Night of Upsets!
Alcine takes Simms' title!
Darchinyan KO'd by Donaire!

Ringside by Dave Spencer, Bill Luppert and Alex Dombroff
Photos by Emily Harney
- FightWireImages.com

In a battle of unbeatens, Joachim "Ti-Joa" Alcine (29-0, 18 KOs) upset hometown favorite Travis Simms (25-1, 19 KOs) to claim the WBA Super Welterweight Championship on Saturday night at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The bout was a tactical clinchfest with both fighters being deducted points and Alcine getting credit for a knockdown in round nine when the glove of an off-balance Simms touched the canvas.

Scores were 114-111, 115-110, and 116-109.

It took a while for Alcine of Montreal, to get going, but once he did he managed to basically sweep the judges’ scorecards for the last half of the fight. “The first three rounds I was basically respecting his power too much,” said a joyous Alcine after the fight. “After that I said this guy don’t hit like I thought, after that I decided I had to go forward, show him that I came here to win the fight.”

Show him he did. Alcine received a high-five from his trainer Howard Grant at the end round four as he started connecting behind a powerful jab and was able to land to the body. Punches were one at a time for both fighters but it was Alcine who was forcing the fight that certainly had its share of ugly in the early going that had the 3,897 in attendance booing as early as the second round.

Both fighters clenched, grappled and hung on, trying to gain an advantage on the inside. Behind on the scorecards but beginning to establish his jab in the fifth, Alcine, who becomes the first Haitian-born world champion, looked as if his efforts were going to be thwarted by more than just his opponent. The round saw a stern lecture from Connecticut referee Mike Ortega for stepping on his southpaw opponent’s foot.

A round later the hometown referee deducted Alcine one point for hitting on the break on what at best was a dubious call. Faced with three American judges and fighting outside of Canada for just the third time, it was the type of decision that could have easily demoralized and broken the fighter.

Instead, Alcine used the call as a rallying point for the second half of the fight. It forced the Ti-Joa, who had a large and vocal cheering contingent who made the six hour trip from Montreal, to open things up and gave fans something to cheer about as the pair provided fans with the most entertaining round of the night in the seventh. Simms was able to land a rare three punch combination while his Canadian counterpart responded with a flush left jab and hard right hand that punished his opponent.

“I was moving forward and forward, breaking him down,” Alcine told FightNews after the contest. “I said forget about everything, he’s not able to hurt me. He hit me with his best punch and he couldn’t hurt me. I had to show the judges that this fight belonged to me.”

Clearly the aggressor, Alcine was awarded for his efforts in the eighth as he won back the point he had previously lost when Simms was also deducted a point by referee Ortega for hitting on an ordered break.

When a missed Simms left hand in the ninth caused him to lose his balance and touch down his right hand to the canvas, it was clear that it was quickly becoming Alcine’s time to shine.

Simms protested the call as he bounced up from the canvas as well as after the fight, but without any answers to the increasing speed and accuracy of Alcine, it became a moot point. “He never threw a punch and they called it a knockdown,” said Simms afterwards. “It is what it is though. They took a point away from him and they took a point away from me for hitting after the break. I thought I did enough though to win the fight.”

Simms who had his left hand wrapped up ice afterwards said he injured his powerful weapon somewhere around the third round. “I felt the crack of my hand and the pain shooting up my arm. Rounds later I felt the pain increase and that’s what stopped my momentum.”

With the victory, Alcine becomes Canada’s second world champion joining super-bantamweight Steve Molitor who defends his IBF title next weekend in Orillia, Ontario. ---Dave Spencer

Donaire Shocks Darchinyan!

In what may be the upset of the year, once defeated Pilipino flyweight Nonito Donaire scored a devastating seventh-round single-punch knockout over reigning world champion Vic Darchinyan, to claim the IBF title.

In a fight that the young challenger boasted great confidence, which few believed he could actually back up, Donaire was in control of the bout from the onset. In round one, Donaire set the tone by pressuring Darchinyan and continually backed him up to keep the power puncher off his rhythm.

As the rounds went on, Donaire continued to pressure Darchinyan, and was able to land his left hand consistently to the head, as the former undefeated champ had nothing to offer to make Donaire retreat.

