Weekend Boxing Results, Nov. 18

Alberto Palmetta unloads in round 10 to earn a TKO victory and hand Erik Vega his first loss. #ShoBox pic.twitter.com/Giwwr9AarN

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) November 16, 2019

In his first fight since his loss to Canelo Alvarez, Rocky Fielding literally had his back against the ropes when he landed a nice flurry of hooks and uppercuts to put Abdullah Pazawapazi down for the count in the second round. While Pazawapazi was a hard hitter, he had already been beaten six times as a professional, so it was not shocking to see Fielding look slick against him. The Ghanaian came forward recklessly to his own demise.

Where Fielding goes from here remains unclear. We know he wants a rematch with Callum Smith, but with Smith holding the legitimate WBA title at 168 pounds, it is difficult to see him not trying to get a big-money fight with someone like Alves before he gives Fielding a rematch.

Murray, Frampton Score Easy Victories; McGregor Struggles

Martin Murray, best known for his losses to Sergio Martinez and Gennady Golovkin at 160 pounds, took an easy decision win over Bosnia’s Sladan Janjanin, extending his winning streak to three fights since his loss to Hassan Ndam. On the same card, Terry Flanagan, best known for his recent defeat to Regis Prograis, managed to score an easy 80-71 win over little-known Honduran Jayro Duran.

Meanwhile, Lee Mcgregor picked up a win of his own, though many fans did not feel he deserved it. In an all-Scottish battle, 22-year-old “Lightning Lee” handed Ukashir Farooq his first loss as a professional via split 115-112, 114-113, 113-114 decision. As a young, handsome white athlete, Mcgregor is viewed as the fighter with more star potential in Scotland. People were not happy when Farooq was not awarded a decision they felt he deserved, though there were no knockdowns.

Moloney Twins Post Exciting Wins on Aussie Rules Football Player Card

Devin Haney and Billy Joe Saunders completely dropped the ball in terms of exciting non-boxing fans on a card headlined by two celebrities fighting, but Australia’s Moloney twins did not let their opportunity go to waste. While the fans were there mostly there to watch Australian sporting legends Barry Hall and Paul Gallen face off in the boxing ring, they were treated to an easy win from Jason Moloney and an exciting back-and-forth victory from Andrew Moloney.

After coming out to the ever-popular Men at Work hit “Down Under,” Jason finished Dixon Flores in the second round with a body blow, then proceeded to call for a title shot. In dropping the Nicaraguan in the first and second rounds, the Moloney brother who has tasted defeat before -- he lost a decision to Emmanuel Rodriguez in October -- landed a left hook to the liver that ended the night and moved the Australian to 20-1 with 17 knockouts.

The undefeated Andrew had a tougher time. Against Elton Dharry -- a man who had been beaten five times but never before been stopped and was riding a 21-fight winning streak -- Moloney faced adversity in a fifth round that saw him hurt. However, he landed enough straight left hands on his competitor that swelling in Dharry’s eye became enough of a problem that the fight needed to be stopped at the beginning of the ninth round. After the fight, the interim WBA super flyweight champion called out the Kid Yafai-Juan Carlos Estrada winner. That bout was scheduled for December but fell through, though it is now reportedly being considered for January or February.

As for the main event, it was the celebrities’ turn to disappoint the fans. In what was ultimately an uneventful six-round majority 58-56, 57-57, 57-57 draw between Hall, a 42-year-old debuting former Australian Rules Football star, and Gallen, a 38-year-old former Rugby player, fans were not happy with the sloppy action or the anticlimactic result.

Palmetta Too Polished for Ortiz

Alberto Palmetta was an Argentinean Olympian who suffered a shocking knockout defeat to Gonzalo Coria as a professional in 2017. Erik Vega Ortiz was an undefeated Mexican who had faced atrocious competition and almost never outside of Tijuana, Mexico.

Palmetta showed that his amateur experience against the best in the world was worth more than Ortiz’s unblemished professional record, as he led on all three judges’ scorecards -- 86-85, 87-84, 87-84 -- at the time of a final-round stoppage. Ortiz fought well for himself, but it was clear in the final round that Palmetta wanted to close the show. The southpaw landed a barrage of one-tws, and though they did not appear to hurt Ortiz, they rendered him unable to punch back. While the stoppage may have been early, Palmetta was going to win the fight anyway.

Boesel Beats Fornling in 11 Rounds

Otto Wallin was a little-known Swedish fighter who captured the world’s attention with an extremely impressive performance against Tyson Fury. Unfortunately for Sven Fornling, he could not replicate his countryman’s success, losing via 11th-round stoppage to Dominic Boesel.

Boesel, who now owns the IBO and interim WBA light heavyweight titles, dropped Svornling in the second round and again in the 11th, which caused the referee to call a halt to the bout. Boesel was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage: 97-92, 97-92, 96-93.

Vargas Bows to Fa

The storied amateur career of Devin Vargas took another sad turn, as the 2004 United States Olympian still has never quite managed to translate amateur success into professional stardom. Against an undefeated Kiwi in Fa, Vargas was dropped in the fifth and eight rounds before ultimately losing a unanimous 100-88, 99-89, 97-91 decision.

Dusmatov Authors Easy Knockout in Professional Debut

Robeisy Ramirez’s shocking split decision loss in his pro debut was a reminder of what can happen to an Olympic gold medalist while transitioning to the professional ranks. Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov, a 2017 Olympic gold medalist at 108 pounds, fought for the first time as a pro, and, unlike Ramirez, he did not disappoint.

Dusmatov delivered an easy second-round knockout of Mexico’s Jesus Cervante Villanueva in his professional debut. Whether or not Dusmatov ends up like Vargas remains to be seen, but he did not end up like Ramirez, which was a good first step.