WORLD BEAT
thwarted by Thammanoon Niyomtrong (aka Knockout CP Freshmart) in Perth in September. Thailand’s Niyomtrong retained his WBA strawweight title by majority decision but would himself be crushed by Oscar Collazo two months later in a fight for the vacant Ring Magazine championship. Tim Tszyu lurched from one disaster to another in 2024. In his Las Vegas debut in March, Tszyu suffered a nasty gash to his scalp early in the bout against late replacement Sebastian Fundora, who stepped in when Keith Thurman was injured in training. Tszyu battled bravely through a mask of blood but ultimately lost his WBO junior middleweight bauble by split decision. Things went from bad to worse for Tszyu in Orlando, Florida, in October when he challenged Bakhram Murtazaliev for his IBF belt. The Russian hurt Tszyu early, dropping him twice in the second round and again in the third to claim a TKO victory. Tim’s younger brother Nikita, a fellow 154-pounder, continued to make a name for himself by outpointing Danilo Creati and scoring a ninth- round stoppage of Koen Mazoudier in a pair of action-packed bouts. Junior featherweight contender Sam Goodman will finally get his shot at Ring Magazine and undisputed 122-pound champion Naoya Inoue in Tokyo on January 24. The bout was originally scheduled for Christmas Eve before Goodman suffered a cut over his left eye in his final sparring session. Aussie fight fans will be hoping for better fortunes for their boxers in 2025.
cruiserweight Ryan Rozicki. It was a rematch that was two years in the making after their first encounter back in mid- 2022 ended in one of the most egregious robberies of that year. The split-decision victory for Rozicki was so questionable that even the WBC refused to acknowledge the scorecards produced by the all- Canadian panel of judges and threw out the result, at least for the purpose of the organization’s vacant “interim” belt (in the record books, it's still officially a win for Rozicki). This time, the controversy was just as bad as the first bout, with a dubious majority draw appearing to favor the local fighter. It was another solid performance by the 33-year-old Peralta, who once again failed in his bid to become the best Peralta in his country’s boxing history. Given the result of the fight and the circumstances around it, all signs point toward a third fight against the 29-year-old Rozicki in which Yamil will try to one-up Gregorio and Avenamar, who although not related to him are still the most memorable Argentines to wear the surname, with phenomenal records and accomplishments on the world stage back in the 1960s and ’70s. Peralta’s trip to Canada was not, however, as bad as Alberto Palmetta’s homecoming bout in Argentina. Fighting out of Miami for the past three and a half years, the 30-year-old Palmetta (a former Olympic teammate of Peralta) aimed to end a 1-2 streak in his last three bouts with a soft touch in his homeland, but his foe, Joel Mafauad, apparently never got the memo. Fighting in the main event of a card at Casino Buenos Aires on November 30, Mafauad, 27, impressed the judges with his power and accuracy, negating Palmetta’s more polished boxing skills and superb conditioning to score a mild upset. Mild or not, “upset” was definitely the word for Palmetta, who went on a week- long rant on both social and traditional media detailing a conspiracy theory about the manipulation of the result that was as unclear as it was unsubstantiated. A disappointing month for Argentine fighters at the international level continued on December 14 in Ontario, California,
with previously unbeaten Gerardo Vergara losing by technical knockout in his first pro bout outside of his homeland against Charles Conwell in a junior middleweight bout. The 30-year-old Vergara was off to a good start but was later dominated by the Ring-rated Conwell as the 27-year-old boxer-puncher turned up the pressure on the visitor, aiming for the stoppage, which came at the 2:51 mark of the seventh round. The always active local scene saw a few prospects scoring significant victories. On Friday, November 13, title challenger Jeremias Ponce made it to 3-0 on the comeback trail after his failed bid to lift the IBF junior welterweight belt from Subriel Matias in 2023. This time, he took care of Guido Marquez with a TKO win in three rounds at the fabled Argentine Boxing Federation stadium. Still considered one of Argentina’s most likely to succeed, Ponce promised to remain busy enough to secure another title shot in 2025. With a similar goal, and with his work cut out for him in the crowded super middleweight division, Pablo “Pacman” Corzo remained unbeaten in the main event of the same card, stopping Colombia’s Jose Yañez in four rounds. The colorful boxer-puncher may lack the explosiveness of the division’s top dogs at the world level, but he remains one of the most entertaining fighters to watch in the local scene. In another talent-laden card at the same stadium on December 7, unbeaten prospect Alan Chaves led the charge of the younger generation with a second-round stoppage win over Mexico’s Ivan Basurto Monroy. Following in the footsteps of his granddad and uncles, including former welterweight contender Diego Chaves, the 23-year-old Alan remains a diamond in the rough who is already begging for bigger and better challenges in the lightweight division. Earlier that night, fellow young gun Ayrton Gimenez earned a hard-fought stoppage win over Cristian Cancino in seven rounds at the junior lightweight level. The 25-year-old Gimenez’s only loss took place in his first bout outside of Argentina and, so far, his only trip abroad.
