Weekend Boxing Results, Apr. 15

Lomachenko Too Good for Anthony Crolla

By now, you’ve probably heard that Vasiliy Lomachenko knocked out Anthony Crolla in the fourth round of their fight on Friday night. This was not a surprising outcome, but more of a reminder that there are very few, if any, fighters at 135 that could give Lomachenko issues.

Lomachenko is far different from the stiff and stoic Eastern European fighters we’ve become accustomed to. He’s cocky, brash and as his English improves, proving himself to be sneakily funny. Because Crolla calls himself the “million dollar man”, Lomachenko wore a (supposedly) $300,000 alligator robe adorned with the word “Billionaire.” Then, when asked about Gervonta Davis, Lomachenko delivered the savage burn “Gervonta Davis is the best fighter on twitter.”

At this point, Davis, Mikey Garcia and maybe Teofimo Lopez are the only guys at 135 worth putting against the Ukrainian. But, because those fights are all unlikely to happen in September, expect to see Lomachenko face English Olympic Gold Medalist Luke Campbell in a matchup that won’t be much more competitive than Crolla-Lomachenko was.

Gilberto Ramirez KOs Tommy Karpencey in 175-Pound Debut

With a new trainer, new manager, new house and new weight class, Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez looked as good as he could against the admittedly limited skills of Tommy Karpency. Ramirez attacked Karpencey to the body early, reportedly breaking his ribs, until heading into the fifth round Karpencey quit on his stool. But before you say anything about Karpencey’s heart or compare him to a quitter like Nicholas “The Axeman” Walters, you should know that The Sporting News’ Andreas Hale believed Karpencey’s ribs were broken thirty seconds into the fight.

Ramirez’s next move will be interesting. Callum Smith is calling for a unification bout at 168, but Ramirez is talking about fighting Sergey Kovalev at 175, despite never relinquishing his 168-pound title. Either way, this weekend the new-look Gilberto Ramirez looked as good as the old version.

Mike Alvorado Stopped in Three by Arnold Barboza Jr.

Mike Alvorado, the former WBO super lightweight champion who was riding a six-fight win streak after consecutive losses to Brandon Rios, Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez, was knocked out in the third round by Arnold Barboza Jr. Alvorado was dropped with an uppercut-right hand combination, and though he beat the count he stumbled around the ring until the referee stopped the fight, grabbing the veteran fighter to keep him from falling over. While Barboza is undefeated at 21-0, this was only his eighth knockout as a professional which says more about the current iteration of Alvorado than Barboza’s abilities.

This was a nice win from Barboza over a big name, but it likely won’t mean much as far as whether he’s a legitimate contender or not. For reference, L.A. Times sports writer Dylan Hernandez said that at 38 Alvorado was so shot, the fight was “a sanctioned execution.” Alvorado needs to retire.

Claressa Shields Easily Beats Christina Hammer to Unify 160 lb Belts

Claressa Shields dominated Christina Hammer thoroughly, winning a unanimous 98-92, 98-92, 98-92 decision. If Shields was a bigger puncher, she could probably have closed the show but instead was forced to settle for a decision.

Shields should be a bigger star, but it’s hard to see any fights that get her there, including the fight against Caecilia Brakhaus that Shields is calling for. She jokingly said after the fight that she might have to start going up against guys, and while nobody in sports wants to have the Joe Rogan-Ronda conversation again, as far as her star power that’s about all she could do.

Jaime Munguia Wins Close, Questionable Decision He Blames on Making Weight

Jaime Munguia looked awful against Dennis Hogan, ultimately retaining his WBO title with a majority 114-114, 115-113, 116-112 decision that had many fans on Twitter as well as Hogan himself crying foul. A rematch is likely, but it was Munguia’ post-fight excuse that was most interesting.

All week Munguia had been talking about going to 160 and facing the middleweight elite, with some members of his team going so far as to say he’s ready for “GGG” right now. Rather than look at this performance and reflect on why it is that Munguia keeps getting outboxed, instead Munguia and his team claimed that he was exhausted from trying to make 154. That will be the narrative they push going forward, but it will be hard to make it stick when every fight we see Munguia struggle against OK boxers, and we have recently begun to see him unable to walk down and power through them like he did when he first burst on the scene. Munguia has fundamental problems that moving up five pounds in weight won’t fix. Hogan exposed them. At 160, they would be exposed in a far more violent way.

Incidental Headbutt Leads to Quillin-Truax No-Decision

Caleb Truax’s “Purple Rain” entrance was the only real excitement Minnesota boxing fans got from the Truax-Quillin matchup, as an incidental headbutt in the second round led to the fight being stopped before the third round began. A cut above Truax’s eye led the referee to determine Truax couldn’t see with all that blood flowing into his eyes, and by rule any fight stopped before the fourth round because of an incidental headbutt results in a no-decision.

This was a disappointing result for the two fighters, but more so for the East Coast fans that stayed up until past 1 a.m. to see a six-minute no-decision on FS1.

Samuel Peter’s Comeback Fails after Shocking Loss

Former heavyweight contender Samuel Peter, who holds the unique distinction of having lost to both Klitschko brothers, was fighting for the second time in his comeback from a 2016 injury forced retirement. Against Mario Heredia, a 15-6, 5-foot-10 journeyman, Peter would lose a split decision despite dropping Heredia in the third round. That’s terrible for a guy that has beaten hall of famers like James Toney and stopped guys like Oleg Maskaev. This loss should end the comeback for “The Nigerian Nightmare.”