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Vera Outworks Mora Again in Texas
SAN ANTONIO – Brian Vera took home a majority decision win over Sergio Mora Saturday night in front of 3,096 fight fans at the Illusions Theatre in the Alamodome.
It was Vera's second win over Mora in as many tries. The two fighters previously in 2011 in Fort Worth, where Vera earned a split decision win. This time, Vera nabbed the victory by a majority on the judges' scorecards (114-114, 118-110 and 117-111).
The fight settled into a consistent pattern early. Vera would come forward and wing wild shots at Mora, who would slip, parry and counter cleanly. It made for an entertaining bout.
Vera would repeatedly crowd Mora into the corner or ropes. He'd smile and snarl his way while barreling in close, but he'd often get hammered in return after a quick dodge from the cagey and quick Mora.
The crowd chanted Vera's name throughout the contest, showing support for their fellow Texan.
After somewhat of a lull, Mora came out in the sixth with renewed vigor. He started the round off with a sharp right hand in the center of the ring, and then showboated a bit later up against the ropes when he thought he was getting the better of it.
“The Latin Snake” Mora uncoiled even more in the seventh. He'd let Vera miss wildly, then land sharp shots in return. Vera landed a hard shot at the end of the round, though, that had Mora stumble a bit to leave things more even.
Mora seemed to tire in the eighth. He did more backpedalling than countering, and Vera's pressure remained unrelenting.
The ninth was mostly Vera's, who began to have his way with the defensive-first Mora, whose legs appeared slower than before. An end of round exchange went the way of Mora, though, making it a tough call for the judges.
In round ten, Mora came out more fierce and aggressive. He landed his hardest punches of the night and left Vera mostly befuddled.
The final two rounds were hotly contested. Both men had their way at times. Mora would slip and counter with authority. Vera would come forward and throw in volume.
Neither fighter relented, and both believed themselves the winner at the end of it. After the verdict was read, Mora was visibly upset while Vera showed adulation. Mora stormed out of the ring mumbling curses at anyone quick enough to keep pace with him as he left the building.
Meanwhile, the win put Vera right back in line for another meaningful middleweight bout in the not too distant future.
Other Action
In the opening professional bout of the evening (it was preceded by a slew of amateur bouts), Benjamin Whitaker (1-0, 1 KO) impressed the local crowd with his professional debut effort.
The San Antonio welterweight only needed two rounds to dispatch of his opponent, Germain Carson (0-2). The fight ended at 2:33 of round number two with Whitaker standing over the hapless Carson, who lay sprawled helpless at the victor's feet in his own corner.
In the next bout, Darquan Arnett (6-0, 4 Kos) stayed undefeated in his young career, too. The Floridian junior middleweight blasted Ishwar Amador (11-11, 7 Kos) with a crisp straight right hand to end things before they really got started. The fight was immediately halted, at just 36 seconds of the first round, after Amador crumbled to the canvas and lay motionless.
Next up was bantamweight prospect Adam Lopez (4-0, 2 KO), who dispatched of Mario Delgado (0-2) quickly and efficiently in round number one of their contest. Lopez stalked Delgado around the ring until trapping him in the corner, where he let loose a vicious combination. The fight was stopped with Delgado doubled over from a body shot at 1:20.
Welterweight Steve Hall (5-3, 5 Kos) came to the ring amid raucous cheers from his adopted hometown crowd, his head adorned with a sombrero, his arms waving both Mexican and English flags. The Englishman's white trucks where one part American flag, one part English.
Milton Ramos (8-3-2, 2 KOs) didn't care, and he took it right to the popular local fighter from the opening bell.
Ramos landed clean shots in the first round with nicely timed counter punches. The two traded shots throughout the second. Hall steadily moved forward trying to dig shots to his opponent's body and head. Meanwhile, Ramos played the matador, using a well-timed jab and good footwork to position himself for power punches.
Ramos caught Hall in the third with crisp counter punching, but the tough brawler kept moving forward and throwing his own hard shots. That same script played itself out through the rest of the six round affair, with Ramos typically getting the better of the action.
Judges at ringside scored the fight for 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 for Ramos.
In the next fight, junior featherweight Javier Rodriguez (3-0-1) was just too strong for Kermit Hendricks (1-3). The aggressive, rough-and-tough fighter, nicknamed “The Pitbull”, came forward fast and furiously right from the start of the bout. Hendricks just couldn't keep Rodriguez off his chest, despite his best efforts at throwing jabs and one-twos.
All three judges scored the fight 39-37 for Rodriguez.
