- This weeks boxing action got off to an incredible start. Things kicked off on Friday night when ESPN2 aired a heavyweight title eliminator between Alexander Povetkin and Mike Perez. Povetkin was the favorite coming into the fight but it was viewed as a very good bout that could go either way. Instead it was a brutal blowout. Povetkin totally dominated Perez who was dropped by a short right hand midway through the 1st round and never recovered. Perez was able to make it to his feet but clearly wasn't in his right mind, he even looked over at the ref as if to say "are you serious" when he allowed Perez to continue fighting. A few seconds later Perez was sent to the canvas again and the fight was stopped. This fight will probably end the reign of Perez as a legitimate contender and it also gave Povetkin a shot at the WBC heavyweight title against emerging star Deontay Wilder.
- The last ever episode of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights went out with a bang. The series ended its 17 years with their Boxcino Tournament and the night could not have gone any better. First Brandon Adams took on John Thompson, a fighter who entered the tournament on a days notice, in the junior middleweight Boxcino championshp. Adams had made it to the final round of the 2014 Boxcino Tournament as a middle and he was the favorite to win it all as a junior middleweight. Thompson went down early in the 1st round and it looked like Adams might cruise to an easy victory. Instead Adams may have gotten slightly too aggressive and got caught with a good combination by Thompson. Adams was hurt bad and Thompson pounced on him and unloaded a flurry of punches that forced the referee to stop the fight, giving Thompson the upset win. Then in the heavyweight portion of the tournament it also looked like it might be a short night. That fight was between Andrey Fedosov and Donovan Dennis and Dennis was dropped in the 3rd round. Dennis made it through that round though and fought back fairly well until he was dropped again in the 7th round. After the second knockdown Dennis looked tentative and Fedosov went on the attack. Early in the 8th round Fedosov landed a beauty of an overhand right that sent Dennis to the canvas and ended the fight.
- There was also some boxing action on Friday night over on Fox Sports 1. That card was headlined by featherweight Eric Hunter who in the past has shown immense talent but also an uncanny ability to constantly shoot himself in the foot. Well, Hunter may have finally figured it out and he looked sensational against Antonio Escalante, knocking him down three times in the very 1st round, the last knockdown ending the fight. The featherweight division is a crowded one and Hunter may have just thrown himself into title contention. Also on that card was prospect Abraham Lopez who looked good in knocking out Alfred Tetteh in the 5th round.
- The action on Friday night wrapped up late, actually going into Saturday. Richard Commey, a power punching prospect from Ghana got an impressive win over Bahodir Mamadjonov. Commey dropped Mamadjonov in the 8th round and the fight would end there, keeping Commey's perfect record intact.
- The action on Saturday took place in the afternoon on free TV. It was another PBC card on NBC and the main event was a very evenly matched one between the U.K.'s James DeGale and America's Andre Dirrell. The fight was a toss up but things started off badly for Dirrell who was dropped twice in the 2nd round and looked to be in some serious danger of being stopped. Somehow Dirrell survived those knockdowns and came back looking strong. DeGale may have taken his foot off the gas a bit and Dirrell took advantage, stealing many of the middle rounds. Going into the 12th round it looked like the fight was up for grabs and it was DeGale who looked better in that round and he won the fight by a very close unanimous decision. Also on that card was Edwin Rodriguez, still relatively new to the light heavyweight division. Rodriguez took on the undefeated Craig Baker and while Rodriguez looked good the fight was tainted by a bad stoppage. Rodriguez hurt Baker and had him up against the ropes and was teeing off. Even though Baker was in a bad spot he didn't appear to be in an danger and was still protecting himself when the referee stopped the fight for reasons only known to him.
- Finally the action came to an end on Saturday night on beIN Sports Espanol. The main even of that card featured the heavy hitting David Sanchez taking on Walberto Ramos. Sanchez looked very good and won the fight with an impressive 2nd round knockout to keep his contender status in check.
WEEKLY RECORD: 7-2
MONTHLY RECORD: 23-6-1
OVERALL RECORD: 487-144-15
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