LAS VEGAS, NV – As Manny
Pacquiao knelt triumphantly in the corner of the MGM Grand Garden Arena ring
Saturday night, an unfamiliar noise rang out.
Ultimately, the Filipino
franchise fulfilled what most had prophesized, an asymmetrical and deliberate
pounding of future Hall-of-Famer Shane Mosley. However, Pacquiao was
unable to defend his WBO welterweight title in style, as a reluctant Mosley
refused to take the risks necessary for knocking off the pound-for-pound king
from his throne.
“I was telling my corner I
was having problems moving,” said Pacquiao, who reportedly had been suffering
from cramps since the fourth round.
Perhaps most telling of all,
however, was the sellout crowd of 16,412 and a press row so vast that many
media members weren’t even allowed into the venue itself for the
festivities. In addition, with over a million pay-per-view buys in tow,
Pacquiao was able to prove that he needed neither HBO nor an adversary in his
prime to accomplish his objective of bringing a blockbuster bout to the bottom
line.
“I did my best. I
didn’t expect this result,” shared Pacquiao. “I’ll leave a fight with
Floyd Mayweather up to my promoter. Would it be a great fight to fight
him? Yes, but I’m satisfied with my career and I don’t feel like not
fighting him would hurt my legacy.”
"You've got to
understand what you're watching," said Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, addressing
the media and fans at the post-fight press conference. "You're
watching a phenomenon. You're watching as long as I've been around 45
years, the greatest fighter I've ever seen. No one can compete with
him. He takes every fighter out of his game plan. He is not
dull. He is the aggressor. He is an entertaining fighter and I
believe that most people that bought the fight tonight bought it not with the
expectation that Shane Mosley was going to win...but they wanted to be
entertained by Manny Pacquiao."
Whether that’s a good or bad
thing in the long run is another story when Arum picks Pacquiao’s next
foe. While the 32-year-old General Santos City native’s stranglehold on
the pound-for-pound perch is safe, the fight left much to be desired for the
boxing fan who has been spoiled by a career that has been all action, all the
time.
“If a fight with Juan Manuel
Marquez can’t be made, we’re looking to fight either Timothy Bradley or Zab
Judah,” said Arum at the post-fight press conference. Bradley was in
attendance with manager Cameron Dunkin and, according to Arum, had not yet
signed the contract to fight Amir Khan on July 23.
MANNY PACQUIAO UD12 SHANE
MOSLEYWBO welterweight title
Pacquiao, 145, successfully
defended his WBO welterweight belt for the third time with a 12-round unanimous
decision over Mosley, 147, of Pomona, Calif. As expected, the fight was a
story of two men on diverging trails. Pacquiao rode a six-year, 13-bout
win streak into Las Vegas; conversely, “Sugar” Shane was coming off a draw to
Sergio Mora and a lopsided loss to Mayweather, sporting a spotty 2-2-1 record
heading into Saturday night.
After a two-month stretch of
underdogs in the sport enjoying success at an unprecedented rate (at least in
recent memory), the great Mosley hoped to unearth the magic of old and continue
the recent trend of upsets.In
fact, he entered the ring with LL Cool J serenading the crowd with his classic
“Mama Said Knock You Out.”
Pacquiao, meanwhile, found a
musical escort in Jimi Jamison of Survivor, who sang a live rendition of “Eye
of the Tiger.” With people standing on seats with their portable cameras
strictly focused on the principal characters, even Pacquiao nemesis Juan Manuel
Marquez was personally filming the action.
Once the action in the ring
commenced, however, Pacquiao demonstrated why the oddsmakers had pegged him as
high as a 10-1 favorite at the beginning of the week. Pacquiao, donning
yellow gloves as a show of solidarity with poverty-stricken people in his
native Philippines, used head movement early on to evade Mosley’s straight right
hand. Mosley then scored with a jab and straight right to the body. A
straight left from Pacquiao to the chest was partially blocked but made enough
of an impression on the crowd. With his gloves up, Pacquiao slowly stalked
Mosley until the American landed a straight right between the guard. Pacquiao
swung wildly with an overhand left and missed and the first round was arguably
Mosley’s.
