Last weekend’s boxing matches saw both surprises and disappointments occur as British heavyweight Johnny Fisher distinguished himself while others found themselves in a knot with their careers; in particular Kazuto Ioka who suffered a fatal loss in a unification fight, signaling perhaps the lowest point of his career. Shakur Stevenson also won but his performance last Saturday might not give him many opportunities on the free agent market. In addition, a title shot for #1 lightweight contender William Zepeda might still not dawn following his own performance this past Saturday where he continued his impressive KO streak

Johnny Fisher Vs. Alen Babic

The heavyweight (200 lbs) build-up of the non-title headlining bout between British contender Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KO’s) and Croatian fighter Alen Babic (12-2, 11 KO’s) saw Babic respond vehemently to criticism regarding his chances against Fisher given the British fighter’s size, toughness and perceived power.

However, Saturday, July 7th at the Copper Box Arena in London saw Johnny Fisher live up to his reputation as a powerful puncher; one which Alen Babic found himself ruefully on the end of in just the first round of the match. The first 30 seconds saw both fighters exchange with each other as they met in the pocket, but it was Fisher’s rapid combinations which clearly did more damage as Babic quickly found himself floored after the British heavyweight’s onslaught.

What followed next will be considered controversial as Babic stood up to beat the count but the referee waved it off, resulting in Fisher winning the match by technical knockout (TKO). The debate will doubtlessly revolve around whether Babic was supposed to have been stopped that early, but Babic did suffer a prior TKO loss in the 1st round last year.

In any case, Fisher did a phenomenal job with his 1st-round victory, and may be at the point where he’s ready to face some of the higher-rated British heavyweights including British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) British heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley (17-0-1, 16 KO’s), and Olympic bronze medalist Frazer Clarke (8-0-1, 6 KO’s).

Matchroom was the acting promoter for this event.

Shakur Stevenson Vs. Artem Harutyunyan

World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight (135 lbs) champion Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO’s) defended the WBC title for the first time against German contender Artem Harutyunyan (12-2, 7 KO’s).

The two headlined a Top Rank show at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday, July 6th, but both fighters failed to produce the excitement of a main event while the two battled over 12 rounds.

As Stevenson has shown to be accustomed to, he emphasized his defense over offense, carefully attempting to pick Harutyunyan apart who struggled through most of the match to damage Stevenson substantially. Despite Stevenson tipping the scales with an excellent defensive performance, his lack of aggression made for a less entertaining match.

Shakur Stevenson was announced the winner by unanimous decision (UD) following the 12 rounds, having won most of the rounds easily with pinpoint boxing and well-timed counters while Harutyunyan also showed glimpses of his own talent―despite going into the match after with a loss he suffered the year before.

However, Harutyunyan’s tactics and determination did not overcome the defensively solid Stevenson who won through the judges’ scorecards of 116-112, 118-110 and 119-109.

Stevenson has now reached the end of his contract following his victory and can now enter free agency, but it is uncertain how many potential suitors there will be. While Matchroom has shown interest recently, it is generally assumed that Stevenson’s lack of entertaining performances in the ring will not generate as much interest as his skills would warrant; leaving open the possibility that Stevenson will re-sign with Top Rank.

Undercard results:

At super featherweight (130 lbs), one of the most exciting matches of this past weekend occurred as American WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KO’s) defended his title against Brazilian contender Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KO’s).

The two fought an extremely close fight, with the bout appearing to be close enough to go either way, but it was Conceicao who would be announced the winner by split-decision (SD) following the judges’ scorecards of 116-112, 112-116 and 115-113. However, the performance by both fighters has cast doubts on these very same scorecards.

As with most close fights, the decision to award Conceicao the win is appears disputable, with O’Shaquie Foster having been witnessed to fight balancedly, using his well-developed skills in offense and defense to land the more essential punches. Robson Conceicao was the busier fighter, but missed a lot of punches due to Foster’s defense. The CompuBox appear to reflect this, rating Foster’s landed punches to have been twice as efficient as Conceicao’s.

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the scorecards, Robson Conceicao can now call himself a world champion for the first time of his career after three prior attempts to win a world title for himself. As the new WBC 130 lbs champion, plenty of challenges now lie ahead for the Brazilian, as well as many opportunities.

At lightweight, American contender Keyshawn Davis (11-0, 7 KO’s) defended three of his [mid-tier] titles―the IBF-USBA, WBC-USA and WBO Inter-Continental titles―against Mexican contender Miguel Madueno (31-3, 28 KO’s).

