JUNE 2010 TITLE FIGHTS
Heavyweight (Mandatory rematch)
CHAMP Vitali Klitschko (20-1-1, 16 KO) vs #3 John L Sullivan (21-5, 19 KO)
The Sullivan/Klitschko rivalry continues here as Sullivan gets his mandatory rematch for the title he lost by unanimous decision in December. But their history goes back further than that. Sullivan lost to Klitschko in the semifinal of the championship tournament to determine the PBA's initial champion when Sullivan was disqualified in the 11th round of a 12-round affair. He was leading on two cards and even on the third at the time of the DQ. Sullivan would get a title shot later against eventual champion Jack Dempsey and win the belt, only to lose to Klitschko via a close but unanimous decision.
Here, Klitschko comes storming out and blast Sullivan early and often in a dominating round 1 that seems close to being stopped. But Sullivan hangs on and goes on to hammer Klitschko with everything but the kitchen sink over the next several rounds. In the sixth, Klitschko starts to find his range again but he's merely giving what he's getting as he has no answer to stop Sullivan's attack. Klitschko's right eye has been swelling since the third and Sullivan is taking full advantage. In the ninth, the champ is essentially leading with his face and Sullivan is greeting him rudely and repeatedly when the bout is stopped as Sullivan regains the heavyweight title by TKO in round 9.
Cruiserweight
CHAMP Wayne Braithwaite (15-1, 14 KO) vs #3 Guillermo Jones (11-3, 8 KO)
Less than two months after winning the title with a 4th round TKO of David Haye, Braithwaite defends against Jones, who has won five straight by knockout within six rounds. And now Braithwaite will have to try and regain the title, after Jones annihilates him, knocking him down twice in the first, pummeling him in the second and continuing the assault into the third before the referee jumps in to stop the fight. Jones is the new PBA cruiserweight champion!
Light Heavyweight
CHAMP Philadelphia Jack O'Brien (21-1, 10 KO) vs #2 Jack Dillon (12-3, 4 KO)
Six months after being stopped in the 10th round in a title shot, Dillon gets a rematch. A back and forth battle seems to see Dillon get the better of it by a hair, as there are at least four rounds he wins decisively and only two no-doubters for O'Brien, including the 15th. So when it goes to the cards, it's a matter of how much advantage is given to the defending champion. The cards read 143-143 and a pair of 144-142 scorings, both for the winner and NEW PBA Light-Heavyweight champion, Jack Dillon!
Jr. Bantamweight
CHAMP Luis Alberto Perez (18-1, 18 KO) vs #1 Jose Carita Lopez (14-2, 13 KO)
Perez makes his mandatory #1 defense in the last possible month a year after winning the title. And he does so impressively, dominating Lopez for four rounds before knocking him down in the fifth and hammering him until the ref jumps in to halt the fight in the sixth for the TKO win and his third successful title defense.
Flyweight
CHAMP Omar Narvaez (16-2, 11 KO) vs #12 Habible Straichaipani (8-6, 2 KO)
In his fourth defense, Narvaez takes on the lightly regarded Straichaipani but appears to have not taken the fight as seriously as he should have. The fight is never in doubt, but Narvaez is taken the distance, earning a lackluster unanimous decision 146-138, 145-141, 144-140.