Round two began with the
southpaw Pacquiao looking to establish his right jab. Mosley doubled a jab
but that was not meant to hurt but to probe. Pacquiao threw a one-two that
was effortlessly blocked. Mosley threw a one-two of his own that only met
defensive leather. Pacquiao then landed a three-punch combination upstairs
that was his best scoring chance thus far. Mosley pumped the jab with the
pitter-patter. A straight left and right hook landed for Pacquiao. Mosley
then blocked most of a multi-punch combination from Pacquiao save that for a
straight left to his solar plexus to punctuate a Pacquiao round.
Pacquiao looked to close the
distance in the third with some feints.A
reaching Pacquiao was countered by an overhand right from Mosley. Pacquiao
took a step back off a Mosley punch and hoped to throw a combination upstairs
but was rebuffed by a backtracking Mosley. Then with 1:20 left in the
round, Pacquiao found a seam. A right jab followed by a short left as
Mosley leaned to his right put him on the canvas, the first time he had tasted
the canvas since his first encounter with Vernon Forrest back in 2002. As
referee Kenny Bayless gave him the count, a wobbly Mosley was at the races
while Pacquiao teed off on him without reproach before the bell.
At this point, Mosley faced
a crossroads, as the fight now tipped in Pacquiao’s favor. As the two
mixed it up inside, Pacquiao wrestled Mosley to the ground and Bayless duly
called it a slip. Mosley kept an advancing Pacquiao at bay with a one-two
that prevented his attack. Pacquiao now reached into his bag of tricks and,
crouching down, lobbed a right hand that found Mosley’s forehead. Pacquiao
now doubled his jab, looking to hook off of it. Mosley took nothing but
backward steps during this juncture. Finally, with about 20 seconds left,
Mosley landed a left hand that was clear and effective. However, as
Pacquiao chased him around the ring, there was no doubt as to who won the
frame.
Round five started with
Pacquiao employing a little subterfuge to initiate his offense. It was
clear now that Mosley felt that the counter would be his key to either winning
or survival. Pacquiao threw another lead right hook but not too many of
them had early success so far. With under a minute, Mosley finally struck
gold with a counter right and put a double jab behind it but Pacquiao was
undeterred and attempted to throw yet another lead right hook. The action
lulled to a stop to close the fifth.
By the sixth, Pacquiao and
Mosley had engaged in high-stakes chess.Mosley
threw a jab that partially landed. Pacquiao now feinted even more, hoping
to get close enough to land a lead right hook and follow it with a straight
left. Halfway through the round, Pacquiao backed Mosley up with a
three-punch combination that didn’t fully score but exhibited his ring
generalship. With Mosley reluctant to throw and clinching, the fans began
to voice their disapproval. It was at this point when Mosley landed a
stiff jab that definitely caught the Filipino’s attention but again, Pacquiao
took the round.
In the seventh, Mosley
utilized his left hand to joust away Pacquiao’s right as well as start whatever
offense he could muster, which was minimal at this point. With under a
minute left, Pacquiao needed to find ways to put a boot on Mosley’s wheels and
now looked to circle to his left to find an opportunity to strike. The
frame concluded with jeers from a crowd that clamored for the Mosley of old to
let his hands go and make it a competitive fight.
The last third of the fight
commenced with a jab-fest. As Mosley continued to circle to his left,
Pacquiao finally found him on the inside and landed a big left hook/uppercut
hybrid that shook Mosley momentarily. Mosley went back to his bicycle and
Pacquiao found a home for his right jab. The fight was taking the turn of
a highly,highlypaid sparring session between two
overly respectful opponents.
With four rounds left, the
fans began to pray for a professional prizefight to break out. It almost did
with 1:20 to go, as Pacquiao landed a four-punch flurry to Mosley’s head. Now
Pacquiao caught him on the inside with two left hooks to the body and one
upstairs for good measure.In the
closing moments, a backpedaling Mosley tasted a portion of a one-two from
Pacquiao that stung him but not enough to disorient him.
The tenth was more of the
same, with a cat-and-mouse game defining the round. The two clashed
heads. Then with a little over a minute remaining, Mosley and Pacquiao
engaged, followed by the former blatantly shoving Pacquiao to the ground. Unbelievably,
Bayless ruled it a knockdown, Pacquiao’s first since his first fight with Marco
Antonio Barrera. Perhaps this would enrage Pacquiao or at least awaken
him. It would. Pacquiao now stalked Mosley, cutting off the
ring. He landed a one-two, followed by another one.
