Pavlik gets work in, hand raised

Rafael's remarks: In March, Japan's Sato scored two early knockdowns and won a competitive decision against Thailand's Suriyan Sor Rungvisai to claim a 115-pound world title. For his first defense, Sato, 28, faced mandatory challenger Lopez, 24, of the Philippines, and retained his belt via a lopsided decision against a slower, less-skillful opponent. Sato fought mainly on the outside as he outboxed the heavier hitting Lopez, who had struggled badly to make weight, then put on an astonishing 15 pounds between the weigh-in and fight night. Because this fight was for a WBC belt, the organization's woeful open scoring system, which is unfortunately embraced in Japan, was used. So Sato knew he was ahead 40-36, 40-36 and 39-38 at the quarter pole. When the scores were announced again after the eighth round, Sato was in total control: 80-72, 79-73 and 78-75. Sato continued to outbox Lopez and even hurt him with body shots in the 10th round. Lopez was fading late and the outcome was clear.

Rafael's remarks: Klitschko retained the heavyweight championship in dominant fashion. In other news, the sun came up. Not only did Klitschko win, he was, as usual, barely touched in a thrashing of yet another opponent, as he has thrashed much of the top 10. Thompson had given Klitschko at least a mildly competitive fight in an 11th-round knockout loss in a mandatory fight in 2008. A mandatory challenger again after winning five fights in a row by knockout since the loss, Thompson, 40, of Washington, D.C., couldn't even give Klitschko, 36, of Ukraine, a shred of competition this time. Although Thompson, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound southpaw, could match the 6-6, 249-pound Klitschko in terms of size, the skills, speed and power are on different levels as Klitschko continued his historic second title reign.

He made his 12th defense (10th by knockout) since 2006 as overwhelmingly as any of the others. Klitschko controlled Thompson with a stiff jab and found a regular home for his hammer right hand. Thompson went into the first fight with a bum right knee (which was surgically repaired after the fight). This time, he was healthy and had no excuse for his poor performance. Although he threw a lot of punches, he landed little of note and wouldn't let his hands go, despite the desperate pleas from trainer Barry Hunter to get his jab working. It was obvious early how this fight was going to go. Slowly but surely, Klitschko got into a rhythm and began to let his hands go. He hurt Thompson in the fifth round, when he eventually dropped him near the end of the round with a massive right hand to the face, exciting the crowd of about 25,000 at the Stade de Suisse. It was the sixth consecutive fight for which Klitschko has packed in the crowd at an outdoor stadium in Europe, where he is a superstar.

Thompson managed to survive the fifth-round knockdown but it was clear he was not going to last much longer. Klitschko certainly knew he had Thompson where he wanted and he calmly went after him in the sixth round before finally unloading a series of brutal shots that dropped Thompson again. He barely beat the count, but was hanging onto the top rope to steady himself and referee Sam Williams made the right call by stopping it at 2 minutes, 56 seconds. Klitschko did not want to talk about it before the fight, but one would imagine he took immense satisfaction getting rid of Thompson sooner and in much more dominant fashion than he did in their first encounter. The victory also made Klitschko 5-0 in rematches in which he bettered the result in each sequel.

Klitschko already ranks with all-time great heavyweights such as Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey and Larry Holmes on virtually every list of records for the division. But Klitschko still seems to be motivated even though he has no natural opponent. So until somebody presents himself, Klitschko will be content to rack up defense after defense. To that end, there's a good chance he will be back in November or December for his third fight of the year. It's possible he could face former title challenger Dereck Chisora -- who lost a decision in February to Klitschko's older brother and fellow titleholder, Vitali -- if on Saturday Chisora defeats former titlist David Haye, whom Wladimir Klitschko routed in July 2011. At this point, however, it really doesn't seem to matter whom Klitschko faces because each opponent winds up the same -- a lopsided loser.

Rafael's remarks: Donaire's goal is to steadily move up the scale and collect as many major belts as he can, and he continued on the path with this tough, hard-fought win against South Africa's Mathebula, a 2000 Olympian, to unify 122-pound belts in front of just 3,205 in the HBO "Boxing After Dark" main event at the Home Depot Center. The scores were a bit wide, but this was definitely a competitive fight. In the end, however, Donaire had a bit too much movement, speed and power as he outhustled and outmuscled the much bigger Mathebula, who at 5-foot-11 is a giant for the division and held a four-inch height advantage. It turned out not to help much as Donaire, 29, a native of the Philippines living in San Leandro, Calif., finished strong to win yet another belt, although Mathebula was a lot more active. He landed 231 of 919 punches (25 percent) while Donaire was more economical, landing 151 of 515 (29 percent), according to CompuBox statistics.

Donaire, whom many rank in the top 5 pound-for-pound, held a title at flyweight and junior bantamweight (interim), two belts at bantamweight and then outpointed former titlist Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. in February to win a vacant junior featherweight belt. Donaire and Mathebula, 33, fighting in the United States for the first time, both were making their initial defenses.