In round seven, as Darchinyan leaned in to throw a jab, Donaire quickly fired a left hook that landed cleanly on the jaw and instantly dropped Darchinyan. The dazed champion tried to rise, but found himself stumbling around the ring, forcing referee Richard Flaherty to call a halt to the bout at 1:39 of the round.

Donaire, whose brother Glen lost a technical decision to Darchinyan in 2006, jumped for joy after reaching his dream of becoming a world champion. A stretcher was brought into the ring for precautionary reasons, but Darchinyan was able to walk out on his own.

After the bout Darchinyan said he was ok, and said “I just got caught with a great shot, and of course, I’d like a rematch.”

The new champion said, “I came in here as an underdog. No one believed in me, but I did it. I said yesterday, one punch can make a difference between me and him. He has heavy hands but my brother (Glenn) told me he’s not as tough as he thinks he is. I shut him up and in the ring after the fight; he still wouldn’t admit I beat him.”

With the win, Donaire of Bohol, Philippines, improves to 18-1, 11 KOs, while the Armenian born Darchinyan, now based out of Sydney, Australia, visits the loss column for the first time as a pro, dropping to 28-1, 22 KOs. ---Billy “Loops” Luppert

Perez Wins Title

Bantamweight Luis Perez captured the IBF world title for a second time, with a dominating performance over Genaro Garcia, en route to a seventh-round TKO at :39 of the round.

Perez was in control from the opening bell, keeping Garcia at range, and tagging him with monster punches throughout. Perez dropped Garcia toward the end of the second round, but the game Garcia continued to battle, despite being totally outmatched.

The fight finally came to a halt when a monster left hand by Perez, one of many in the fight, sent Garcia sprawled across the canvas, where he was unable to recover. --- Alex Dombroff and Billy “Loops” Luppert

Stiverne Upset!

In a night of upsets, heavyweight knockout king Bermane Stiverne who had a dozen knockouts in as many fights, fell victim to Demetrice King, at 1:59 of the fourth round.

Referee John Callas stopped the action after 11 straight piston right hands from King, many of which missed their mark. Stiverne who scored a knockdown in the first round was livid with the decision. ""I was never hurt," said Stiverne afterwards. "Me and him were talking the whole time, he hit me and I said, 'harder,' and then the referee stopped it. I'm not going to fight again unless it's him, but next time I don't want two weeks’ notice."

With the surprise upset stoppage, Detroit’s “better than his record” King moves to 12-15 with 10 KOs. ---Billy “Loops” Luppert

Jones Decisions Page

Cruiserweight contender Guillermo Jones got back into the ring for only the second time since his upset TKO over Wayne Braithwaite with a workmanlike unanimous decision over Zack Page.

Neither guy did a lot in the early rounds, but Jones really took over late as he finally got through to Page, who seems to go the distance and provide a good test for whoever he’s in with.

Final scores were 78-74, 79-72, 79-72. Jones, a former junior middleweight contender, ups his record to 36-3-2 with 27 KOs. Journeyman Page falls to 13-14-1 with 5 KOs. --- Alex Dombroff

Two-Gunz Outgunned

Two-time world title challenger Monte “Two-Gunz” Barrett got caught two times by right hands from journeyman Cliff Couser.

Barrett crashed to the canvas from a right to the chin just as the bell sounded to end the first round. He barely beat the count and slowly made his way to the corner. However, the rest did him little good as Couser once again landed big with a right to the chin sending Barrett down for a second time.

The bout was quickly halted with the official time coming :42 seconds of the second round and moving Couser to 26-12-2, 14 KOs) and dropping Barrett to 31-6, 17 KOs. --- Dave Spencer

Rivera Tops Laney

Middleweight Sergio Rivera improved to 2-0 in his young career by notching a hard-fought four-round unanimous decision over Devin Laney (0-2).

The scores were 39-37 by all three judges. ---Billy “Loops” Luppert

Alexander Has Luck on his Backside

In the opening bout of the evening, super-lightweight Devon Alexander moved to a perfect 12-0 with a third-round KO victory over Marcus Luck of Danville Virginia.

Alexander was dominant throughout, scoring a pair of knockdowns in the second round before finishing things at :30 of the third with a right hand to the temple. Luck stayed down for the count of 10. --- Dave Spencer