The crowd sprang to their
feet in the penultimate round, optimistic that Pacquiao would realize his duty
to live up to this reputation as the pound-for-pound king. He would
attempt to do just that. A flurry highlighted by the straight left would
send Mosley reeling into the ropes. A three-punch combination would do
more damage. The fans now chanted for Pacquiao to knock him out. Pacquiao
clapped his gloves together. Mosley landed a short right over the top but
did it not hurt Pacquiao. Pacquiao again backed Mosley up with the left
hand off a right jab. Another one-two scored. However, it was clear
that the Filipino neglected to go to the body all night long and Mosley would
walk back to his corner before the final round.
Round 12 began with the two
fighters touching gloves and embracing. Pacquiao’s mission to seek and
destroy juxtaposed Mosley’s, which was to retreat and see the judges’
scorecards. Pacquiao again went to the one-two and Mosley complained he
was butted. With 40 seconds left, Mosley wrapped up Pacquiao in a clinch
that symbolized the whole fight. Pacquiao landed one last stiff jab before
the final bell amid a chorus of boos.
Pacquiao landed 182/552
total punches (33%) and 134/284 of his power punches (47.2%). Mosley landed
82/260 of his shots (31.5%) and 31 out of just 61 power shots (50.8%).
Glenn Trowbridge scored the fight
119-108; Dave Moretti had it 120-108 and Duane Ford ruled it 120-107, all in
favor of Pacquiao, the eight-division world champ who is now 53-3-2 (38).
Mosley dropped to 46-7-1
(39).
JORGE ARCE TKO12 WILFREDO
VAZQUEZ JR.WBO super bantamweight title
In the latest installment of
the Puerto Rican-Mexican ring rivalry, Arce, 122, of Los Mochis, Mex., pulled
off a momentous upset in the twilight of his career with a 12th round
stoppage of defending WBO super bantamweight champion Vazquez, 122, of Bayamon,
P.R.
The 31-year-old Arce had
carried with him a five-bout unbeaten streak that included a first-round finish
over faded former world champ Martin Castillo. Unfortunately, the “The
Lollipop Cowboy” would soon discover that Vazquez, five years his junior, was
unbeaten overall and had a five-bout string ofknockoutson his ledger that
contained a second-round stoppage of Cecilio Santos, a man who had knocked out
Arce only a year ago. Vazquez was making the third defense of his belt but
three would be an unlucky number for the Puerto Rican.
Arce won over the crowd in
the early going, dancing in the ring to “Suavemente” by Elvis Crespo and
opening up the scoring with a combination upstairs and possibly taking the
round.
In round two, Arce again was
the aggressor. While Vazquez moved on the balls of his feet from side to
side, Arce stopped him in his tracks with the lead right hand. Vazquez
finally landed something of consequence when a one-two made its way to Arce’s
chin but this only sparked the incorrigible Arce, who defiantly pointed to his
chin.Arce initiated more attacks
but was generally ineffective and his last advance was smothered by a clinching
Vazquez before the bell.
As the third began, Vazquez
tried to catch Arce walking in with a right uppercut that was partially
blocked. Arce and Vazquez locked arms before referee Joe Cortez broke them
apart. Then Arce displayed a relentless streak, shoving Vazquez into the blue
corner and letting his hands go to the body. Digging hooks from both of
Arce’s hands punctuated the round. As the Mexican pulled his head out of
the fray, he revealed a cut over his left eyelid.
Arce made a sign of the
cross after the bell sounded to start the fourth. Vazquez, maybe inspired by
Arce’s tactics, threw a left hook followed by a stinging right of his own to
the body. Not to be outdone, Arce now bulled forward. The two traded
jabs and Arce got the better of it. With a minute left, Arce was warned by
Cortez for pulling Vazquez down by his neck. About to give up the round,
Vazquez waited until the penultimate moment before the bell, when he landed a
crushing counter left hook flush on Arce’s chin that put the Mexican on his
backside.