What he lacks in punching power, he owns in boxing skills and speed. Also scoring a reassuring win, fringe contender Junior Zarate regained lost ground after an unfair loss in South Africa back in September against Mpumelelo Tshabalala with a win over Venezuela’s Winston Orono in a unanimous decision after 10 rounds. Fighting at the junior flyweight level, Zarate had a 10-0 streak going into the Tshabalala bout and, at 35, his days may be numbered, but he remains a dangerous proposition for anyone in the top tier of the 108-pound division. Another once-promising contender trying to regain lost ground is Neri Muñoz, who improved his chances of getting a shot at the WBA lightweight title at the expense of Uruguay’s Jose Acevedo on November 16. On the comeback trail since a fateful night in 2023 when his ascent was halted by Elias Haedo in two rounds, the 27-year- old Muñoz is in a hurry to make his bid on the international stage. His superb performance against a foe who came to fight every minute of every round seems like a good starting point for that final charge toward the top of the hill. It was a back-and-forth battle of will and endurance, and a close affair on the scorecards going into the final stretch. Sensing opportunity, Acevedo risked it all in the 10th and final round, but a counterattack by Muñoz midway through the frame sent the visitor to the canvas for an eight count. With the stoppage within reach, Muñoz went for the kill and overwhelmed his foe to score a TKO win with only three seconds remaining on the clock. Diego M. Morilla has been covering boxing since 1997 and is based in Argentina. Follow him on X @MorillaBoxing.
Australian’s belt by unanimous decision. Jason’s twin brother, Andrew, also had mixed fortunes in 2024. First was a disputed split-decision loss to Pedro Guevara in Perth, Western Australia, in May on the undercard of the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasiliy Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. In the main event, Lomachenko dominated Kambosos, dropping him twice in the 11th to force the stoppage in the penultimate round. Moloney bounced back with a third-round knockout of Jakrawut Majungoen in December. Also on the Loma-Kambosos card, Australian-based Kiwi Cherneka Johnson scored a majority decision victory over
Jai Opetaia is set to defend his Ring/IBF cruiserweight championship in January .
England’s Nina Hughes to win the WBA bantamweight title. Skye Nicolson continued to fly the flag on the world stage, winning the vacant WBC featherweight title against Sarah Mahfoud in Las Vegas before successfully defending the strap against Dyana Vargas in Philadelphia and Raven Chapman in Saudi Arabia. All three victories came on points. Alex Winwood’s bid to claim a world title in fewer fights than Jeff Fenech was
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ARGENTINA BY DIEGO MORILLA A busy month of action for Argentine boxing had its most outstanding fight on December 7, when two-time Olympian Yamil Peralta traveled once again to Canada to face fellow Ring-rated
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SOUTH AFRICA BY DROEKS MALAN Here are my unofficial South African boxing awards for a rollercoaster 2024:
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