Former WBO middleweight titlist Otis "Magic" Grant stayed on course towards an eventual WBC title shot at 168 lbs. by easily outpointing Australian Nader Hamdan in Montreal on Saturday. A
Grant right hook sent Hamdan down for a one-count in round two, but the Aussie never appeared seriously hurt at any point. Grant had no trouble setting up his own pace and he was able to outhustle and outpunch his opponent throughout the fight, while Hamdan was unable to mount anything that threatened to shake up his opponent's sturdy defense. Grant was most effective fighting off the ropes, scoring machinegun-fast combinations to the body. He was in turn able to back his opponent up and score
multiple head and body shots. The judges' scorecards read 119-108, 119-109 and 119-108. Grant, the WBC's #4 contender and Boxingtalk #19 super middleweight retains his WBC International title and improves his career record to 36-2-1 (17), while Hamdan's record drops to 38-3 (18). Grant's next opponent will most surely be the WBC's #1 contender Scott Pemberton (Boxingtalk #18). Le Journal de Montréal newspaper was reporting on Friday that a deal was struck between the two camps and the bout would most likely take place on June 18th, either in Uncasville or Montreal. The WBC has been talking about four-man elimination tournament between the top rated contenders at 168 lbs for a chance at Markus Beyer's title, which makes an all-Montreal showdown between Otis Grant and Eric Lucas (Boxingtalk # 12) a possibility by year's end.
Dmitriy Salita TKO2 Darelle Sukerow... In New York City on Thursday, Dmitriy Salita, 21-0, stopped Darelle Sukerow, 11-13, in two rounds in what passed for the main event.  Sukerow visited the canvas twice before the fight was stopped. To Salita's credit, his team wasn't happy with this opponent telling Boxingtalk a more meaningful bout would have been preferred. Curtis Stevens TKO2 Ray Darden... Also, Ray Darden's chin couldn't withstand being checked by light heavyweight banger Curtis Stevens, who stopped Darden in the second to improve to 6-0.  Unfortunately, the show's organizers, promoter Ron Resnick and self-styled event planner Jed Weinstein of Jed Weinstein Presents were simply not up to the task of promoting a big city event. The card was littered with mismatches, and Weinstein's staff actually refused to admit one boxer's representative who showed up with $3000 in ticket sales.  The representative reportedly shrugged his shoulders and went home, leaving Weinstein and company three grand light in the loafers.  Talk about incompetence!