In his first major bout at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri, Cory Spinks (34-3, 11KOs) was stopped by Zab Judah in nine rounds to lose his welterweight crown. After 17 long months away from the ring, he redeems himself in the same hometown venue with a close majority decision over Roman Karmazin (34-2, 21KOs) to win the IBF junior middleweight title.
Spinks danced his way to the ring with rap sensation Yung Juk, and danced his way back to the dressing room with a new title in his second weight division.
The fight started off quickly for Spinks as he used his jab to control the fight for most of the first five rounds and bruise both eyes of Karmazin. As the sixth round began, it appeared that Karmazin began to figure Spinks out and used his strength advantage to come forward and land big punches to the head and body.
Spinks was still able to use his superior speed and movement to win a few of the late rounds, but his constant movement in the fight had left him tired in the final quarter of the fight. Karmazin would begin to rally back in the ninth round and to most observers swept the final four remaining rounds of the fight, but it was too late as he gave away too many early rounds.
There were moments in the fight, notably the second and tenth rounds, where Karmazin had Spinks in trouble, but was unable to follow up with additional punches to capitalize on a hurt Spinks.
The final scores were 114-114 for the draw, 115-113 for Spinks and 115-113 for Spinks.
Now that Spinks is arguably the top 154 pounder in the world after beating Karmazin, who was considered the top dog, his main focus is to face the other top fighters within the division.
"I want them all, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Fernando Vargas. I think I'm due for a big payday," Spinks said.
Spinks can forget about WBC champion Oscar De La Hoya. The Golden Boy is looking for one more fight, and the likely 2007 opponent will be Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
It is also unlikely that the winner of the upcoming Shane Mosley-Fernando Vargas rematch will fight Spinks either. Should Molsey win or lose the fight, he is looking to move back down to the welterweight division to lure some of the big names into a big pay-per-view showdown.
Vargas, like Mosley, is moving outside of the 154 division, but he is moving up and not down. Tired of taking his body to the limit in order to make 154 pounds, Vargas is moving up to 160 pounds with his sights set on middleweight kind Jermain Taylor.
Spinks is going to have two choices, face some top contender in order to raise his status as a top fighter or lure a big name from 147 pounds, which is unlikely with all of the financial opportunities currently at the weight class.
There could be some key bouts if the proper matchmaking is used. Facing the winner of the upcoming bout between Vernon Forrest and Ike Quartey would certainly get the boxing public interested as both men are well known from their high profile fights in the past and either of them would give any fighter at junior middleweight a run for their money.
The WBA junior middleweight champion Jose Antonio Rivera has brought his career back on point with a destructive win over Alexandro Garcia to win his title a few short months ago. A unification with Rivera would not give Spinks a huge payday, but a win over the always tough Rivera would not only unify two of the three major titles, but raise his standing among the best in the sport.
Another interesting bout would be against the winner of the upcoming fight between undefeated prospect Sechew Powell and former middleweight champion Kassim Ouma. The winner of that fight would be in line for a possible title shot and could provide a decent pay opportunity if the promoters involved play their cards right.
There are plenty of options for Spinks at 154. He appears to still be very quick, but needs to work on his stamina as he tired in the final rounds against Karmazin. Make no mistake, the "Spinks Jinks" is back to give top fighters trouble as Cory looks to continue the legacy of the Spinks name.
Spinks danced his way to the ring with rap sensation Yung Juk, and danced his way back to the dressing room with a new title in his second weight division.
The fight started off quickly for Spinks as he used his jab to control the fight for most of the first five rounds and bruise both eyes of Karmazin. As the sixth round began, it appeared that Karmazin began to figure Spinks out and used his strength advantage to come forward and land big punches to the head and body.
Spinks was still able to use his superior speed and movement to win a few of the late rounds, but his constant movement in the fight had left him tired in the final quarter of the fight. Karmazin would begin to rally back in the ninth round and to most observers swept the final four remaining rounds of the fight, but it was too late as he gave away too many early rounds.
There were moments in the fight, notably the second and tenth rounds, where Karmazin had Spinks in trouble, but was unable to follow up with additional punches to capitalize on a hurt Spinks.
The final scores were 114-114 for the draw, 115-113 for Spinks and 115-113 for Spinks.
Now that Spinks is arguably the top 154 pounder in the world after beating Karmazin, who was considered the top dog, his main focus is to face the other top fighters within the division.
"I want them all, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Fernando Vargas. I think I'm due for a big payday," Spinks said.
Spinks can forget about WBC champion Oscar De La Hoya. The Golden Boy is looking for one more fight, and the likely 2007 opponent will be Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
It is also unlikely that the winner of the upcoming Shane Mosley-Fernando Vargas rematch will fight Spinks either. Should Molsey win or lose the fight, he is looking to move back down to the welterweight division to lure some of the big names into a big pay-per-view showdown.
Vargas, like Mosley, is moving outside of the 154 division, but he is moving up and not down. Tired of taking his body to the limit in order to make 154 pounds, Vargas is moving up to 160 pounds with his sights set on middleweight kind Jermain Taylor.
Spinks is going to have two choices, face some top contender in order to raise his status as a top fighter or lure a big name from 147 pounds, which is unlikely with all of the financial opportunities currently at the weight class.
There could be some key bouts if the proper matchmaking is used. Facing the winner of the upcoming bout between Vernon Forrest and Ike Quartey would certainly get the boxing public interested as both men are well known from their high profile fights in the past and either of them would give any fighter at junior middleweight a run for their money.
The WBA junior middleweight champion Jose Antonio Rivera has brought his career back on point with a destructive win over Alexandro Garcia to win his title a few short months ago. A unification with Rivera would not give Spinks a huge payday, but a win over the always tough Rivera would not only unify two of the three major titles, but raise his standing among the best in the sport.
Another interesting bout would be against the winner of the upcoming fight between undefeated prospect Sechew Powell and former middleweight champion Kassim Ouma. The winner of that fight would be in line for a possible title shot and could provide a decent pay opportunity if the promoters involved play their cards right.
There are plenty of options for Spinks at 154. He appears to still be very quick, but needs to work on his stamina as he tired in the final rounds against Karmazin. Make no mistake, the "Spinks Jinks" is back to give top fighters trouble as Cory looks to continue the legacy of the Spinks name.
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