Donaire was able to get inside against the bigger Mathebula and landed an outstanding left hook for a clean knockdown in the fourth round. But Mathebula was in the fight all the way, using a hard jab to hold off Donaire. But by the last few rounds, Donaire was on the attack and peppered him with shots from all angles. In the 11th round, he landed another brutal left hook that broke a tooth. In the corner after the round, Mathebula was spitting blood like Gene Simmons in the middle of a KISS concert. Credit Mathebula for his toughness as he hung in through the 12th round, but it was clear he had lost the decision.

Although Donaire won, this was the third consecutive not-so-dazzling distance fight. But he did more than enough to win and there will be other significant fights to come because he's in a strong division. He likely will face either former titleholder Toshiaki Nishioka or bantamweight titlist Jorge Arce in the fall. The one opponent he almost certainly won't fight was ringside, fellow titleholder Abner Mares. That's a fight fans wanted to see when they were both bantamweight titleholders, but because Donaire is with Top Rank and Mares with Golden Boy, don't hold your breath. What a shame.

Rafael's remarks: Pavlik's story is familiar to most boxing fans by now -- the former middleweight champ lost the title to Sergio Martinez in 2010 and had all kinds of problems since, mainly with alcohol, which landed him in rehab. He fought again 13 months later, but the personal problems persisted, as did issues with promoter Top Rank. But Pavlik, 30, of Youngstown, Ohio, seemingly has things under control now. He made up with Top Rank, split with career-long trainer Jack Loew to join Robert Garcia's stable in Oxnard, Calif., and returned after another 10-month layoff for an easy win in March. Pavlik was right back in action in June against another soft touch. When former lightweight titlist Brandon Rios suffered an elbow injury, his fight with Mauricio Herrera was canceled, and Pavlik quickly accepted the HBO undercard spot on three weeks' notice against Rosinsky, 27, of Ozone Park, N.Y., a former standout amateur whose lone loss came against top prospect Edwin Rodriguez in October. Rosinsky was the first legitimate opponent of Pavlik's comeback and although Pavlik still looked a little shaky here and there, he got the job done quite effectively in a clear decision win. It was an entertaining bout and a tough fight for both guys. But for Pavlik, the important thing beside the win was that he got in much-needed rounds as he looks toward a major fight in the fall. He hopes it will be for a super middleweight world title. Pavlik dropped Rosinsky with a right hand in the second round, but also suffered a cut over his left eye in the fourth round. It was ruled that it was from a punch, although on HBO's replays, it looked as if the cut was from an accidental head butt.

Rafael's remarks: Brook, 26, has been hyped by many in England as the next big thing in the welterweight division. That seems a bit premature after he eked out the competitive majority decision win in his hometown. Jones, a late-blooming fringe contender, sure pushed Brook as hard as he has ever been pushed and had him in trouble late in the fight. Maybe Jones didn't look like a future champion, but he showed heart and the will to win when times got tough in the late going of his toughest fight to date. It was a grinding, physical fight and Brook may have suffered a broken nose. He had the clear speed advantage and used it to avoid Jones' heavier shots through the first half of what was an entertaining fight. Brook landed some of his own shots, including when he hurt Jones in the fifth round with a combination. But the aggressive Jones pressed forward and was fighting him at a fast pace as Brook began to fade later in the fight. The nose injury happened in the eighth round when Brook caught a shot and it began bleeding badly (and bled for the rest of the fight). Brook, who went to the hospital as a precaution after swallowing a lot of blood because of the broken nose, is moving toward a world title opportunity, and this win put him in a great position. Jones, 25, of Oklahoma City, saw his eight-fight winning streak (each by knockout) come to an end.

Also on the card were a pair of notable rematches. European lightweight champion Gavin Rees (37-1-1, 18 KOs), 32, of Wales and a former junior welterweight world titlist, retained his title for the third time with a ninth-round knockout of Derry Matthews (30-7-1, 16 KOs), 28, of England. In October, they fought to a four-round technical draw when Matthews suffered a broken nose from an accidental head butt and was unable to continue.

Grzegorz Proksa (28-1, 21 KOs), a 27-year-old Poland native living in England, avenged his lone loss by stopping Kerry Hope (17-4, 1 KO), 30, of Wales, in the eight round to regain the European middleweight title he lost to him via majority decision in a major upset March 17.

Rafael's remarks: Fury, 24, an Irishman from England, is improving nicely as he moves along. At 6-foot-9, 245 pounds, he sure looks the part of heavyweight contender, and he also has gotten enormous exposure in his country because his fights are regularly shown on Ch. 5, which is free network television there. So besides an entertaining style, potential and great size, he also brings money to the table, which is why he is an attractive potential opponent for champion Wladimir Klitschko, who has mentioned his name a few times. It's a fight that could certainly happen in the not-too-distant future. So Fury stayed busy with this massive mismatch against big-hearted Maddalone, 38, of Queens, N.Y., who always gives it every ounce of what he has, tries to slug it out every time but is just too limited to compete with the better heavyweights. Fury used his face for target practice while also mixing in some rough body shots. But mainly, Fury landed textbook power jabs and right hands. He did it almost at will, pummeling Maddalone for the entire fight. Maddalone, rocked, staggered and bleeding from a terrible cut under his left eye, refused to go down. At one point in the fifth round, Fury began motioning to referee Ian John-Lewis to stop the fight because he was dishing out such brutal unanswered punishment. Finally, he did step in and stop the destruction at 1 minute, 35 seconds. Mismatch on paper, worse in reality. Maddalone dropped to 4-4 in his past eight, with the four defeats coming against world-class opponents (Tomasz Adamek, Jean-Marc Mormeck, Denis Boytsov and Fury), while the four wins were against very low-level foes. Fury previously had stated after fights that he was not yet ready for Klitschko, or his fellow title-holding brother, Vitali. But after this one, Fury said he was ready for the Klitschkos or any other top contender. We shall see about that.