In the co-main event of the evening, El Paso's Antonio Escalante (27-4, 19 Kos) defeated Leonilo Miranda (26-5, 25 Kos) by devastating knockout in round number two. Esclante lured Miranda in close when it appeared he might be hurt himself, then let go a ferocious right cross to put him down and out.
The referee stopped the bout at 1:18 of round number two with Miranda still on the floor.
The final bout that took place before the Vera-Mora main event was a featherweight swing bout between Houston's Jerren Cochran (5-0, 3 KOs) and Forth Worth's Jesus Rocha (3-4). Rocha clipped Cochran with a hook in round one but was bested by the latter's hand speed both before and after.
Cochran floored the overly anxious Rocha in round two with a straight right hand. It didn't deter Rocha, though, who kept coming towards his more skilled counterpart with ruthless and crude (but often effective) combination punching.
At the end of the four rounds, judges scored it for skill over will, 40-35 twice and 39-36 for Jerren Cochran.
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Bakhodir Jalolov Returns on Thursday in Another Disgraceful Mismatch
How good is Bakhodir Jalolov? Some would argue that in terms of pure talent, the six-foot-seven southpaw from Uzbekistan who has knocked out all 14 of his opponents since turning pro, is better than any heavyweight you can name. Others say that this can’t possibly be true or his braintrust wouldn’t keep feeding him junk food. Jalolov has been brought along as gingerly as Christopher Lovejoy who was exposed as a fraud after running up a skein of 19 straight fast knockouts,
One thing that’s indisputable is that Jalolov was one of the best amateurs to come down the pike in recent memory. A three-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist, Jalolov won 58 of his last 59 amateur bouts. The exception was a match in which he did not compete which translated into a win by walkover for his opponent, countryman Lazizbek Mullojonov.
The circumstances are vague. Was Jalolov a no-show because of an injury or illness or a technicality? Amateur boxing, save in a few places or in an Olympic year, is the quintessential niche sport. The mainstream media does not cover it.
What we do know, thanks to boxrec, is that Jalolov caught up with Mullojonov in May of last year in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk and won a split decision. And Mollojonov was no slouch. He too won a gold medal at the Paris Games, winning the heavyweight division to give the powerful Uzbekistan contingent the championship in the two heaviest weight classes.
Jalolov, whose late father was a champion free-style wrestler, has answered the bell as a pro for only 35 rounds. The Belgian-Congolese campaigner Jack Mulowayi came closest to taking the big Uzbek the distance, lasting into the eighth round of an 8-round fight. But when Jalolov closed the show, he did it with a highlight reel knockout, knocking Mulowayi into dreamland with a vicious left hook.
The KO was reminiscent of Jalolov’s most talked-about win as an amateur, his first-round blast-out of Richard Torrez Jr at a tournament in Ekaterinburg, Russia, in 2019. Torrez, knocked out cold with a left hook, left the ring on a stretcher and was removed to a hospital for evaluation.
This was the first AIBA-sanctioned international tournament in which pros were allowed to compete and WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman was incensed, calling the match-up “criminal” in a tweet that was widely circulated. (Jalolov then had six pro fights under his belt.) They would meet again in the finals of the Tokyo Olympiad with the Uzbek winning a unanimous decision.
Perhaps there will be a third meeting down the road. When Jared Anderson was roughed-up and stopped by Martin Bakole, Torrez Jr (currently 12-0, 11 KOs) vaulted ahead of him on the list of the top home-grown American heavyweights. But Torrez Jr, a short-armed heavyweight who overcomes his physical limitations with a windmill offense, would be a heavy underdog should they ever meet again.
Bakhodir Jalolov’s last bout before heading off to Paris was against the obscure South African Chris Thompson. His match on Thursday at the Montreal Casino in Montreal pits him against an obscure 33-year-old Frenchman, David Spilmont.
Spilmont’s last two opponents were the same guy, an undersized Lithuanian slug who has lost 36 of his 41 documented fights. It seems almost inevitable that Spilmont will suffer the same fate as Thompson who was KOed in the first round.
There’s talk that Jalolov doesn’t really care how far he advances at the professional level; that he has his sights set on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles where he would have an opportunity to become only the fourth boxer to win three Olympic gold medals, joining the immortal Teofilo Stevenson, Hungarian legend Laszlo Papp, and Cuban standout Felix Savon. Were he to accomplish the hat trick, they would build monuments to him in Uzbekistan. But, if that is his mindset, he’s skating on thin ice. There’s no guarantee that boxing will be on the docket at the Los Angeles Games and, if so, the powers-that-be may choose to roll back the calendar to the days when the competition was off-limits to anyone with professional experience.
