Aussie Wrap-up: Dennis Hogan has Liam Smith in his sights, Bob Arum greenlights Rohan Murdock's shot at world title, Jeff Horn vs. Gary Corcoran undercard shaping up, Randy Petalcorin and Kyle Mackenzie victorious on separate cards
By Anthony Cocks
Australian-based Irishman Dennis “Hurricane” Hogan 26-1-1 (7) could be facing off against Liam “Beefy” Smith 26-1-1 (14) for the soon-to-be vacant WBO junior middleweight title in early 2018.
Smith, from Liverpool, England, won a majority decision over local rival Liam Williams 16-2-1 (11) of Wales last Saturday night at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle after defeating him on cuts in a close fight last April. With the win Smith becomes the mandatory challenges for the WBO belt currently held by Puerto Rican champion Miguel Cotto, who is expected to retire after one last title defence against Sadam Ali in December.
Hogan’s promoter Paul Keegan of DDP Sports attended the Smith vs Williams rematch to get a closer look at the opponent he would like to bring to Brisbane in the new year.
The 32-year-old Hogan, who resides in Brisbane with his wife Brideen and two-month old daughter Aria, admits he hasn’t seen the fight yet but says he isn’t prepared to underestimate Smith on the basis of one performance.
“I haven’t seen the fight yet but I’ve heard it didn’t live up to the hype,” said Hogan. “I understand that when two guys with exceptional boxing ability clash sometimes it can nullify the excitement so I presume that’s what happened here. But I always fancied my style against Smith’s so I did want him to win, which is a great result for us.
“I feel I would be way too mobile for Smith and he would find it extremely difficult to find me, whereas my movement would make it easy for me to pop and move out of danger, so a fight in the future would be great and a world title to top it off would be the cherry on top.”
Hogan was last in action in October against Japan’s Yuki Nonaka in a world title eliminator that he won by virtual shutout over 10 one-sided rounds. Hogan was ranked WBO #7 going in to the fight, while Nonaka was WBO #8.
“We were told the winner of myself and Nonaka would get the number two position,” said Hogan. “So if that comes about it would seem the title left vacant would be our to negotiate with Liam Smith, so I do expect that, but I’m ready to fight guys in the top five to get into position if that’s not the case.”
If a fight against Smith for the world title can’t be made another viable option would be Manchester’s “Jimmy” Kilrain Kelly 23-1 (9) who has shot up the WBO rankings to #6 after claiming the vacant WBO Intercontinental title against Bulgarian Stiliyan Kostov 21-8 (16) at the Manchester Arena last September. Kelly and Hogan have traded barbs online in recent weeks and it seems there is genuinely no love lost between the two.
“Kelly does this banter with everyone he faces and gets destroyed too, which I’ve seen on YouTube with Liam Smith,” said Hogan. “In my opinion it shows his mental immaturity and the stuff he comes up with online is really cringe-worthy stuff, but that’s how he operates and I’ll easily laugh it off until I get him in the ring.
“It’s very possible [a fight with Kelly will happen], but first and foremost is the world title fight. But if we need another fight to get in position, Kelly has expressed he would come here for a fight and what a great event that would make especially if it’s an official eliminator.”
After averaging 4.5 fights per year for the first six years of his pro career, Hogan has fought just once in 2017. It is a trend he would like to reverse in 2018.
“DDP are aiming for March next year so either that or the world title early next year, which would have to be negotiated,” said Hogan. “I’m looking to stay as active as possible anyway as I have throughout my career to date.”
ARUM GREENLIGHTS ROHAN MURDOCK FOR WORLD TITLE TILT
Gold Coast super middleweight Rohan Murdock 20-1 (15) has received the backing of Bob Arum to fight for a world title in 2018 if he can continue his winning ways.
“Rohan Murdock has got a lot of talent, a lot of charisma and he can be a major, major star in the super middleweight division,” the 85-year-old veteran promoter said.
“I am confident from what I’ve seen on film that he can be a big star in the division.”
Murdock is slated to face Russian Apti “The Tiger” Ustarkhanov 15-2-3 (5) on the undercard of Jeff Horn’s WBO welterweight world title defence against Brit Gary Corcoran in Brisbane on 13 December. It will be his second fight of the year after a third round TKO of Said Mbelwa of Tanzania on the undercard of Dennis Hogan vs Yuki Nonaka in October.
“My opponent Apti Ustarkhanov is a come forward, pressure fighter with a record of 15-2-3. He is the current IBO intercontinental champion, which he secured with a second round TKO of Thomas Mashali,” said Murdock.
“My fighting style is a strong pressure, technical boxer. People should tune in to watch me fight because I like to entertain and am coming to wipe out the division.”
Murdock was kept out of the ring for much of 2017 after a motorbike accident in Indonesia last December left him knocked unconscious with a broken jaw. He was scheduled to fight on the Horn vs Manny Pacquiao undercard in July but a hand injury put the kybosh on that fight.
If Murdock gets past Ustarkhanov, Arum plans to have him fight twice on the undercards of undefeated WBO 168-pound champion Gilberto Ramirez 36-0 (24) in the USA and Mexico in February and May before bringing the lanky southpaw puncher to the Gold Coast to defend his title against the 25-year-old Queenslander in the second half of 2018.
