Gavin Rees won the WBA light-welterweight title from titleholder Souleymane M'Baye by unanimous decision before fellow Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli retained his WBO cruiserweight belt on Saturday.
Maccarinelli defeated US-based Guyanese fighter Wayne Braithwaite also on a unanimous points decision at Cardiff International Arena in the third defense of his title.
M'Baye lost his second defense of the light-welterweight title on judges' scoring of 118-110, 117-112 and 117-113.
Rees took the initiative from the first bell and was briefly troubled only in the fourth and fifth rounds.
"From the first bell I outpunched him every round," Rees said.
"I started to tire towards the end but I had won the first eight rounds. I knew I had already won the fight so I knew to keep calm. No one expected me to beat him, no one at all. There were massive odds in the bookies everywhere but I told everyone from the start I was going to win," he said.
Rees shares the same trainer as Maccarinelli - Enzo Calzaghe, father of WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, another Welshman who is based at the same Cardiff gym and watched Saturday's fights.
Rees improved to 27-0 (13 KOs). His career nearly ended when he was given a yearlong boxing ban for punching a funeral mourner in 2004.
M'Baye claimed the vacant title with a fourth-round TKO of Raul Horacio Balbi in September, and drew his first defense against Andreas Kotelnik in March.
Maccarinelli's patient approach and solid hitting gave him judges scores of 118-109, 120-107 and 119-108 against Braithwaite.
He floored Braithwaite in the fifth round and, once, a hook shot sent Braithwaite's mouthguard flying. Braithwaite caught out Maccarinelli with left hooks that left swelling around the champion's eyes.
Maccarinelli (27-1, 20 KOs) inherited the belt after Johnny Nelson retired last year.
"It was a tough match against a WBC world champion," Maccarinelli said. "He took some great shots, I dominated with the jab. I neglected the right hand a bit, I hurt it early on but the jab kept me in it."
"I could throw it but it was painful every time I threw it. He's a tough man, he took some great shots. I showed I could take a shot on the chin, I showed I can box, I showed that I have great stamina. It was a good performance," he said.
Also, Alex Arthur stopped Georgia's Kobo Gogoladze to claim the WBO interim world superfeatherweight title. The Scottish fighter floored Gogoladze three times before the referee called a halt, two minutes, 48 seconds into the 10th round.
Arthur has 25 wins and one defeat.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
Mathys Tel was hero and villain as Tottenham drew 1-1 at home to Leeds United on Monday — a result that leaves their English Premier League future hanging in the balance. The Frenchman broke the deadlock early in the second half to ease the tension at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but then gave away a penalty with a reckless attempted clearance. In the dying minutes, Spurs were grateful to Antonin Kinsky, who produced an astonishing save to deny the visitors a win. Tottenham are now two points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United with just two games left this season. The
Houston Astros right-hander Teng Kai-wei, the only active Taiwanese pitcher in MLB, on Sunday suffered his third loss of the season, throwing a season-high 63 pitches in his second start of the year. Teng allowed three earned runs over three innings on five hits in the Astros’ 5-0 road loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out one, walked one, and hit one batter among the 15 hitters he faced, raising his earned run average to 3.12. It was the Astros’ second attempt to use the 27-year-old Taiwanese as a starter, after he had established himself as a reliable bullpen
‘DONE IT ALL’: LeBron James is now out of contract with the Lakers and would head into the off season as a free agent with uncertainty swirling around his future LeBron James on Monday said he would take time to consider his future after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder in what could turn out to be the final game of his career. James, 41, delivered a typically defiant performance with 24 points and 12 rebounds, but it was not enough to prevent the Lakers from falling 115-110 as the Thunder completed a 4-0 sweep in the Western Conference semi-finals series. The four-time NBA champion is now out of contract with the Lakers and would head into the off season
RSS