A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Trenton, N.J.
Zab Judah TKO2 Jorge Luis Munguia
Welterweight
Records: Judah (43-9, 30 KOs); Munguia (12-8, 4 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Judah, 39, the former undisputed welterweight world champion and a three-time junior welterweight titleholder, returned to action for the first time since losing a decision to Paulie Malignaggi in 2013. During his layoff, Judah had various fights fall out so it is not as though he was retired. But this time the fight went through and Judah, who boxed at 143 pounds and would like another junior welterweight title shot, had an easy time with Munguia, 28, of Honduras, who lost his fifth fight in a row.
Fighting on a card put on by Boss Lady Promotions, which is run by Judah's mother and aunt, Judah laid a beating on Munguia during the brief fight.
Judah had Munguia in trouble in the first round and then teed off on him in the second round. He put together a big flurry of shots, including catching Munguia with a right uppercut that sent him reeling and down to his rear end, causing the referee to wave off the fight without a count at 1 minute, 27 seconds.
Judah, who came into the fight having lost two bouts in a row and three of four, insists he has a lot left in the tank and has goal of winning a seventh world title belt. Judah can beat opponents at Munguia's level all day long. But if he steps up to face a serious opponent, then what? Judah at least wants the opportunity to find out.
Friday at Atlantic City, N.J.
Danny Roman TKO9 Adam Lopez
Junior featherweight - Title eliminator
Records: Roman (21-2-1, 8 KOs); Lopez (16-1-1, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In a mild upset, Roman, 26, of Los Angeles, put on a clinic in a surprisingly one-sided domination of Lopez, 26, of San Antonio, to win his 14th fight in a row and earn a world title shot in the main event of the 2017 debut of Showtime's "ShoBox: The New Generation." A few weeks ago the stakes of the fight were upgraded when it was sanctioned as a world title elimination bout, with the winner earning a shot at secondary 122-pound titleholder Nehomar Cermeno (26-5-1, 15 KOs), 37, of Venezuela.
Roman earned the shot in style as he handed Lopez his first loss in five fights on "ShoBox" (3-1-1). Lopez had been set for a title shot against then-world titlist Jonathan Guzman had he defeated Roman Ruben Reynoso in July, but Lopez fought to a draw and the title fight went down the drain. And, now, so too does the opportunity to challenge Cermeno.
Roman, in the best win of his career, outboxed and outslugged Lopez, who had no answers. Roman dropped Lopez twice in the fourth round, with a left hook and then a left uppercut. It was a minor miracle Lopez made it out of the round because he was in huge trouble. Roman continued to dole out major punishment and finally, after the ninth round, Lopez's trainer, Ronnie Shields, told referee Harvey Dock to stop the fight.
Ronald Ellis W8 Christopher Brooker
Super middleweight
Scores: 79-73, 77-75 (twice)
Records: Ellis (14-0-1, 10 KOs); Brooker (11-3, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Ellis, 27, of Lynn, Massachusetts, and Brooker, 25, of Philadelphia, who lost for the second time in a row, put on a bit of a sloppy fight with a lot of holding. Their styles did not mesh all that well, but Ellis, who showed more polished skills, was the clear winner. He established himself from the opening bell in which he landed 27 of 90 punches to Brooker's 8 of 45, according to CompuBox statistics, and was the aggressor throughout the fight, albeit not always very effective.
Brooker, who has an awkward style, did come on late in the fight. But Ellis, who got cut over his right eye, was a more accurate with his shots and was rewarded by the judges. Overall, Ellis landed 141 of 411 punches (34 percent) and Brooker connected on 77 of 392 (20 percent).
Kenneth Sims Jr. W8 Emmanuel Robles
Super welterweight
Scores: 79-72 (twice), 78-73
Records: Sims Jr. (11-0, 3 KOs); Robles (15-2-1, 5 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Sims, 23, of Chicago, is a skillful boxer who was a good amateur and now is a rising prospect. He handed Robles, 28, of San Diego, his second defeat in a row, although the fight appeared to be fairly competitive despite the wide scorecards.
Sims, who went past the sixth round for the first time in his career (in his first scheduled eight-round bout), was aggressive and worked Robles with a methodical body attack to wear him down. In the sixth round, referee Benjy Esteves Jr. docked a point from Sims for losing his mouthpiece, but it had no impact on the outcome of the fight. Sims was initially slated to face 2012 Dominican Republic Olympian Wellington Romero (12-0-1, 6 KOs), but Romero dropped out because of an injury and was replaced on short notice by Robles
Also on the card, junior featherweight Stephon Young (16-0-3, 6 KOs), 28, of St. Louis, won a unanimous decision against Olimjon Nazarov (14-4, 8 KOs), 31, of Uzbekistan. Two judges scored the fight 78-74 for Young and one had it 77-75. Nazarov was the third opponent after two others dropped out, forcing the fight to be dropped from the telecast.
In another fight on the card, Philadelphia heavyweight prospect Darmani Rock (7-0, 5 KOs), 20, scored a fifth-round knockout of 42-year-old Solomon Maye (3-8-2, 3 KOs), of New Haven, Connecticut, flooring him with a combination that caused referee David Fields to wave off the fight at 34 seconds.
Friday at Hinckley, Minn.
Rob "Bravo" Brant TKO1 Alexis Hloros
Middleweight
Records: Brant (22-0, 15 KOs); Hloros (18-6-2, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In front of his home state fans, Brant, 26, of Saint Paul, Minnesota, made quick work of late replacement opponent Hloros, 37, of Mount Clemens, Michigan, as he blew him away with ease.
Brant, who is moving quickly up the rankings and has been mentioned as a possible challenger for world titleholder Billy Joe Saunders, scored his ninth knockout in his last 10 fights as he easily destroyed Hloros, who filled in for injured George Carter Jr. on about a week's notice. In the opening round, Brant knocked him out with a left hand to the body. Although Hloros barely beat the count, he wasn't in condition to continue and the fight was waved off at 2 minutes, 53 seconds.