It was a dominant performance for Davis but not one he managed to close within the distance as he fought the full 10 rounds to net a UD win and retain all his titles. The judges’ scorecards were all identical, bearing scores of 99-91 which accurately showcased the one-sided affair of the lightweight title bout.

While Davis may be ready for a title shot at the moment, he will likely have to wait for an opportunity for some time to come. Two of the 135 lbs titles are currently held by 2 other Top Rank fighters including WBC champion Shakur Stevenson and Ukrainian champion Vasyl Lomachenko (18-3, 11 KO’s) who possesses the IBF 135 lbs title. Denys Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KO’s), Lomachenko’s countryman, also holds the WBO lightweight belt and is currently signed to British-based promotion Queensberry Promotions, which has aligned itself with Top Rank.

Stevenson and Davis are known to be close friends―which will make a fight between them unlikely, while Lomachenko and Berinchyk will either need to deal with mandates after recently winning their titles, or may face each other for an all-Ukrainian unification bout. Either way, it is unlikely Davis can do much more than challenge the highest-rated contenders available, which will increase his chances of suffering a defeat before he sniffs at a world title.

Kazuto Ioka Vs. Fernando Martinez

Japanese WBA super flyweight (115 lbs) champion Kazuto Ioka (31-3-1, 16 KO’s) and Argentinian IBF champion Fernando Daniel Martinez (17-0, 9 KO’s) headlined a Shisei Promotions card with Ioka considered the favorite due to his home country advantage and his pedigree; having been in numerous world title fights since first becoming a world champion in 2011.

However, last Sunday’s event, held on July 7th, may have definitively spelled the end of Ioka’s tenure as a world champion as the Japanese star would go on to lose to Martinez by unanimous decision, which subsequently also resulted in Ioka losing his WBA title.

The judges’ scorecards [117-111, 120-108 and 116-112] depicted a match where Martinez held all the cards and virtually dominated throughout the match. In actuality, however, the two were quite a bit closer in regards to competitiveness, though Martinez did very well to stun Ioka’s home crowd after producing a performance that halted the Japanese fighter’s chances of unifying the two titles on the line―something he has yet to achieve throughout his longstanding career.

The Argentinian mostly stood apart with his offense. Though only 3 years younger than the 35- year old Ioka, Martinez was arguably the fitter fighter and this aspect proved to be the key difference as he was able to maintain a high-pace of aggressiveness, even later on. Ioka relied more on skill and experience, which allowed him to land a multitude of crucial punches―especially through his body shots―and even spur a comeback later on in the match, but Martinez was the more active fighter and convincingly won the championship rounds to seal the SD victory.

Martinez can now call himself a unified champion, being he is in possession of both the WBA and IBF super flyweight titles. Interesting challenges are likely ahead as Martinez’ first-ever unification fight as an away fighter suggests he is willing to compromise to achieve ultimate glory―indicating there will be few complications if he intends to seek a fight with the other two champions in the division; American WBC champion Jesse Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KO’s) who just won the 115 lbs title, and Japanese WBO champion Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11 KO’s)―who remains the only world champion in the division never to have competed in a unification bout.

William Zepeda Vs. Giovanni Cabrera

Golden Boy Promotions star, Mexican southpaw William Zepeda Segura (31-0, 27 KO’s), continued to distinguish himself as the best contender in the 135 lbs division as he netted another knockout (KO) victory to set himself on a four-match KO streak. The two headlined at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, on Saturday, July 6th.

Zepeda faced American contender Giovanni Cabrera (22-2, 7 KO’s) who quickly found himself outclassed and outgunned by the aggressive Zepeda who spared no time to pressure Cabrera.

Cabrera―who two matches prior had suffered a rather one-sided loss to another Mexican contender in Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KO’s)last year―had exhibited solid toughness against Cruz, but found his resilience quickly wane against Zepeda who can now undoubtedly be considered one of the biggest punchers in the lightweight division. Cabrera weighed in 2 lbs over the 135-pound limit for the fight during the official weigh-ins held on Friday, July 5th.

Cabrera’s defense did not stand up to Zepeda’s pressure and power, and the American succumbed in the 3rd round of their 12-round non-title bout, finding himself knocked out after a brutal liver shot by Zepeda left him unable to continue.

It was another fantastic performance by Zepeda but one that now draws questions as to why he hasn’t yet been designated as a mandatory contender. Zepeda’s lack of world title opportunities also appears contradictory to his nr. 1 position on every single one of the sanctioning bodies’ rankings, which indisputably identifies him as the #1 lightweight contender in the world.