Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez grinds down Brian Viloria via 10th round KO at Madison Square Garden
Expert Sports Picks: Gennady Golovkin staked his claim as boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter with an 8th round demolition of David Lemieux. GGG, 34-0, 31 KO’s, used a piston-like jab to batter the top contender Lemieux, 34-3, 31 KO’s, who was rescued by the referee at 1:32 of the 8th frame. GGG’s thunderous power to the body broke Lemieux’s body and spirit. The Kazakhstan born Golovkin looked a weight class bigger than the Canadian and the bomber made good use of his size advantage. Lemieux took a knee after a brutal salvo in the 5th but managed to beat the count. Golovkin controlled distance and had the slugger swinging at air for most of the bout. GGG came out of the fight unscathed while Lemieux looked swollen and battered. All three judges had the fight a shutout at the time of the stoppage. Golovkin was a 14 to 1 favorite at BOVADA.LV
Roman Gonzalez vs. Brian Viloria: Flyweight champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, 44-0, 37 KO’s, made his own claim to be considered boxing’s pound-4-pound king with a 9th round stoppage of #3 ranked contender Brian Viloria, 36-5, 22 KO’s. Chocolatito, the pride of Nicaragua used angles, bodypunches, stiff jabs and sizzling combinations to dominate the game but outgunned Filipino veteran. Chocolatito was an 18 to 1 betting favorite.
Luis Ortiz vs Matias Vindondo: Undefeated heavyweight bomber Luis Ortiz, 23-0, 20 KO’s, electrified the packed house at Madison Square Garden with a devastating 3rd round KO over 6’9″ 261 Lb. skyscraper Matias Vidondo, 20-2-1, 18 KO’s. “The Real King Kong” Ortiz (6’4″ 238 Lb. 84″ reach) put his Argentine opponent flat on his face with a straight left to the temple :15 into round 3. The win over Vidondo legitimizes the Cuban defector Luis Ortiz as a top-10 heavyweight contender. Ortiz was a 35 to 1 betting favorite at BOVADA Sportsbook
Reno Johnson vs. Eamonn O’Kane: Bohemian Middleweight contender Tureano “Reno” Johnson, 19-1, 13 KO’s, notched a hard fought 12-round decision over Eamonn O’Kane, 17-2-1, 5 KO’s, in an I.B.F. title eliminator. Johnson had the tough Irish import in bad trouble early, dropping O’Kane twice in the 1st round. The musclebound O’Kane came back with a vengence after the early drumming, putting the usual aggressor Reno on his heels for most of the bout. Final scores were lopsided for the 25 to 1 betting favorite Reno Johnson: 119-107, 118-108 and 117-109. ESPN2 News scorecard had the fight a 113-113 draw.
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