Rafael's remarks: Ruiz, 25, of Mexico, made the fourth defense of his interim belt -- one of the ridiculous extra titles the terrible WBA hands out like candy -- with a booming knockout of Sampson. Ruiz was in command throughout the fight until ending it suddenly with a smashing left hook near the end of the ninth round. Sampson went down hard and referee Raul Caiz Sr. did not bother to finish the count. Sampson, 22, of Nicaragua, dropped to 1-2 in his past three bouts. Ruiz is an excellent fighter but what makes his title belt so ridiculous is that he is the least of the three titlists the WBA has in the same division, including so-called "super" titleholder Anselmo Moreno and "regular" titlist Koki Kameda. At the very least, a fight between Kameda and Ruiz needs to be ordered.

Rafael's remarks: Gonzalez, 29, was fighting in his hometown and headlining Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo" against an obviously inferior opponent. So it came as no surprise that Gonzalez rolled to the victory. Gonzalez dominated the fight by controlling him with a jab and nailing him with head and body shots. Laryea was simply overmatched and eventually quit on his stool after the second round, claiming a right hand injury. Laryea, 27, of Ghana, dropped his fourth fight in a row, a rut that began with a seventh-round knockout loss in an undeserved world title bout against then-junior lightweight titleholder Ricky Burns.

Rafael's remarks: Tapia, 22, of Passaic, N.J., is a prospect with an aggressive, fan-friendly style, but this fight didn't go long enough to truly entertain, although Tapia got a big knockout against a woeful opponent who was in way over his head. Tapia went after him and finally caught him with a hard right hand that floored him for the full count at 2 minutes. Garcia, 23, of Puerto Rico, lost his fourth fight in a row.

Rafael's remarks: Simply, Fortuna, a 22-year-old southpaw from the Dominican Republic living in Oxnard, Calif., is one of boxing's most dynamic and exciting prospects, and the featherweight and junior lightweight division ought to take notice. He has his flaws to be sure -- such as questionable defense -- but, so far, his tremendous speed, reflexes and power have helped keep him out of danger. But he fights in a wild, energetic and fun style while scoring some absolutely sensational knockouts, including a wicked first-round destruction of fellow prospect Yuandale Evans on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" undercard in April. Now the FNF headliner, Fortuna met former featherweight titlist Cruz, 35, of Mexico, who figured to at least hang with him for awhile, because he had only been stopped twice previously and not since 2001. But Fortuna sliced through him with surprising ease. Barely a minute into the fight, Cruz was on his knees courtesy of a left hand, and took punishment for most of the rest of the round. Fortuna was dominating the second round, too, when he dropped Cruz face-first with a clean counter left hand to the face. Cruz made it to his feet, but referee Robert Byrd did not like how Cruz responded and called off the fight at 2 minutes, 22 seconds. It appeared as though the fight-ending blow broke Cruz's nose, which was bleeding badly. Cruz dropped to 0-3-2 in his past five bouts against quality opponents, including the decision loss he suffered against Orlando Salido in May 2010 that cost him his title.

Rafael's remarks: Abdusalamov, 31, a native of Russia based in Oxnard, Calif., is an intriguing heavyweight prospect. Although he is a tad older than your typical prospect, he didn't turn pro until late 2008 after a good amateur career. He's also a southpaw with power, which is unusual for the heavyweight division. Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, one of the best talent evaluators in boxing (he brought Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez to the United States) has been raving about Abdusalamov for the past couple of years. He had a chance to show what he could do on "Friday Night Fights" against Byarm, 29, a southpaw from Philadelphia who certainly represented a step up in competition for Abdusalamov. In January, Byarm and Bryant Jennings were both unbeaten prospects when they squared off in what turned out to be a good fight, with Jennings winning a competitive decision. Abdusalamov didn't need any scorecards, however. He simply destroyed Byarm in surprisingly easy fashion. In an overwhelming performance, Abdusalamov nearly had him out right at the end of the first round. Byarm had backed into the corner and was trying to cover up as Abdusalamov pounded away. He landed several blows to the body and head, including a nasty head-snapping left hand right at the bell. Referee Tony Weeks certainly could have stepped in right then, but because the round was over, he allowed Byarm the minute rest period to see if he could collect himself. He couldn't. He was still messed up when the second round began and Abdusalamov dropped him with the first left hand he landed moments after the round began. He made it to his feet and Abdusalamov promptly began teeing off on him until Weeks stepped in to stop it 36 seconds into the round. Let's see more of Abdusalamov.