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At Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada, former super bantamweight champion Steve Molitor (31-1-0, 12 KOs)survived a serious scare by winning a unanimous eight-round decision over fringe contender Jose Saez (17-8-4, 8 KOs).
At Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Andre Ward (21-0, 13KOs) dominated and battered heavy-favorite Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32KOs) for eleven rounds to capture the WBA super middleweight title. The fight was stopped in the eleventh due to several bad cuts on Kessler. The scores were 97-93, 98-92 and 98-92 for Ward.
At Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel, Germany, Zsolt Erdei (31-0, 17 KO), the WBO light heavyweight champion, moved up in weight to unseat Giacobbe Fragomeni (26-2-1, 10 KO)with a twelve round majority decision to capture the WBC cruiserweight title. The scores were 114-114 for the draw and 115-113 on the other two cards.
At Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel, Germany, Dimitri Sartison (26-1, 17KOs) stopped Stjepan Bozic (23-4, 14KOs) in five rounds to capture the WBA's "regular" super middleweight title. The WBA's decision to make this a fight for the vacant title makes no sense. Kessler, who defends later tonight against undefeated Andre Ward, was elevated by the WBA to the status of "super" champion. Sartison's sole defeat was a brutal knockout loss to Kessler last June.
Undefeated welterweight prospect Saul Alvarez (29-0, 22KOs) is likely heading to Golden Boy Promotions by 2010. Alvarez's manager Rafael Mendoza told The Record that advanced negotiations are taking place with Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy. Alvarez returns on December 5 against Lanardo Tyner in Tepic, Mexico.
WBA heavyweight champion David Haye does not rule out a future clash with Tomasz Adamek. Haye became the king of the cruiserweights by capturing the major titles and beating the top guys at the weight. After Haye made his move to heavyweight, it was Adamek, moving up from light heavyweight, who became the king of the cruiserweights by winning titles and beating all comers. Adamek would soon follow Haye's lead by moving up to heavyweight and demolishing Polish veteran Andrew Golota.
At the Wembley Arena in Johannesburg, Moruti Mthalane won a twelve round decision over Julio Cesar Miranda of Mexico to capture the vacant IBF flyweight belt. The scores were 117-111, 117-111 and 118-111. Mthalane was able to use his skills to outbox Miranda with a steady jab in the early rounds and landing quick punches on the inside. Miranda was able to buckle him twice in the contest but couldn't put him away. Mthalane was able to stay on his feet and continued to dominate the action by boxing smart and winning rounds.
WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley considers himself the best welterweight in the world. He doesn't think WBO champ Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter at the weight because he didn't beat the best welterweight in Miguel Cotto. Mosley wasn't willing to wait forever for a Pacquiao fight and signed for a unification bout with WBC champion Andre Berto on January 30.
WBC super featherweight champion Humberto Soto (49-7-2, 32 KOs) makes the jump to lightweight on December 19 when he challenges two-time champion Jesus Chavez (44-6, 30 KOs) at la Arena del ITSON in Mexico. Soto hopes that a win over Chavez will lead to a showdown with WBC champion Edwin Valero in 2010. The fight will be packaged on Top Rank split-feed pay-per-view. The main event will come from Ohio, with Kelly Pavlik defending his middleweight titles against Miguel Espino.
Former champion Joe Calzaghe doesn't think Floyd Mayweather Jr. should continue his career if he turns down a fight with Manny Pacquiao over the purse split. Calzaghe watched Pacquiao's destruction of Miguel Cotto last Saturday in Las Vegas. He was very impressed with Pacquiao's skills. He feels there is a serious debate on which of the two fighters is the pound for pound best in the world.