev in Tolyatti, Russia. It was a facile mismatch, pitting the world-rated Gogiya against a man who had registered just one victory from 26 previous contests. Gogiya will require better preparation should his mooted title defence against Carl Froch come to fruition. A controversial pro debut saw convicted child killer Soulan Pownceby register a one-round knockout over fellow first-timer Wayne Orbell in Auckland. Cruiserweight Pownceby served four years in jail for the manslaughter of his daughter and was released in 1998. The New Zealander went on to compete in the Athens Olympics and Melbourne Commonwealth Games as an amateur, despite considerable opposition to a man with his history representing his country. August 4 One of the great careers of modern times came to a close in Chicago as Erik Morales went down fighting against defending WBC lightweight titleholder David Diaz. Morales was bidding to become Mexico's first four-weight champion and put in a performance to be proud of – after all, most observers considered him way past his best and suggested he did not deserve this opportunity in the first place. On the night, Morales proved he was still a worthy contender, although admitted he was feeling the effects of the punches much more than he used to. Diaz, fighting in his hometown, overcame an early points deficit and finished strong to be awarded a unanimous decision. Morales' strong effort was something of a moral victory, but it was still a relief when he announced his retirement at the post-fight press conference. On the Diaz-Morales card, Mexico's Ulises Solis retained his IBF light-flyweight honours with a TKO8 over Rodel Mayol of the Philippines, while prospects Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Juan Manuel Lopez furthered their own advancements to title class. Mexican welterweight Chavez, the son of the same-named modern great, stopped Louis Brown in five rounds to go to 33-0-1, while Lopez, of Puerto Rico, is now 19-0 at super-bantamweight after a 10th-round stoppage over Hugo Dianzo for the WBO Latino belt. We have another great trilogy in the making after Israel Vasquez gained revenge over Rafael Marquez in a thriller. Vasquez forced a stoppage in round six of a violent affair, with both men heavily marked up before even the halfway point, but many felt the referee's intervention was premature. Last time they met, five months ago, Vasquez retired with a broken nose in another see-saw battle. As the series is now tied at 1-1 and both results were considered inconclusive, a decider is a natural. In victory, Vasquez regained the WBC super-bantamweight throne. On the Vasquez-Marquez undercard in Hidalgo, Texas, Celestino Caballero put forth his own claim to superiority in the 122lb division by retaining his WBA version of the world championship against Jorge Lacierva of Mexico. Finally. Jorge Paez Jr, the son of the colourful lightweight contender of the same name, outscored Jaime Orrantia over six light-welterweight rounds. Unbeaten Brazilian welterweight Antonio Mesquita is now 34-0, courtesy of a routine 10-round workout against trialhorse Joshua Smith in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Frequent UK visitor Kpakpo Allotey stopped South African Gabriel Phakula in five rounds for the WBA Pan African lightweight title on home turf in Accra. It was a mild upset at African level, with Allotey having been comfortably beaten by Craig Docherty, Willie Limond and Dave Stewart in previous excursions to championship class.

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