After letting the previous
round slip away, Arce was determined to regain control of the bout in the
fifth, reverting to his tactics of bulling forward. However, Vazquez
called on his powerful left hook again as the two mixed it up and again it
scored. Arce retaliated with an overhand right that found its intended
destination but Vazquez would take the frame once more for throwing the more
precise blows.
The first minute of the
sixth was a sloppy affair and with 1:42 left, Arce again pushed Vazquez on the
ropes but ate a nice counter left hook after missing with the right hand. With
ten seconds left, Vazquez stole the round with a piston of a left jab which
probed more than anything but landed clean.
By the seventh, it seemed
that Arce’s punch output was slowing down, which was good news for
Vazquez. The Puerto Rican displayed no signs of fatigue, even landing a
right hand of his own as Arce had him on the ropes. The action now made a
furious turn, with both fighters wildly swinging to invoke an early slumber on
his opponent. This time, Arce outlanded Vazquez in their exchanges, with
the right hand doing most of the damage.
The pace was sluggish in the
eighth, with a bit of comic relief occurring when Arce led with his head
resulting in a headlock-laden clinch from Vazquez and a smirk of disbelief.
In the following frame, Arce
threw a two-punch combination upstairs and then hurled Vazquez to the canvas,
which led to Cortez ruling it not a knockdown. With under a minute left in
the round, the bout turned into a clinch-fest, as Arce would resort to holding
after throwing one or two punches at a time.
After nine grueling rounds,
intermittent action dominated the tenth. Vazquez now turned Arce and threw
double left hooks to the body as the Mexican now fought with his back to the
ropes. With 1:30 left, Vazquez again lost his footing and tumbled to the
canvas, prompting Cortez to rule it a slip. With under a minute to go,
Arce began to dance on his toes, hoping to bait Vazquez into a trap. However, it was not to be, as the defending
champion from Puerto Rico would make it to the final bell ahead on the
scorecards for good.
The bout took the shape of
the closing miles of a marathon in the 11th, with both combatants
throwing throughout the remainder. Arce landed a left hook that had lost
the same polish it once possessed in the first third of the fight. The
Mexican continued to hammer away and was rewarded when he landed a big right
hand on Vazquez’s chin that had him covering up on the ropes. Arce now
looked to capitalize on Vazquez’s rubbery legs but leading with his head, yet
again, caused another Cortez-deemed slip. Now in control, Arce began to
punch off the clinch. At
one point, with his left hand around Vazquez’s head, he threw four straight
short right hands upstairs.
With only three minutes
separating an exhausted Vazquez from the finish line, the incumbent champ was
in deep water without a lifesaver. Behind by several points, Arce knew he
needed a knockout to win and he would not disappoint his fans. One final
time, Arce charged forward and emptied the contents of his tank onto Vazquez.Rights, lefts, and an endless stream
of violence ensued. Arce now turned it on with a relentless display of
heart and will. Although Vazquez would sparingly return fire in the middle
of this thrashing, the champion’s corner threw a water bottle in the direction
of Cortez to stop the bout.
Official time was :55.
Before the stoppage, Gary
Merritt and Burt Clements scored the bout 104-104 and Robert Hoyle had Arce ahead
by a staggering 107-102.
“I shut the whole world up!”
exclaimed Arce, whose words were translated into English. His long ledger
reads 57-6-2 (44) after tonight. “The whole f**king world!”
Vazquez drops his first
fight. His record moves to 20-1-1 (17).
KELLY PAVLIK MD10 ALFONSO
LOPEZSuper middleweights
Pavlik, 170, the former
undisputed middleweight champ hailing from Youngstown, Ohio, simply outworked
the previously undefeated Lopez, 169, of Cut and Shoot, Tex., by a majority
decision that was closer in actuality than it showed on the scorecards. While
the 28-year-old Lopez sported a win over former title challenger Rubin
Williams, taking on Pavlik would serve as a step up in class.
Utilizing his patented power
game, Pavlik called on the one-two to make his mark on Lopez’s mug and it
landed a minute into the fight as Lopez froze in his tracks when his back
grazed the ropes. Lopez reacted by darting away from danger and moving to
his left. Pavlik cut off the ring but clubbed Lopez with a rabbit
punch after which he was subsequently warned by referee Russell Mora.
