World Boxing News provides boxing results worldwide for November 21 as Marlon Tapales and Dylan Moran score victories.
See below for reports.
Cambridge, New Zealand: Cruiser: Joshua Francis (10-1-1) W TKO 1 Kyle Mereweather (1.1).
Francis again shows his power as he finishes poor Mereweather inside a round. After some sparring, one huge right cross from Francis floored Mereweather heavily, and the fight was over. After a 1-1-1 start to his, career Francis is now 9-0 with 7 wins by KO/TKO, 4 of them inside the opening round. He was defending the ANBF Australasian title. Merewether’s previous pro experience was just one four-round bout.
Valencia, Spain: Super Welter: Dylan Moran (15-1,1ND) W PTS 8 David Bency (14-18-1). Light: Juan Felix Gomez (9-0) W PTS 8 Izan Dura (3-6).
Useful eight rounds of work for Irish hope Moran. Irish-based Nicaraguan was typical of the Nicas based in Spain in that he tried hard, kept pressing but lacked the power and skill to pose any threat to the talented 5’ 11” tall southpaw Moran. All three cards read 79-73 for Moran. The 25-year-old from Waterford gets his fifth win on the bounce. He suffered an upset loss when he was stopped in three rounds by novice Denis Okoth in Catskills, NY, in June last year. Now eight losses in a row for Bency, which is another trait the Nicas share.
Gomez vs. Dura
Both of these fighters are from Valencia, but that was the only thing they shared, “Juanfe” Gomez is a southpaw and a much better boxer. In his first fight for 13 months, after a slow opening round, Gomez brought his better skills into play, and he dominated the fight with only his lack of power, making it possible for Dura to go the full eight rounds. Scores 79-73 for Gomez on all three scorecards. He will be looking to fight for the national title next year. Dura keeps his record of not losing inside the distance.
General Santos City, Philippines: Super Feather: Marlon Tapales (34-3) W TKO 2 Eden Sonsona (36-11-2). Bantam: Aston Palicte (26-4-1) W RTD 2 Reymark Taday (10-12-1). Fly: David Apolinario (13-0) W Bonjun Loperez (12-13-1).
Tapales vs. Sonsona
Tapales returns with a win as he floors Sonsona three times for victory. Obviously, this was not going to be a long fight as Tapales dropped Sonsona twice in the first with hooks to the head. Sonsona decided attack was the best defense and stood and traded punches at the start of the second. He pinned Tapales to the ropes and landed with hooks to head and body until Tapales forced his way off the ropes, and then it was bombs away as they just stood and threw punches before Tapales rocked Sonsona with a right hook and dropped him with a left. Sonsona went down, but although he beat the count, he just turned away, and the referee waived the fight over. Southpaw Tapales, 28, is a former WBO bantam champion, but he was stripped of the title when he failed to compensate for his first defense. He moved up to super bantam but was stopped in eleven rounds by Ryosuke Iwasa in December last year to fight for the interim IBF title. The IBNF has him at No 4, so a title shot in 2021 is a real possibility. Sonsona, 31, challenged the IBO bantam title way back in 2008 and made it to a high position in the ratings in 2015 when he blasted out 22-0 Adrian Estrella in two rounds, but that was yesteryear as this is his sixth consecutive loss.
Palicte vs. Taday
It was like a man against boy here as Palicte put in some ring time against the smaller and lighter Taday. Palicte picked Taday off with jabs connected with left ho0oks to the body and d straight rights but never really pressed his attacks, allowing Taday to launch some wild windmilling attacks. Palicte upped his pace in the second round handing out some severe punishment, and Taday decided he had taken enough and dropped out of th3e fight at the end of the round. Palicte will be hoping it will be third time lucky for him. The 29-year-old Filipino turned in a great performance in fighting to a draw with Donnie Nietes for the vacant WBO super fly title in 2018 but was stopped in ten rounds by Kazuto Ioka for the same title in June last year. He is still No 10 with the WBO, so that a third title shot might be in his future. Eight defeats in his last nine fights for Taday.
Apolinario vs. Loperez
Southpaw Apolinario floored Loperez first and had him in deep trouble later in the round with the referee jumping in and giving Loperez a standing count, which helped him survive the round. Loperez had to withstand a body bettering in the second and took more punishment in the third. Loperez attacked fiercely at the start of the fourth, but Apolinario rocked him with a right hook and landed heavily to the body. Loperez was finished and retired at the end of the round. Now nine wins for the 21-year-old local prospect. Poor Loperez is 2-9 in his recent outings.
Rome, Italy: Light Heavy: Adriano Sperandio (12-1) W PTS 10 Luca Spadaccini (6-1-3).
In his first fight for 18 months, local favorite Sperandio collects the vacant Italian title with a unanimous decision over Spadaccini. Sperandio proved too quick and too mobile for Spadaccini. He was much the better technical boxer working well with his jab and quickly enough to land accurate shots inside and get out before Spadaccini could counter. Spadaccini’s sheer aggression was enough to earn him a couple of rounds, but generally, he played catch-up against the fleeter Sperandio and never really threatened Sperandino’s dominance. Scores 98-92, 98-93, and 97-93for the new champion. Sperandio, 32, rebounds with this win after losing a very close decision to 23-0 Marko Nikolic for the WBC Mediterranean title in May 2019. Spadaccini, 31, was in his first ten round fight. The two draws on his record were technical, and he will look to regroup and rechallenge the title next year.
Tokyo, Japan: Super Light: Rikki Naito (23-2) W RTD 9 Yusuke Konno (16-5).
Naito retains the OPBF title with an injury victory over Konno. This was expected to be a classic boxer vs. puncher contest with southpaw Naito having the skills and Konno trying to impose himself with constant aggression. The first two rounds followed that expectation with clever boxing from Naito taking the opening round but successful pressure tactics from Konno, giving him the second. Naito boxed smartly over the third and fourth and was up on all cards at 40-36 twice and 39-37. Naito increased his lead in the fifth, connecting with a series of jabs and hooks. Konno suddenly came back into the fight in the sixth as he was able to get inside and pound away at Naito’s body and looked capable of springing a surprise. Konno had a poor seventh, and it was apparent that he had damaged his left arm and was effectively fighting with just one hand, and although he fought gravely through the eighth and ninth, he was forced to retire. The fourth successful defense of the OPBF title for Naito. Naito was 59-9 as an amateur. He is the son of Junichi “Cassius” Naito, who was also an OPBF champion. Naito’s two losses have been to Kenichi Ogawa, who beat Tevin Farmer for the IBF title but tested positive for a banned substance. Konno, a former Japanese super light champion, had won his last five fights and, after the injury, deserves another shot at the title.
