Boxing Weekend Wrap-Up: Devon Alexander Is Indeed Great

Devon Alexander showed that he is indeed “Alexander the Great,” and Vic Darchinyan showed that he still has something left in the tank.

Another good weekend for boxing fans is in the books, so let's get to it.

ESPN Friday Night Fights

Martin Honorio (28-4-1 14 KO) UD 12 Wilton Hilario (12-1-1 9 KO) (lightweight)

Rico Ramos (15-0, 9 KO) KO 4 Cecilio Santos (24-13-3, 14 KO) (junior featherweight)

Honorio won his fourth straight fight overall and took away someone’s 0 for the second straight fight. It was obvious from the get-go that Hilario was overmatched and had built his record on local opposition.

Honorio controlled every round of this fight and won it going away. He used his experience and ring savvy to totally overwhelm Hilario.

He almost had had him out in round six as he put him down twice. Hilario showed great heart in lasting the full 12 rounds.

With this win, Honorio has now taken the 0’s from Steven Luevano, John Molina, and Wilton Hilario. He also retained his NABO lightweight title with the win. He seems to have recovered from his first round KO loss to Robert Guerrero and is in line to fight for a title soon.

Ramos looked okay in knocking out the overmatched Cecilio Santos. He won the NABO Youth title with the win. The fight was ended when Ramos landed a left hook to the body at 1:19 of the fourth round.

HBO

Devon Alexander (20-0 13) KO 8 Juan Urango (22-3-1 17 KO) (WBC/IBF junior welterweight unification)

Wow—that is all I can say. I expected this to be a good fight, but that outcome was totally unexpected.

Alexander showed that he is ready for prime time with this big knockout win. Urango is a sturdy, durable fighter who goes rounds and rarely even touches the canvas.

Urango was competitive for the whole fight, and then Alexander showed what he can do. It was clear that Alexander had the speed and boxing advantage, but Urango was pressing the action.

Up until the eighth round, it appeared Urango was landing the harder shots, and then boom—Alexander caught him with an uppercut that almost put Urango down for the count.

Urango barely got to his feet and was quickly put down again from a flurry by Alexander. He got up again, but referee Benji Estedes waved it off at 1:12 of the eighth round.

Alexander showed he has some serious skill and power in this fight. Putting Urango out for the count is something that has never been done before.

With the win Alexander unified the WBC and IBF Junior Welterweight titles.

Showtime

Vic Darchinyan (34-2-1 27 KO) UD 12 Rodrigo Guerrero (13-2-1 9 KO) (WBC/WBA junior bantamweight championship)

Leonardo Zappavigna (23-0 15 KO) UD 12 Fernando Angulo (22-7 14 KO) (lightweight)

Vic Darchinyan totally punished Rodrigo Guerrero on his way to a 12-round unanimous decision. He won every round in this fight and did so in brutal fashion.

I thought Guerrero would be out within four rounds, but boy was I wrong. He showed that he has heart and one of the best chins in the game.

He took at least 10 to 15 shots that would've ended anyone else’s night, but he fought through it. He really didn’t have a chance to win but kept on fighting.

With the win Darchinyan retained his WBC and WBA Junior Bantamweight titles. This was also the first time he retained his title via 12-round decision.

The opening fight between Leonardo Zappavigna and Fernando Angulo was a robbery. Angulo appeared to win the fight fairly easily but lost a unanimous decision to the undefeated Zappavigna.

Zappavigna was fighting his most experienced opponent in Angulo and struggled. The fight featured a lot of clinching.

Zappavigna had a cut above his right eye that seeped blood into his eye. They both landed heavy shots and had their moments, but it appeared Angulo did enough to win.

With the win Zappavigna moved to 20-0 and picked up the vacant IBO title. This was also the third straight loss for Angulo.

Other Fights

Saul Alvarez (31-0-1 23 KO) retained his NABF welterweight title after knocking out Brian “The Golden Greek” Camechis (19-3 8 KO) in the third round.

He dropped Camechis in the second round two times and finished him off with a huge left hook in the third round.

Johnny Tapia knocked out journeyman Jorge Reyes in the fourth round. With the comeback win Tapia moves to 57-5-2 with 29 knockouts.

In a big upset, former world champion Steve Forbes (34-8 10 KO) lost to unknown Harrison Cuello (19-12-3 14 KO) via eight-round majority decision.

Super-middleweight Sebastien Demers (31-2 11 KO) scored a hard-fought majority decision over former three-time world champion William Joppy (39-6-1 30 KO).

This is the second straight loss for Joppy, and he announced his retirement to the crowd. If this is the end for William Joppy, the fans would like to thank you for the good fights you took part in.