Scorecard: Fans got exciting fight in Andre Ward win over Sergey Kovalev
— -- A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Las Vegas
Andre Ward W12 Sergey Kovalev --? Fight recap
Wins unified light heavyweight title
Scores: 114-113 (three times)
Records: Ward (31-0, 15 KOs); Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In the most significant match of the year -- an HBO PPV showdown between undefeated top-5 pound-for-pound fighters -- fans got the exciting fight they deserved but the decision was controversial as former unified super middleweight world champion Ward, 32, of Oakland, eked out a questionable nod to take three world title belts off Kovalev, 33, the heavy-handed Russian who was making his ninth defense. Although Kovalev hurt Ward with a jab in the first round, dropped him with a right hand to the forehead and was in total control through the first half of the fight, Ward did make a nice comeback by finding the right range and making adjustments. But he got every possible benefit of the doubt from the three judges, two of whom gave him rounds 7-12 and one who gave him five of the last six rounds.
Ward was the favorite of the crowd of 13,310 at T-Mobile Arena, so they were generally happy with the decision, but the vast majority of media had Kovalev winning. Kovalev has a rematch clause and his team said it will exercise it immediately, so expect to see to see this fight again next year.
Darleys Perez D10 Maurice Hooker --? Full undercard recap
Junior welterweight
scores: 97-93 Perez, 97-93 Hooker, 95-95
Records: Perez (33-2-2, 21 KOs); Maurice Hooker (21-0-3, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Perez, 33, of Colombia, a former lightweight world titleholder moving up in weight, deserved the clear and wide decision. It was a bad and boring fight but that was mainly because Hooker, 27, of Dallas, did basically nothing but back up and miss tons of wide punches. He certainly did not come close to living up to his pre-fight boasts of a knockout. Now it's one thing not get a knockout if you predict one. Fine. Happens all the time. But to talk the smack Hooker talked and then not even attempt to press the action is bad form. While Hooker ran, Perez went after him throughout the fight and the judges took a win from him. According to CompuBox statistics, Perez landed 146 of 413 punches (35 percent) while Hooker connected on 104 of 485 shots (21 percent). Perez also outjabbed the taller Hooker (69-42).
Oleksandr Gvozdyk TKO8 Isaac Chilemba -- Full undercard recap
Light heavyweight
Scores: 96-93 (twice), 95-94
Records: Gvozdyk (12-0, 10 KOs); Chilemba (24-5-2, 10 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The 29-year-old Gvozdyk is not your average prospect. He was a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist from Ukraine who had around 250 amateur fights, so he was already pretty advanced. But he was nonetheless taking a major step up in competition against Chilemba, 29, the Malawi native living in South Africa. Some thought Gvozdyk was biting off more than he could chew but he was not. He looked sharp, especially with his jab, in a dominant win, the best of his career.
Although Chilemba, who was being trained by the great Roy Jones Jr. for the first time, ultimately retired on his stool following the eighth round because of a right elbow injury he said he suffered in the third round, he was well on his way to defeat as all three judges had Gvozdyk, by far the heavier hitter, ahead 79-73 at the time of the stoppage. Gvozdyk's dominance was illustrated by the CompuBox punch statistics. He landed 140 of 533 punches (26 percent) while Chilemba connected with 80 of 354 blows (23 percent). Usually, when a fighter throws more, lands more and lands at a higher rate than his opponent he wins the fight.
Curtis Stevens W10 James De La Rosa -- Full undercard recap
Middleweight
Scores: 98-90, 96-92 (twice)
Records: Stevens (29-5, 21 KOs); De La Rosa (23-5, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: For three rounds this was a fun fight. The rest of it was dreadful but Stevens, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, had matters well in hand against De La Rosa, 29, of Harlingen, Texas, who lost his third fight in a row. Stevens, a good puncher, started very fast and looked like he might end it quickly when he scored a solid knockdown with a left hand with 20 seconds left in the first round. Stevens kept up the pressure, cutting De La Rosa over the left eye in the second round and engaging him in a wild and extended exchange in the third round that gave you the feeling this was going to be a tremendous brawl. But then all the air went out of the fight. Both guys were perhaps a bit tired or maybe wary of the other man's power. Whatever it was, it turned into a dreadful fight but one that Stevens, a knockout victim to Gennady Golovkin in a 2013 world title bout, won with ease.
Claressa Shields W4 Franchon Crews -- Full recap
Super middleweight
Scores: 40-36 (three times)
Records: Shields (1-0, 0 KOs); Crews (0-1)
Rafael's remarks: The only bright spot of the entire horrific Sergey Kovalev-Andre Ward undercard was this exciting slugfest between Shields and Crews, who gave fans a tremendous show despite Shields legitimately winning every round. It was an absolute travesty that it was not part of the pay-per-view and that is not just because it was an exciting slugfest. It was because Shields, 21, of Flint, Michigan, deserved the exposure for her pro debut following winning her second consecutive Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro in August as she culminated her incredible 77-1 amateur career as the best female boxer in the world. Crews, 29, of Baltimore, was no pushover either. She was a decorated amateur as well with numerous accolades, despite losses to Shields in the unpaid ranks. They came out swinging like Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns in the opening round and rarely let up. Shields, however, was quicker, stronger and her punches were straighter. If there is going to be someone to bring more interest to women's boxing in the United States, Shields is the one.
