Weekend Highlights: Casimero Wins Split, Zuniga Falls, WBA Eliminator Last 16 Seconds
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Saturday, August 14, 2021, was a day in professional boxing featuring two noticeable televised stinkers. The first, in a Showtime Premier Boxing Champions event, a World Boxing Association World Bantamweight title stinker preliminary bout to the main event, lasted only 16 seconds. Actually, the entire bout lasted less than ten seconds. Gary Antonio Russell, 18-0 with 12 knockouts, Washington, D.C., missed with an overhand right hand. His forward momentum continued, and sent his head crashing unintentionally into former International Boxing Federation World Bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez, 19-2 with 12 knockouts, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, a veteran of three bantamweights world title bouts. Rodriguez plunged to the floor, down and out, forcing an immediate end to the brief bout which never was by referee Sharon Sands, at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. With the entire eliminator over and done in a flash, there was no time for fans to boo the controversial ruling of a one round No-Decision.
The Showtime main event, the World Boxing Organisation World Bantamweight title bout between John Riel Casimero and Guillermo Rigondeaux, age 40, gave fans 12 complete rounds of boo. Casimero, 31-4 with 21 knockouts, Ormoc City, Philippines, and Rigondeaux, 20-2 with 13 knockouts, Miami, Florida, by way of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, fought a mostly defensive gem. Rigondeaux got on his bicycle and ran circles around the ring defensively for all 12 rounds. Casimero chased Rigondeaux for all 12 rounds, aggressively missing wildly most of the times. Casimero landed 47 of 297 punches thrown, missing 250 times. Rigondeaux landed 44 of 221 punches. Real Combat Media agreed with commentator Steve Farhood and judge Tim Cheatham, scoring the bout 115-113 for Rigondeaux.
However, the two other official judges overruled. Judge Robert Hoyle had it 117-111 for Casimero, and judge Daniel Sandoval had it 116-112 for Casimero. The rounds were sketchy and drawish at best, but Rigondeaux seemed to do enough to win. The booing crowd could have affected the scoring, though.
At World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, former IBA World Middleweight and IBO World Super Middleweight champion Fernando Zuniga, age 44, 28-17-1 with 25 knockouts, Barranquilla, Columbia, a three time former WBO and IBF world title challenger at 168 and 175 pounds, failed in a comeback attempt at heavyweight. Las Vegas southpaw Robert Thomas White, the current ABF Continental regional heavyweight champion (a minor title), age 51, 21-12-2 with 21 knockouts, now has an 18 bout (15-0-3) unbeaten string, after stopping Zuniga at 2:43 of the first round. Aging Zuniga should now be retired.
At Cosmopolitan Lounge in Decatur, Georgia, 13-0 super bantamweight prospect Darren Cunningham, went down to the canvas four times in eight rounds and got upset in the main event for the vacant Junior NABF Super Bantamweight title by 10-2-1 Joseph Ambo, a Filipino fighting out of North Hollywood, California, who won the eight round decision.
At Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 18-1-2 Joshua Franco of San Antonio, Texas, retained the World Boxing Association World Super Flyweight title over 21-2 former champion Andrew Moloney of Kingscliff, Australia by 12 round decision. Moloney is now 0-2-1 in his last three bouts, all against Franco. His twin brother, 22-2 Jason Maloney, won the vacant World Boxing Council Silver Bantamweight title with a 10 round decision over 22-2-2 Joshua Greer of Chicago, Illinois. 26-0 Arnold Barbosa of Los Angeles, California, retained the World Boxing Organisation International Super Lightweight title with a 10 round decision over 26-4-1 Antonio Moran of Mexico City, Mexico.
On the same card, debuting super middleweight Nico Ali Walsh, the grandson of Muhammad Ali, dropped and stopped 4-1 MMA fighter Jordan Weeks of Lexington, South Carolina, at 1:49 of the first round. 17-0 heavyweight Trey Lippe Morrison of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a son of the late WBO World Heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison, won a six round decision over 16-8-1 Don Haynesworth of New Rochelle, New York.
At Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pennsylvania, debuting lightweight Anthony Bizzarro, of the boxing Bizzarro family, won his four round debut over Robert Presley of Newark, Ohio.
At the Ford Center of the Star in Frisco, Texas, 17-0 welterweight prospect Vergil Ortiz Jr. of Grand Prairie, Texas, retained the WBO International Welterweight title with an eighth round knockout of 22-1-1 Lithuanian contender Egidijus Kavaliaskas of Camarillo, California. 25-3-2 Roger Gutierrez of Maracaibo, Venezuela, retained the World Boxing Association World Super Featherweight title by 12 round decision over the former champion 32-9 Rene Alvarado of Managua, Nicaragua, his second consecutive win over Alvarado.
At Matchwood HQ Garden, Brentwood, Essex, United Kingdom, four important bouts took place. 15-0 light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi of Ghana, now fighting out of London, stopped 18-5-1 Ricard Bolotniks of Riga, Latvia, in the eleventh round, after dropping him in the sixth and eleventh rounds. 20-0 southpaw welterweight Michael McKinson retained the WBO Global Welterweight title with a 10 round decision over 19-1 Pyrzemyslaw Runowski of Slupsk, Poland.
On the same card, 8-0-1 featherweight prospect Raymond Ford of Camden, New Jersey, won the vacant WBA Continental Featherweight title by third round stoppage over 14-4 Reece Bellotti of Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Bellotti, a former Commonwealth British Empire Featherweight champion, has lost five of his last seven bouts, and with his worst performance ever, should seriously consider retirement. 15-1 Bantamweight Ukashir Farooq of Glasgow, Scotland, won the vacant World Boxing Council International Bantamweight title with a 10 round decision win over Luis Gerardo Castillo of Jiquilipilco, Mexico.
At Hotel El Prado, in Barranquilla, Columbia, 10-0 Columbian light heavyweight Carlos Avila got upset by hot and cold 8-9-3 Joaquin Murrieta of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, who won the vacant World Boxing Council Fecarbox Light Heavyweight title by tenth round stoppage. Before this bout win, Murrieta’s last ten pro bouts had alternating wins, losses or draws as follows: win loss win loss win loss draw loss win loss. Talk about hot and cold! The last time Murrieta won two bouts in a row was in 2015.
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