June 22 at Villa Carlos Paz in Argentina
Bastida stops Gonzalo in the eighth round in defense of the Argentine title. Bastida was landing punches from the start. The taller left-hander Gonzalo used his jab to push Bastida away and landed weighty left punches to the body.
Bastida launched a fierce attack early in the second, firing a flurry of shots with both hands, but was cut in the left eye when their heads collided. Bastida out-maneuvered Gonzalo, came close to scoring with hooks and uppercuts, and by the fifth Gonzalo had a nasty bruise under his right eye.
Gonzalo came alive overdue in the seventh period, firing sweeping hooks to the body, but he now had swelling around both eyes. By the eighth, blood was streaming down Bastida’s face from a cut above her left eye.
Suddenly he landed a right uppercut and hit Gonzalo across the ring, connecting with lefts and rights until Gonzalo fell to the ropes with his hands down and his head cracking from Gonzalo’s punches, and the fight was stopped. This was Bastida’s first defense. Gonzalo had won his last two fights.
June 22nd in Pepinster, Belgium
Kourbanov shook off the dust with a majority unanimous decision against Lagos. In his first fight in sixteen months, Kourbanov won 100-90 on all three cards. Kyrgyzstan-born Kourbanov dropped a majority decision against Joe Cordina in 2021, but was overtaken for the 2022 European title by Zelfa Barrett. In April, Colombian Lagos was defeated in five rounds by Spaniard Salvador Jimenez.
June 22 in Munich, Germany
German Sultanoglu wins vacant WBC International silver title with stoppage over Karimov. Sultanoglu dropped Karimov three times in the fifth set to force a stoppage. Sultanoglu’s ninth KO/TKO win. Azerbaijani-born German Karimov, 40, was 11-1 in his last 12 fights, losing to Cuban Mike Perez in October.
If Plantic was hoping to get to ring time, it was a waste of time as he stopped Montenegrin Skrijelj in the middle of the first round. Plantic retained Jack Cullen in April. For Skrijelj it was the tenth defeat at the distance.
Turkish “She-wolf” Yucel knocks out Bosnian Pilipovic in a shameful match. The WBF titleholder won her eleventh victory via KO/TKO. Pilipovic, a substitute, lost 14 of 15 fights by KO/TKO, including 7 in the first round.
June 22nd in Arenzano, Italy
Local player Schinina wins the vacant Italian title after winning on points over Graich in a thrilling match. Schinina had the advantage in skill and speed and overcame the aggressive Graich to quickly take the lead. Graich kept attacking and pressing and even with his shrewd defense, Schinina was often pinned to the ropes and Graich seemed to close the point difference.
Schinina took control in the ninth and 10th rounds and emerged a solid winner, winning twice by scores of 96-94 and 97-93. The Argentine-born Schinina lost a super lightweight title fight last August but moved up to super welterweight and picked up two wins. The Moroccan-born Graich has won his last three fights.
June 22 in Catuingang, Philippines
Santisima defeats Thai Yupang in the fourth round. Santisima dominated from the very beginning, landing weighty punches to the head and body. Yupang tried to punch Santisim, but he was weakened by body punches, and when another body punch knocked him down in the fourth round, he was counted out.
Santisima wins WBA Asian Continental title. He was on a 17-fight winning streak before losing to Emanuel Navarrete for the WBO title in 2020, but a subsequent run of four losses in five fights completely derailed him. Yupang was defending his title for the first time.
June 22 in Manchester, Modern Hampshire, USA
Nigerian Nwokolo overtakes Colombian Barraza and wins two titles. Nwokolo boxed smartly against the taller Colombian. He scored well on counter-attacks and when Barraza tried to play from the back, Nwokolo was quick enough to score and get out before Barraza could respond. Nwokolo set a swift pace and outworked Barraza in round after round to emerge as the clear winner with scores of 120-108 twice and 118-110.
Nwokolo fought primarily in Colombia and Mexico. He held vacant NABA and Universal Boxing Organization titles. Barraza was 20-0 against very modest opponents, but moving up to face much better quality brought him a less impressive 3-4 record.
June 22 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
The Nigerian-born left-hander Oyeleye knocked down Di Stefano in the fourth round. Oyeleye boxed from the back, using his longer reach to rack up points. Di Stefano kept coming forward, landing body shots but without much success.
As Di Stefano moved forward again in the fourth round, a tiny left hook sent him reeling, sending him to his hands and knees, and he continued to fight face down on the mat, with the referee immediately stopping the fight. Tenth KO/TKO win for Oyeleye.
June 21 at Bolton Whites Hotel, Bolton, UK
Kazakh southpaw Zaurbek stops the vastly superior Reynoso with three knockdowns in 101 seconds. Reynoso came out with his head down, throwing wild punches, and when Zaurbek took a side step, Reynoso jumped away from his and landed on the canvas.
He stood up and started swinging ridiculously primitive punches again. Zaurbek landed a left punch to the body. Reynoso knelt on the canvas and watched the count before spitting out his protector to gain a few extra seconds. When the action resumed, a left uppercut sent Reynoso to his knees on the canvas.
While the Count continued, Zaurbek climbed the ropes in the corner and celebrated, but Reynoso took down the Count. A right to the body put him back on the ground and the referee waved the fight off. It was a farce and it is absurd that Zaurbek would win the vacant WBA Continental title in such a fight. Thirteen wins by KO/TKO for Zaurbek, who deserves a better opponent.
June 21st in Vigevano, Italy
Geographo and Alfieri finish in a draw for the vacant European Silver title. In the first rounds, Alfieri’s relentless aggression had Geographo struggling on the defensive. He boxed well, but Alfieri changed his attack from the head to the body and after five rounds he was in the lead. Geographo gradually entered the fight in the middle rounds and then used his superior skills to box out the fading Alfieri, with the judges unable to separate them as all three cards read 114-114, so they would have to do it all over again.
Tosi’s hometown fighter wins the vacant European title by defeating Spain’s Francesca. The visitors were competitive for the first three rounds, but then Tosi’s pressure and aggression took over, and Francesca’s gigantic effort in the final round came too overdue. He scored twice 98-92 and 97-93. Tosi’s third straight win. Francesca had previously failed to win a European featherweight title.
June 21 in Detroit, Michigan, USA
Local hope Miller defeats Houston in two rounds. Miller knocked Houston down in the first round and again in the second, and Houston was counted out after the second knockdown. Miller’s ninth victory by KO/TKO. Won the vacant American Boxing Federation title. Houston, 43, fought his first fight since February 2022.
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