By Jake Donovan
Ivan Kirpa is now the #2 "mandatory" challenger to current welterweight titlist Andre Berto on the strength of his punishing unanimous decision win over Miguel “Miki” Rodriguez.
The welterweight battle had few lulls and plenty of two-way action, but Kirpa had his way for the most part. There was no quit in Rodriguez, whose model looks and perfectly groomed mane proved deceptive as he valiantly battled for more than seven rounds with his right eye swollen shut.
In the end, the judges had Kirpa winning with room to spare. Scores of 118-110, 120-108, 119-109 advance the compact Russian welterweight to 24-1 (15KO). Kirpa now moves into title contention, though will be forced to wait in line for his title shot. In addition to the tentatively scheduled rematch between Andre Berto and Luis Collazo, ahead of the Russian is also Selcuck Aydin, who won a separate eliminator earlier in the week.
Rodriguez falls to 29-4 (23KO), losing his second straight. The bout was his first since suffering a one-sided stoppage loss against Berto last summer.
Puerto Rican super bantamweight prospect Victor “Vitiño” Fonseca boxed his way to a unanimous decision over former two-division titlist Mauricio Pastrana. Fonseca, a beanpole southpaw promoted by Gary Shaw, was impressive in spots but seemed more content to coast to victory rather than make a statement against the durable Colombian.
There were no knockdowns in the bout, although Pastrana lost a point midway through the bout for excessive low blows. The deduction proved inconsequential, as he never stood a chance on the cards.
All three judges scored it 80-71 for Fonseca, who advances to 15-0 (8KO). Pastrana falls to 35-11-2 (23KO), having now lost four of his last five bouts.
Francisco Palacios (18-0, 12KO) made quick work of Manu N’toh, dusting him off at at 2:59 of the opening round of their scheduled 10-round cruiserweight bout.
A flurry of left hooks and right hands floored the normally durable N’toh (17-18-1, 4KO), Cameroon-born but now fighting out of Atlanta, just before the bell to end the first round. N’toh beat the count, but referee Sam Burke didn’t approve of his reaction, electing to stop the bout rather than give him a minute to recover.
Cuban-born Angel Santana (6-0, 4KO) was forced to work hard for his four-round unanimous decision win over Jamie Rodriguez (4-5-3, 2KO). The final scores, while accurate at 40-36 across the board, weren’t indicative of what took place in the ring, as the Los Angeles-based Rodriguez pushed Santana, now fighting out of Miami, to the limit in every round. In the end, Santana’s crisper and more accurate punches proved to be the difference.
Philadelphia welterweight Lanard Lane (7-0, 5KO) maintained his undefeated ways with a dominant yet hard-fought four-round decision win over Carlos Garcia (3-5-1, 3KO). Lane threw every punch with knockout intentions, but could never find a way to shake loose his determined, if overmatched, Puerto Rican opponent.
No scores were announced, though the Florida commission would later reveal that Lane pitched a shutout (40-36) on all three cards.
Undefeated newcomer Archie Ray Marquez (5-0, 5KO) enjoyed a successful return to the ring after a nine-month absence, stopping Jayson Hayward (6-7-1, 2KO) in the fourth round of their scheduled six round super featherweight bout. Marquez was in control every round before forcing the Canadian journeyman to submit at 1:56 of round four.
The bout was Marquez’ second appearance on a Gary Shaw Productions card and his first since signing with the New Jersey-based promoter. Part of the reason for his extended absence from the ring was due to testing positive for the diuretic Furosemide following his October 11 fight in Las Vegas.
In efforts to make up for lost time, Shaw hopes to bring the New Mexico-based prospect back to the ring as soon as next month.
Ivan Kirpa is now the #2 "mandatory" challenger to current welterweight titlist Andre Berto on the strength of his punishing unanimous decision win over Miguel “Miki” Rodriguez.
The welterweight battle had few lulls and plenty of two-way action, but Kirpa had his way for the most part. There was no quit in Rodriguez, whose model looks and perfectly groomed mane proved deceptive as he valiantly battled for more than seven rounds with his right eye swollen shut.
In the end, the judges had Kirpa winning with room to spare. Scores of 118-110, 120-108, 119-109 advance the compact Russian welterweight to 24-1 (15KO). Kirpa now moves into title contention, though will be forced to wait in line for his title shot. In addition to the tentatively scheduled rematch between Andre Berto and Luis Collazo, ahead of the Russian is also Selcuck Aydin, who won a separate eliminator earlier in the week.
Rodriguez falls to 29-4 (23KO), losing his second straight. The bout was his first since suffering a one-sided stoppage loss against Berto last summer.
Puerto Rican super bantamweight prospect Victor “Vitiño” Fonseca boxed his way to a unanimous decision over former two-division titlist Mauricio Pastrana. Fonseca, a beanpole southpaw promoted by Gary Shaw, was impressive in spots but seemed more content to coast to victory rather than make a statement against the durable Colombian.
There were no knockdowns in the bout, although Pastrana lost a point midway through the bout for excessive low blows. The deduction proved inconsequential, as he never stood a chance on the cards.
All three judges scored it 80-71 for Fonseca, who advances to 15-0 (8KO). Pastrana falls to 35-11-2 (23KO), having now lost four of his last five bouts.
Francisco Palacios (18-0, 12KO) made quick work of Manu N’toh, dusting him off at at 2:59 of the opening round of their scheduled 10-round cruiserweight bout.
A flurry of left hooks and right hands floored the normally durable N’toh (17-18-1, 4KO), Cameroon-born but now fighting out of Atlanta, just before the bell to end the first round. N’toh beat the count, but referee Sam Burke didn’t approve of his reaction, electing to stop the bout rather than give him a minute to recover.
Cuban-born Angel Santana (6-0, 4KO) was forced to work hard for his four-round unanimous decision win over Jamie Rodriguez (4-5-3, 2KO). The final scores, while accurate at 40-36 across the board, weren’t indicative of what took place in the ring, as the Los Angeles-based Rodriguez pushed Santana, now fighting out of Miami, to the limit in every round. In the end, Santana’s crisper and more accurate punches proved to be the difference.
Philadelphia welterweight Lanard Lane (7-0, 5KO) maintained his undefeated ways with a dominant yet hard-fought four-round decision win over Carlos Garcia (3-5-1, 3KO). Lane threw every punch with knockout intentions, but could never find a way to shake loose his determined, if overmatched, Puerto Rican opponent.
No scores were announced, though the Florida commission would later reveal that Lane pitched a shutout (40-36) on all three cards.
Undefeated newcomer Archie Ray Marquez (5-0, 5KO) enjoyed a successful return to the ring after a nine-month absence, stopping Jayson Hayward (6-7-1, 2KO) in the fourth round of their scheduled six round super featherweight bout. Marquez was in control every round before forcing the Canadian journeyman to submit at 1:56 of round four.
The bout was Marquez’ second appearance on a Gary Shaw Productions card and his first since signing with the New Jersey-based promoter. Part of the reason for his extended absence from the ring was due to testing positive for the diuretic Furosemide following his October 11 fight in Las Vegas.
In efforts to make up for lost time, Shaw hopes to bring the New Mexico-based prospect back to the ring as soon as next month.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