While it’s true that Jalolov needs to work off some rust, a pox on promoter Camille Estephan and his enabler, the Quebec Boxing Commission, for not dredging up a more credible opponent than the grossly overmatched David Spilmont.
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Jalolov vs. Spilmont is ostensibly the co-feature. The main event is a 10-round junior welterweight clash between Movladdin “Arthur” Biyarslanov (17-0, 14 KOs) and Spilmont stablemate Mohamed Mimoune (24-6, 5 KOs). Undefeated light heavyweights Albert Ramirez and Mehmet Unal will appear in separate bouts on the undercard. The Feb. 6 event, currently consisting of seven bouts, will air in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT.
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Claressa Shields Powers to Undisputed Heavyweight Championship
Claressa Shields blasted her way to the undisputed heavyweight championship and nearly knocked out challenger Danielle Perkins in the final seconds, but settled for a win by unanimous decision on Sunday.
Yes, she can punch.
“I just feel overwhelmed and so happy.” Shields said.
Shields (16-0, 3 KOs) proved that even the super athletic Perkins (5-1, 2 KOs), a true heavyweight, could not stop her from becoming an undisputed world champion in a third weight division at Dort Arena in Flint, Michigan, her home town.
In the opening round it was easy to see the size difference. Shields calmly measured Perkins long right jabs then countered with rocket rights through the guard. The speed was evident in Shield’s punches. Perkins used jabs to work her way in but was caught with counters.
“That girl was strong as hell,” said Shields describing Perkins.
Perkins, a southpaw, was somewhat confident that she was the stronger puncher and the stronger fighter overall. But when Shields connected with 10 rocket overhand rights in the third round the power moved Perkins several feet backward.
Suddenly, Perkins realized that indeed Shields has power.
Perkins became more cautious with her approaches. Though the true heavyweight was not frozen in fear, she was wary about getting caught flush with Shields rights. But bullet jabs and lightning combinations still rained on Perkins.
Finding a way to nullify Shields speed was crucial for Perkins.
The former basketball player Perkins continually proved her athleticism with agile moves here and there, but Shields just was superior in every way.
When Perkins became focused too much on the right, a Shields left hook caught the New York native flush. Suddenly there was another Shields weapon to worry about.
Many critics of Shields had focused on her lack of knockouts. But in her previous fight against another heavyweight, the two-time Olympic gold medalist surprised Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse with knockout power. It’s the same power Shields showed Perkins as if firing a fast ball by powering her right with leverage by using her left leg to produce momentum and an explosive punch.
In the 10th and final round Shields and Perkins exchanged blows. Perkins was looking to connect with one of her power shots when suddenly Shields countered with a perfectly timed right to the chin and down went Perkins with about 10 seconds remaining. She beat the count to finish the round.
“I showed I was the bigger puncher and better boxer,” said Shields. “I knew I could do it because I’m really strong at heavyweight.”
All three judges favored Shields 100-89, 99-90 and 97-92.
It was another convincing performance by Shields. So what is next for the best female fighter pound for pound?
“I want to fight Franchon Crews, Hanna Gabriels,” said Shields also naming a few others. “Flint, (Michigan) I love you all so much.”
Other Bouts
A heavyweight clash saw why there is a rule against holding. Brandon Moore (17-1) and Skylar Lacy (8-1-2) punched and held throughout their eight rounds. Referee Steve Willis finally disqualified Lacy when he tackled Moore and took him through the ropes and on to table below.
No, holding and clinching is not part of the fight game. Now you know why.
Moore was ruled the winner by disqualification due to unsportsmanlike conduct by Lacy at 1:35 of the eighth. No need to describe the fight.
A battle between undefeated welterweights saw Joseph Hicks (12-0, 8 KOs) stop Keon Papillon (10-1-1, 7 KOs) at 1:35 of the seventh round. Hicks stunned Papillon at the end of the sixth, then unloaded in the seventh round to force a stoppage.
Joshua Pagan (12-0) out-battled Ronal Ron (16-8) over eight rounds to win the lightweight match by unanimous decision.
Samantha Worthington (11-0) defeated Vaida Masiokaite (10-27-6) by decision after eight rounds in a super lightweight bout.
Featherweight Caroline Veyre (9-1) out-boxed the shorter Carmen Vargas (5-3-1) to win by decision after six rounds.
Super bantamweight Asheleyann Lozada (1-0) won her pro debut by unanimous decision over Denise Moran (3-1) in a four-round fight.
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Benavidez Defeats Morrell; Cruz, Fulton, and Ramos also Victorious at Las Vegas
David Benavidez showed fans why they call him “El Monstro” as he plowed through Cuba’s heavy-punching David Morrell to retain a number one ranking in the light heavyweight division by unanimous decision on Saturday.
