Gavin Rees won the WBA light-welterweight title from titleholder Souleymane M'Baye by unanimous decision before fellow Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli retained his WBO cruiserweight belt on Saturday.
Maccarinelli defeated US-based Guyanese fighter Wayne Braithwaite also on a unanimous points decision at Cardiff International Arena in the third defense of his title.
M'Baye lost his second defense of the light-welterweight title on judges' scoring of 118-110, 117-112 and 117-113.
Rees took the initiative from the first bell and was briefly troubled only in the fourth and fifth rounds.
"From the first bell I outpunched him every round," Rees said.
"I started to tire towards the end but I had won the first eight rounds. I knew I had already won the fight so I knew to keep calm. No one expected me to beat him, no one at all. There were massive odds in the bookies everywhere but I told everyone from the start I was going to win," he said.
Rees shares the same trainer as Maccarinelli - Enzo Calzaghe, father of WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, another Welshman who is based at the same Cardiff gym and watched Saturday's fights.
Rees improved to 27-0 (13 KOs). His career nearly ended when he was given a yearlong boxing ban for punching a funeral mourner in 2004.
M'Baye claimed the vacant title with a fourth-round TKO of Raul Horacio Balbi in September, and drew his first defense against Andreas Kotelnik in March.
Maccarinelli's patient approach and solid hitting gave him judges scores of 118-109, 120-107 and 119-108 against Braithwaite.
He floored Braithwaite in the fifth round and, once, a hook shot sent Braithwaite's mouthguard flying. Braithwaite caught out Maccarinelli with left hooks that left swelling around the champion's eyes.
Maccarinelli (27-1, 20 KOs) inherited the belt after Johnny Nelson retired last year.
"It was a tough match against a WBC world champion," Maccarinelli said. "He took some great shots, I dominated with the jab. I neglected the right hand a bit, I hurt it early on but the jab kept me in it."
"I could throw it but it was painful every time I threw it. He's a tough man, he took some great shots. I showed I could take a shot on the chin, I showed I can box, I showed that I have great stamina. It was a good performance," he said.
Also, Alex Arthur stopped Georgia's Kobo Gogoladze to claim the WBO interim world superfeatherweight title. The Scottish fighter floored Gogoladze three times before the referee called a halt, two minutes, 48 seconds into the 10th round.
Arthur has 25 wins and one defeat.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
HAT-TRICK PREP: World No. 1 Sabalenka clinched her first win of the season, as she aims to become the first woman in 20 years to win three Australian Opens in succession Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Taylor Fritz yesterday all clocked impressive wins as tennis powerhouses Italy and the US surged into the quarter-finals of the mixed-team United Cup. World No. 3 Gauff swept past Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a loss at the Paris Olympics, while Fritz took care of Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in searing Perth heat. That was enough to put the Americans — last year’s winners — into a last-eight clash with China today, while Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan today are to meet defending champions Germany, led by Alexander Zverev, in the other Perth quarter-final. In Sydney, the in-form
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
RSS