Saturday at Hanover, Germany
Marco Huck W12 Dmytro Kucher
Cruiserweight
Scores: 119-109, 117-111 (twice)
Records: Huck (40-3-1, 27 KOs); Kucher (24-2-1, 18 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Huck, 32, of Germany, was the dominant cruiserweight in the world from 2009 to 2015, making a division-record tying 13 defenses before getting knocked out in the 11th round of a big upset by Poland's Krzysztof Glowacki in August 2015. Huck, typically in exciting fights, has won two fights in a row since, including this lopsided but entertaining affair against European champion Kucher, 32, of Ukraine. There were several close rounds in the fight but Huck did what he always does, which is to grind out a tough, physical fight. Kucher fought well but Huck landed the cleaner, harder punches throughout the fight. In the eighth round, an accidental head butt left Huck with a cut over his left eye. Later in the round, Huck rocked him with a right hand and then tossed him to the mat. Kucher was in trouble but got through it and went the distance but it was a clear loss.
Friday at London
George Groves W12 Eduard Gutknecht
Retains a strawweight title
Scores: 119-110, 119-109 (twice)
Records: Groves (25-3, 18 KOs); Gutknecht (30-5-1, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Groves, 28, of England, is a three-time world title challenger, having lost twice to Carl Froch by knockout and by split decision to Badou Jack. Groves won his fourth fight in a row since the defeat to Jack in September 2015, but it had an unfortunate ending. Groves pounded out a one-sided decision against two-time world title challenger Gutknecht, a 34-year-old Kazakhstan native living in Germany, who took a lot of punishment and suffered a cut left eye in the ninth round. After the fight, Gutknecht collapsed in his dressing room and rushed to the hospital, where he underwent brain surgery. He is reportedly in stable condition. As unfortunate as Gutknecht's situation is, the victory probably will propel Groves into another world title opportunity in 2017.
Friday at Indio, Calif.
Pablo Cesar Cano W10 Mauricio Herrera
Welterweight
Scores: 97-91 (twice) Cano, 95-93 Herrera
Records: Cano (30-5-1, 21 KOs); Herrera (22-7, 7 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In Golden Boy's Estrella TV main event, Cano, 26, of Mexico, shook off a split decision loss to Alan Sanchez in May with this good victory in an entertaining scrap against fellow former interim junior welterweight titlist Herrera, 36, of Riverside, California, who lost his second bout in a row. Before the fight Herrera, who many thought outpointed then-junior welterweight world champion Danny Garcia in a controversial loss, said his career might be on the line with another defeat and now he will have some soul searching to do as he looked old. The more aggressive Cano was quicker, stronger and beat him to the punch throughout the fight. Cano, aided by the right hand he landed all night, won rather handily but the scores wound up a bit closer because referee Ray Corona docked points from Cano in the fourth and eighth rounds for repeated low blows.
Friday at Kissimmee, Fla.
Christopher Diaz W8 Fernando Vargas
Featherweight
Scores: 79-83, 78-74, 77-75
Records: Diaz (19-0, 11 KOs); Vargas (30-11-3, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Diaz, a 22-year-old prospect from Puerto Rico, got in some good work in a decision win against Mexican veteran Vargas, 28, in the main event of Top Rank's "Solo Boxeo" series on UniMas. Diaz used his quicker hands and solid combinations to work Vargas over en route to the decision. It was the fifth win of the year for Diaz, who is moving along nicely and positioned for a possible breakout year in 2017.
Also on the card, Julian Rodriguez (15-0, 10 KOs), 22, of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, rolled to a decision win against steppingstone opponent Jerry Belmontes (21-10, 6 KOs), 27, of Corpus Christi, Texas. Rodriguez, known as "Hammer Hands," knocked Belmontes down twice (in the first and second rounds) on his way to shutout scores of 80-70 on two scorecards and 78-72 on the third.
In another bout on the show, former middleweight world title challenger Matt Korobov (27-1, 14 KOs), 33, a 2008 Russian Olympian fighting out of Saint Petersburg, Florida, scored an eight-round shutout of journeyman Scott Sigmon (27-10-1, 15 KOs), 29, of Lynchburg, Virginia. Korobov won 80-72 on all three scorecards in his third victory in a row since he got knocked out in the sixth round of a fight he was winning easily by Andy Lee for a vacant middleweight world title in December 2014.