Round two looked every bit
the slugfest as round one. Lopez moved laterally from side to side in
order to make Pavlik plant his feet, perhaps cognizant of the success a mobile
Sergio Martinez had in his upset of the Youngstown star. Lopez then sprang
forward and threw a combination to Pavlik’s body. Pavlik finally caught
Lopez with a right cross that knifed through the guard of Lopez, who was still
shifting to his right. Lopez then made his presence felt by going right at
Pavlik and scoring with a four-punch combination upstairs.
Pavlik attempted to close
the distance in round three, setting his shots up with the jab and then lancing
his way through with the right hand. To Lopez’s credit, he evaded Pavlik’s
barrage and again slid away to safety, this time to his left. Pavlik then
threw a heavy overhand right that pierced right through Lopez’s left hand to
his chin.
Perhaps aware that he had
dropped the first three rounds, Lopez began to indicate he was unfazed by
Pavlik’s power and decided to engage. After a fourth that could go either
way, in a role reversal, Pavlik landed a counter overhand left in the middle of
the ring in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, Pavlik
and Lopez took part in some crowd-pleasing inside fighting, with Pavlik getting
the better of the exchanges when he lobbed a crushing right hand on Lopez’s jaw
that could be heard a couple sections up.
The seventh began with Lopez
shortening up his punches on the inside and having some early success scoring
on Pavlik’s chin with a quick four-punch combination that was heavier than your
average shoeshine. Moments later, Lopez threw a looping right and left
hand that found the mark as well. With :54 left in the round, Mora warned
Pavlik for a left hook below the beltline. Lopez took about 30 seconds to
recuperate and then went back to work.
Lopez reverted to his side-to-side
tactics in the eighth but this time, Pavlik was ready for him, using foot
feints and a range-finding jab to work his way inside. Once there, Pavlik
landed an overhand right and dug to the body when they clinched. Lopez
would have success by landing overhand counters whenever Pavlik missed and
overall, it was a tough round to score.
The ninth began with an ugly
display of inaccuracy from both fighters. If the two fighters weren’t
clinching, they were throwing at air or at leather itself. One minute into
the round, Lopez landed a looping right to Pavlik’s temple. As the
fighters held once more, Pavlik took a step back and unleashed a left hook that
was close, but not close enough, as Lopez avoided the shot. Lopez then
threw a seven-punch combination at a stationary Pavlik but only managed to
cleanly land the straight right that ended it. The bout ended with Lopez
backing away from Pavlik, seemingly content to leave the outcome of the ninth
in the judges’ hands.
The energy level in the
crowd, by this time about three-fourths to capacity, hadn’t quite reached its
potential, and the tenth and final frame began to whet their appetites. With
under a minute left, Pavlik landed a crushing left hook that possible opened a
cut over his right eye. Soon after, “The Ghost” would try to exploit the
vulnerable side of Lopez’s face. The Texan, however, already having the
finish line in sight, weathered the storm and made it to the final bell without
major incident.
Scores were 98-92 and 98-91
for Pavlik and 95-95 even.
After losing his 160-pound
title to Martinez last April, “The Ghost,” buoyed by the victory after a
13-month spell of inactivity that was partially the result of a bout with
alcoholism, reflected on his newly formed campaign as a full-fledged super
middleweight.
“There was a little rust but
I felt good,” said the 29-year-old Pavlik, now 37-2 (32). “I didn’t agree
with the scores. I thought he won about three rounds. I’m ready for
big fights in the division.”
Lopez’s first loss left him
at 21-1 (16).
MIKE ALVARADO TKO3 RAY NARHWBC Continental Americas light welterweight title
It’s been a bumpy road for
Alvarado, 139, with his legal issues but the Denver native made the most
of his opportunity on the televised undercard by stopping Narh, 140, of Bronx,
N.Y., via Accra, Ghana.
Alvarado, whose run-ins with
the law have resulted in a stagnant four fights in two years, finally hauled in
his first piece of hardware at age 30 by battering the 32-year-old Narh, whose
only blemish in 26 fights leading up to this point was a first-round blowout at
the hands of Almazbek “Kid Diamond” Raimykulov almost seven years ago.
Most ringside observers,
including Yours Truly, had foreseen a war. Three rounds in, we were
wrong.
