THIS week, we saw unbeaten records busted, an old champion doing what old champions do, to come back and retain his title. There was some dodgy scoring in Orlando, a unified champion returning to the fold, and more. Here are the winners and losers.
Boxing winners of the week
Kenshiro Teraji –
It was a concerning time for WBC flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji, who must’ve got word between the 11th and 12th rounds that he was about to enter the losers column this coming Sunday.
Spurred on by the ignominy, Teraji put his foot on the gas and powered through Seigo Yuri Akui to take his rival’s title, unify the belts and save the day, all while behind on the cards in Tokyo.
Keith Thurman –
Out for years, inactive, suffering from injuries, the best of Keith Thurman may have passed us by but there’s still life in the old dog yet. ‘One Time’ might indicate the amount of fights he has per year, but the three-round smashing of Brock Jarvis was impressive. A future clash with old rival Tim Tszyu is on the cards if Tim can navigate past Joey Spencer.
Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams –
Even though he’s had a win since the Hamzah Sheeraz loss, this felt like the kind of bounceback that Williams needed. Patrice Volny was a solid opponent who will feel hard done to on at least one of the cards. That’s of no concern for ‘Ammo’ who marches on.
Boxing losers of the week
Seigo Yuri Akui –
It’s hard to put Akui in the losers column but his last gasp knockout loss to Teraji was a sickener. Akui was ahead on two of the cards when his opponent took the initiative and Akui’s belt with a barrage to save the contest.
Tonga Tongotongo –
Before this latest outing, ‘Mr Antman’ was used to crushing opponents like the very ant. The 26-year-old New Zealander had blasted away all previous nine foes inside the distance.
Also 26, arriving 4-0 with 4 KOs, Kirra Ruston fancied his chances for the Australian light-heavyweight title. His confidence was well placed, as a heavy knockdown and some well-timed assaults forced Tonga to retire after the sixth. Myth busted.
Fred Fluty –
While concluding that Austin Williams had done enough to win his contest against Patrice Volny was not an outrageous claim, the score of judge Fred Fluty was ridiculous. BoxRec fans’ score had it 115-114 to Williams. Chris Mannix on DAZN had it 114-114 a draw. Fluty scored 118-110 to Williams, meaning the Canadian import only won two rounds and might as well have stayed home.
Charlie Edwards –
A big slot for Charlie in what was expected to be one of the fights of the night in Liverpool. He ran a marathon on the outskirts of the ring for the majority of his bout against Andrew Cain. Whenever Charlie stepped inside in the later rounds he had success, which made the first third of the contest all the more frustrating.
The IBF –
One of the premier sanctioning bodies, the IBF elevated Jay Harris up two spots to number 10 in the March 10 rankings. Harris retired nearly five weeks ago, so the admin team needs to refresh the page. This isn’t the worst rankings mishap of all time as both the WBO and WBA have previously ranked boxers who had died.