Not even a flash knockdown for Morrell could make a difference.
Phoenix native Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) gave Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) his first loss as a professional in front of more than 15,000 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. No one needed to hear the judge’s decision.
“I prepared for everything. I know he’s a great fighter,” said Benavidez. “I thought he was going to hit harder, but he didn’t.”
Before the fight, Morrell was almost an even bet according to oddsmakers, but that was not the case once the fight commenced.
Immediately Benavidez pounded the body and exposed the weaknesses of Morrell’s peek-a-boo defense by using his own left glove to push down the Cuban’s guard. Then immediately firing a crushing right to the jaw.
For the first four rounds Benavidez pounded away on the left and right side of Morrell’s body. And when the openings came the uppercuts caught Morrell’s chin. But he absorbed the blows.
Morrell didn’t waver in trying to find a solution. Though Benavidez connected often to the body and head, the Cuban fighter who moved up from super middleweight displayed a very solid chin.
In the fourth round during a furious exchange Morrell beat Benavidez to the punch that stunned him momentarily. But the blow seemed to spark outrage and a storm of blows followed from Benavidez.
It must have seemed like a nightmare for Morrell.
At times the Cuban fighter would connect perfectly with a right hook and pause. Then Benavidez would return fire with massive blows.
The look on Morrell’s face bore traces of disappointment.
As the rounds continued Benavidez became emboldened by his success. Soon the Mexican Monster began launching lead right uppercuts through Morrell’s guard especially in the sixth round.
“He was easier to hit than I expected,” Benavidez said.
During the breaks Morrell’s corner asked him to pressure Benavidez. It was a fruitless suggestion. How do you corner a Monster?
Benavidez continued to stalk Morrell who never stopped swinging but could not seem to hurt the Monster. In the 11th round Morrell managed to catch Benavidez perfectly with a right hook and down went Benavidez. He immediately got up and the two fighters unloaded on each other. Morrell fired one punch after the bell and was deducted a point by referee Thomas Taylor. That negated the extra point gained from the knockdown.
“I wasn’t really hurt,” said Benavidez. “That bullshit knockdown caught me off-balance.”
The final round saw both resume their efforts to knock the other out. Both showed great chins and the ability to trade. Benavidez was simply better. Even Morrell didn’t wait for the decision to be read as he raised the arm of the Monster at the final bell. All three judges scored in favor of Benavidez 115-111 twice and 118-108.
“He knows this is Monstro’s world. Big shout out for Morrell, he’s a tough fighter,” Benavidez said.
Other Bouts
In a fight dedicated to honor the late Israel Vazquez, the ultimate Aztec warrior, super lightweights Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (27-3-1) and Angel Fierro (23-3-2) battled like demons for 10 nonstop rounds. Cruz was ruled the winner by unanimous decision.
With little resemblance of defense, Cruz and Fierro whacked each other relentlessly with shots that might have stopped a moving car. Cruz was tagged by a right cross on the top of the head that staggered him momentarily. Fierro was driven back four feet by an overhand right to the chin early in the fight.
Both fighters took cruel and unusual punishment and never wavered more than a few seconds. It was brutal war and fans were the winners after 10 rounds of violent and savage action.
All three judges saw Cruz the winner 96-94, 97-93, 98-92.
“I’m so happy I gave the fans a great fight,” Cruz said.
Fulton Wins
Stephen Fulton (23-1, 8 KOs) defeated Brandon Figueroa (23-2-1, 19 KOs) again and took the WBC featherweight title by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. He had previously defeated Figueroa in 2021 for the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles.
Most of the action took place in nose-to-nose fashion where Fulton landed the cleaner shots especially with uppercuts. Figueroa had his moments but was unable to hurt the challenger who lost to Naoya Inoue by knockout 17 months ago.
Fulton landed clean shots but as his record shows he lacks the power with only eight knockouts on his record. But Figueroa was unable to hurt or knock down Fulton. After 12 rounds all three judges saw Fulton win by scores of 116-112 twice and 117-111,
“It feels good. I’m champion again,” said Fulton.
Ramos Wins
Jesus Ramos (22-1, 18 KOs) won by technical knockout over former world champion Jeison Rosario (24-5-2) in the eighth round of a middleweight fight. Both fighters attacked the body but by the sixth round Ramos was the busier fighter and began to dominate the fight. At 2:18 of the eighth round referee Robert Hoyle stopped the fight.
“I like to throw a lot of body punches. It’s kind of my style,” said Ramos.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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