The first two rounds, with a
noticeably weight-drained Narh using his head movement and bicycling to evade
Alvarado’s jabs and initial assaults. With about 47 seconds in the second,
Alvarado landed a short right hand under Narh’s pawing left. He would
follow it up by catching a backpedaling Narh with an overhand right, which
arrived on the Ghanaian’s chin when he backed up without raising his
gloves.
After a third round where
Narh again fought off the back foot while Alvarado surged forward, hoping that
he would respond to his volleys. Narh would not, instead content to let
the action come to him.
Something wasn’t quite right
with Narh from a physiological standpoint and we got our answer when referee
Robert Byrd asked him if he wanted to continue. Narh opted to retire on
his stool before the fourth.
“Wow, it felt great to fight
on this stage and have this opportunity after everything that’s happened,” said
Alvarado, who jumped to 30-0 (22). “I can’t even think of the words to
describe how I feel right now.I
can’t wait to fight again.”
Narh incurred his second
career defeat, dipping to 25-2 (21).
RODEL MAYOL MD10 JAVIER
GALLOSuper flyweights
Only a year removed from
being dethroned of his WBC light flyweight title by Omar Niño, Mayol, 112, of
Mandaue City, Phil., decisioned Gallo, 114, in majority fashion.Gallo, a tough guy from Tijuana who
had unsuccessfully fought for the NABO bantamweight title last October against
Khabir Suleymanov, wasn’t short on courage but lacked the accuracy to outpoint
Mayol.
The bout was originally
scheduled to be a six-rounder but then gradually moved up to eight on Friday
and just hours before the fight, became a ten-round bout.
Mayol’s plan entailed
getting on the inside and throwing left hooks to the body and left uppercuts to
the head, once he got the desired angle. Gallo looked to parry and block
Mayol’s advances with his gloves and counter off them. In the third, Gallo
began to come forward and throw looping left hooks that did not make a dent in
Mayol’s armor but the Filipino’s attacks were equally ineffective. Mayol seemed
to underutilize his reach and height advantage by suffocating his own punches
by getting too close to strike.
Finally, in the fifth, a
fight broke out. Mayol initiated the damage with a left hook that clipped
Gallo’s chin and had him moving back into the ropes. Mayol played chase
and tried to follow it with something more substantial but Gallo attempted to
make him miss and counter with the right hand. However, the pace now began
to heavily favor Mayol and by the end of the round, it seemed he had taken
control of the bout.
After a lackluster sixth,
Gallo took the initiative in the seventh, working his way in with a jab and
slugging with looping shots that occasionally found their target. However,
Mayol popped a jab of his own, one of which snapped Gallo’s head back. Gallo
did some good work as the two went toe to toe, getting Mayol’s attention with a
left hook that momentarily turned the Filipino’s head sideways. The eighth
and ninth took on a familiar pattern, with the two willing to engage but
without much landing of significance. The final round was marked by
fatigue, as both fighters stood face-to-face in a game of attrition, but
neither could visibly hurt the other with arm punches until the final bell.
Scores were 95-95 and 98-92
twice for Mayol.
“I felt really strong at
this weight,” said the 29-year-old Mayol, who improves to 28-5-2 (21). “I’m
going to stay at flyweight from now on.”
Gallo drops to 17-4-1 (9).
JOSE BENAVIDEZ JR. TKO5
JAMES HOPELight welterweights
After a so-so outing against
Fernando Rodriguez in January, Benavidez, 141, kept his perfect record intact
with a fifth-round technical knockout over Hope, 141, who had been stopped in
three of his last four bouts but clawed to a draw with then-undefeated Bayan
Jargal last July.
In round one, the taller
Benavidez tried to establish his power game early with the one-two but he was
caught with a reaching right from Hope when he backed up in a straight
line. The Phoenix product pivoted and clubbed Hope with a short right over
the top.
Hope bullrushed Benavidez in
the second and for a brief moment got him on the ropes but the Phoenix product
darted away and took the action back to the center of the ring. Hope put
his hands down and Benavidez began to throwing looping right hands. He
feinted with the left jab, waited for Hope to miss, and then concussed a
stinging right to the body. Now, Benavidez began to punish Hope on the
ropes, concluding the round with a straight right followed by a left that found
its mark without retaliation.
