THE BOXINGTALK SCOREBOARD
By G. Leon

Ward destroys Dawson, Klitschko keeps on winning

Andre Ward TKO10 Chad Dawson: Andre Ward turned in the best performance of his career, absolutely dismantling world light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson in front of a capacity crowd in Oakland, California. After possibly losing the first round, Ward dropped Dawson with perfectly timed left hooks in rounds two and three. Ward dominated the middle rounds and eventually dropped Dawson for a third time in round ten. When Dawson rose from the canvas, he made it clear to referee Steve Smoger that he wanted the fight to be stopped. Ward improves to 26-0 with 14 KOs and reigns supreme atop both the 168- and 175-pound divisions as a legitimate world champion in two divisions simultaneously. Dawson drops to 31-2 with 17 KOs.

Antonio DeMarco TKO1 John Molina: WBC Lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco needed just :44 seconds to end his bout with John Molina. The stoppage was premature, but the result seemed inevitable had the bout continued.

Vitali Klitschko TKO4 Manuel Charr: WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko did what he does best, he won. Previously undefeated Manuel Charr was game but no match for Klitschko. By round four Charr's face was such a bloody mask that the referee and ringside doctor had no choice but to stop the fight. Official time of stoppage was 2:04

Lucas Matthysse TKO10 Ajose Olusegun: In an action-packed fight between two world class junior welterweights, it was the punching power of Lucas Matthysse that proved to be the difference. Ajose Olusegun aka Olusegun Ajose did his best to exploit the advantages he had and he fought with a TON of heart, but Matthysse was able to visibly hurt Ajose several times throughout the bout and land the more punishing blows. Although the result was never in doubt, the end came prematurely when Russell Mora called a halt to the action when Ajose was sent crashing to canvas in the  closing seconds of round ten. Down for the first time in his career, Ajose was clearly attempting to make it back to his feet when Mora ended the bout without starting a count. Russell Mora had no business getting this assignment following his unforgettable biased performance [against an African boxer] during the first Abner Mares- Joseph Agbeko bout. Why the NSAC appointed him to another title fight featuring an African vs. a Latin American is beyond our understanding. Official time of stoppage was 2:59 of round ten.

Ishe Smith W10 Irving Garcia: Ishe Smith posted his second victory of 2012 by outclassing the always game Irving Garcia over the ten-round distance. Smith dropped Garcia with a right hand in the first round and outworked his opponent consitently throughout the bout. Official scores were 100-89 twice and 99-90.

J'Leon Love DQ8 Ramon Valenzuela: J'Leon Love showed poised and superior boxing ability against Ramon Valenzuela, who had previously defeated Love in the amateurs. Love was winning every round of the fight and starting to hurt Valenzuela at the end of round seven. Valenzuela responded by trying to lift Love off the canvas during a clinch. Thirty seven seconds into round eight Valenzuela did it again and was promptly disqualified by referee Jay Nady.