“Having Bob Arum support me is an amazing feeling and adds motivation for me to keep the momentum rolling, securing the wins I need,” said Murdock, who was ranked as high as number six in the world before being sidelined by injuries.
“[I will be fighting] in America, then Ramirez’s hometown of Mexico. I rate Ramirez very highly and believe he is the best in the division. I believe a fight with myself and Ramirez would be an entertaining fight and I’m confident in my ability, especially after being successful in my next few fights, of gaining a win over the champion.”
“To have Bob Arum say my name – he’s promoted some of the biggest fights in boxing history – so the potential for a world title just adds motivation for me to keep winning these next fights and bring that world title belt to Australia,” said Murdock, who was ranked as high as number six in the world before being sidelined by injuries.
“We have a long road to get to that but we believe in our ability, and we’re going to kick on forward and win these fights, and I’m really motivated now with the likes of Bob saying these things.”
Arum is confident that Murdock has what it takes to be a world champion.
“Could it happen? Does he have the skill to do that? The answer is yes,” said Arum.
JEFF HORN VS GARY CORCORAN UNDERCARD STARTS TAKING SHAPE
The rest of the undercard of Jeff Horn’s inaugural world title defence against Britain’s Gary Corcoran is starting to take shape with Bunbury, Western Australia’s Nathaniel “Cheeky” May 18-1 (10) being added to the card to face Brazilian knockout artist Aelio “Biro” Mesquita 16-0 (14).
The 22-year-old May, who is expertly trained by Peter Stokes, scored a good solid win in April when he outboxed Filipino Randy Braga 20-3-1 (5) to claim the vacant IBF Pan Pacific featherweight title. He backed that up with a third round TKO of Roman Canto, also of the Philippines, in July.
The fast and stylish May is ranked number seven in the world by the IBF.
Hard-hitting southpaw 130-pounder Paul Fleming 24-0 (15) will be matched with Vergil “Strong Man” Puton 17-8 (8) of the Philippines.
The talented 29-year-old super featherweight is looking to build on his Knockout of the Year contender back in October when he starched Sadiki Momba in two rounds with a left to the body, left to the head combination.
Fleming and May will be joining a star-studded cast that includes former heavyweight world title challenger Alex Leapai against Roger Izonritei, world class super middleweight Rohan Murdock against Apti Ustarkhanov and former women’s world champion Shannon O’Connell against an opponent to be named.
RANDY PETALCORIN WALKS THROUGH OSCAR RAFNAKA, KYE MACKENZIE OUTCLASSES NORT BEAUCHAMP
Filipino southpaw Randy Petalcorin 28-2-1 (21) made short work of Oscar Raknafa 13-16 (5) stopping him in the first round with a body shot at the Malvern Town Hall in Melbourne, Victoria last Friday night.
Headlining the Peter Maniatis card, the 25-year-old former interim WBA junior flyweight champion went straight to work, ripping into Raknafa’s body with both hands and throwing power shots to the head.
The Indonesian journeyman – who defeated former world champion Muhammad Rachman by split decision in October last year – had no answer for Petalcorin’s angles and speed, with the left to the body landing repeatedly from the opening bell.
With Raknafa trapped in his own corner late in the opening round Petalcorin launched a thumping left to the body that dropped him hard. As he writhed in pain on the canvas it was obvious he was not going to beat the count. Official time of the stoppage was 2:59.
Petalcorin was on the wrong end of a split decision loss to Omari Kimweri in April last year for the vacant WBC Siler flyweight title. Petalcorin’s team protested the outcome on the basis of what they claimed were four missed knockdowns, but after reviewing the bout the WBC upheld the result.
Petalcorin is ranked IBF #3, WBC #6 and WBO #12 at junior flyweight.
In the main support bout Victorian junior welterweight champion Terry Tzouramanis 19-3-3 (3) successfully defended his title against game challenger Ebrahim Jamasi 3-2 winning by majority decision over eight rounds. Scores at the conclusion were 79-73, 76-76 and 78-74.
At the Cronulla Leagues Club in Sydney, New South Wales, on Friday night Kye “Mr Frenzy” MacKenzie 18-1 (15) claimed the interim WBA Oceania and interim WBO Asia Pacific lightweight titles with a near shutout of Kiwi Nort Beauchamp 15-2 (3) over ten one-sided rounds. MacKenzie won by scores of 100-90 and 100-91 twice.
While MacKenzie holds the interim WBA Oceania lightweight title, the full title belongs to fellow Sydneysider George “Ferocious” Kambosos Jr 13-0 (7) and a matchup between the two would be welcomed by fight fans. The outspoken Kambosos Jr is currently ranked at number six by the WBA at 135-pounds.
On the same Jeff Potauaine-promoted card fulltime rugby league player and part-time boxer Paul Gallen upped his ledger to 8-0 (4) with a six round unanimous decision win over Fijian debutant Puna Rasaubale by scores of 60-53, 59-53 and 59-54.
Rasaubale was docked a point in the fourth round when he inexplicably launched an “MMA-style spinning backfist”. Rasaubale had a decent amateur career and represented Fiji in boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
Gallen has announced that this was his last professional fight unless he can get code-hopping superstar and fellow part-time boxer Sonny Bill Williams 7-0 (3) to agree to face him in what would be an easy sell to rugby fans in Sydney.
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