Then, in the third, a left
hook to Hope’s kidney had him on the run once more. Benavidez began to tee
off, landing a series of double left hooks to the body, right crosses off a
double jab and even the occasional lead right to the body. Hope, covering
up and seemingly unwilling to return fire, was either beginning to show serious
signs of breaking down or was playing an expert game of possum.
As the fourth round
developed, the story leaned more on the former than the latter. Hope
opened the frame by dipping into a crouch and throwing wild, right hand
haymakers that found air. For his part, Benavidez curiously took the round
off when he had his foe hurt only minutes before.
Benavidez reverted to the
body attack in the fifth and after backing Hope into the neutral corner, the
teenager mercilessly assailed his foe’s ribcage, prompting referee Vic
Drakulich to call it 1:43.
“He wouldn’t go down easy,”
said Benavidez, now 11-0 (10) and on the cusp of his 19thbirthday next Sunday. He is
scheduled to headline his first card in Chandler, Ariz., on June 11. “I
had him hurt in the third and I should’ve finished it in the fourth but I went
back to the body after that and it felt good to win by stoppage.”
Meanwhile, Hope, a
27-year-old from Rock Hill, S.C., descends to 6-8-1 (4).
In an intriguing lightweight
matchup, Quebec City’s Cote, 139, stopped Ambriz, 140, of Azusa, Calif, in
four.
Cote, a converted college
basketball player, looked to continue the momentum gained from successive
one-round knockouts over Cesar Soriano and solid gatekeeper Michael
Lozada. The 25-year-old Ambriz, who had battle-tested victories over
veterans Hector Alatorre and Jose Alfredo Lugo, entered the ring with a
noticeable mark under his eye but he seemed to disregard its presence, coming
forward and winging shots from the opening bell.
However, Ambriz’s wide shots
were no match for Cote’s fast hands and overhand thudding right, which the
Canadian accompanied with a counter left hook that stunned Ambriz early in the
second round. The ensuing frame saw Cote floor Ambriz with a left hook and
a right hand at about the two-minute mark. After Ambriz rose to his feet,
Cote followed up the barrage with a one-two that more than tapped Ambriz’s left
eye, which now began to show a little swelling.
The end was near and it was
abrupt. Early in the fourth, Cote landed another overhand right flush on
the temple of Ambriz. Moments later, Cote flicked a double jab only to put
one more overhand right behind it that caused referee Tony Weeks to call a halt
to the bout as a result of an accumulation of punches. Ambriz didn’t seem
noticeably hurt but the shiner on his left eye would tell you otherwise.
Official time was :46.
“Our original plan was to go
to the body because he was tall,” said the 26-year-old winner, who fought
outside Canada for only the second time in his career, “but he was
reaching and I was able to go for it.”
Cote rises to 16-0 (11),
while Ambriz’s record tumbles to 15-2-1 (8).
KARL DARGAN UD6 RANDY
ARRELLINLightweights
In the opening bout,
Philadelphia’s Dargan, 135, cruised to a six-round unanimous decision over
Arrellin, 135, from Albuquerque with 12 bouts under his belt at the tender age
of 20.
Coming off back-to-back
stoppages of Lugo and Jorge Ruiz in 2010, the 25-year-old Dargan had been
inactive for exactly one year, while Arrellin hoped to bounce back from an
eighth-round TKO loss to Manuel Perez less than two months ago.
Arrellin looked to confound
Dargan by switching to southpaw and back to orthodox to mirror his opponent but
had trouble finding openings through Dargan’s guard.Unfortunately for Arrellin, he pressed
the fight to no avail, as Dargan pumped his left jab, circling and outboxing
him on the strength of a counter left hook as they went the distance.
Scores were 60-54 twice and
59-55 for Dargan, who remains unbeaten at 9-0 (4).
With the loss, Arrellin
plunges to 8-5 (4).
JONATHAN GONZALEZ NC4
FRANCISCO ROSARIOFlyweights
Gonzalez, the Puerto Rican
gold medalist at the 2008 Youth World Championships, had his bout postponed
when Rosario, a Dominican from Santiago de los Caballeros, failed his medical
exam.
