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Uncasville, Conn. - August, 2, 2020 – Angelo Leo is the new WBO Jr. Weltmeister im Federgewicht. The 26-year-old Mayweather Promotions fighter dominated Tramaine Williams en route to a unanimous decision live on SHOWTIME Saturday night from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. in the network’s first live boxing event since March 13. Leo won by scores of 117-111 und 118-110 zweimal.
Löwe (20-0, 9 KOs), who was originally scheduled to face Stephen Fulton, Jr. in the main event of Saturday’s card presented by Premier Boxing Champions before Fulton tested positive for COVID-19, used a dominant body attack and consistent pressure to overwhelm Williams (19-1, 6 KOs), who stepped up from the co-main event to face Leo. Albuquerque’s Leo had a 248-196 edge in punches landed while landing 39 Prozent seiner Macht Schläge. 102 seines 248 connects were body punches.
Löwe, who was ranked WBO’s No. 2 junior featherweight going into the fight, is now expected to defend his title against Fulton, Kein Platz. 1 von der WBO, within the next 180 Tage.
“It still hasn’t sunk in yet, it just feels surreal,” said Leo. “The first few rounds I was just feeling him out, getting his timing, getting the feel of him. I felt him kind of loosening up and breaking down, and that’s when I started putting the pressure on him a little more.
“That was the key factor in this fight, the body work and the pressure. I’m pretty sure Albuquerque is celebrating tonight. I think they have four world champions, because you can’t exclude Holly Holm. You have Johnny [Tapia], Danny [Romero], Holly and now me. There’s four champions in that city and I think I’ve made history there.”
Fulton, who watched the fight on television while quarantining following his positive test, was interviewed following the fight by SHOWTIME host Brian Custer.
“Congratulations to Leo, he did it,” said the Philadelphia native. “But listen, Ich bin bereit für ihn. I’ve been ready. Just be ready to face me when it’s time. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
In der Zusammenarbeit vorgestellten bout, a WBA Super Bantamweight Title Eliminator, 122-pound contender Ra’eese Aleem (17-0, 11 KOs) kept his undefeated record intact via TKO over late replacement Marcus Bates (11-2-1, 8 KOs). Aleem was originally scheduled to face Williams before Fulton’s positive test. This was a rematch of a 2018 bout in which Aleem won by unanimous decision.
The 26-year-old Bates suffered an injured right wrist and battled through the pain for several rounds. Prior to the start of the 10th Runde, Bates’ corner and referee Gary Rosato warned the fighter that the bout was in danger of being stopped. Bei 2:18 Rund 10, Bates grimaced in pain and turned his back on the action, causing the fight to be stopped. Aleem dominated from the opening bell, out-landing Bates 193-86 in Gesamtschlägen, einschließlich 71 landed body shots.
Mit dem Sieg, Aleem sets himself up for an opportunity for a 122-pound title fight.
“I would love to fight either the winner of the main event or any current world champion – Akhmadaliev has two of the belts,” said the Las Vegas-based Aleem who was born and raised in Muskegon, Mich. “Brandon Figueroa, König Vargas, or the winner of this one. It doesn’t really matter who but I want the strap.
“I didn’t know his hand was hurt, I thought he was just shaking it just to try to get me to look at it and distract me. I didn’t worry about it.”
In der Eröffnungsrede Kampf der Sendung, undefeated light heavyweight Joe George (11-0, 7 KOs) scored a stunning ninth-round stoppage of Marco Escudero (10-2, 9 KOs) in a rematch of their November ShoBox showdown that saw George win a heavily-debated split decision. Watch KO HERE: https://twitter.com/ShowtimeBoxing/status/1289744838745882624.
Dieses Mal, George left no room for a controversial decision. Bei 3:00 of round number nine, George caught Escudero with a vicious left uppercut that sent Escudero flat on his back in a candidate for KO of the Year. Zum Zeitpunkt des Stillstands, George was behind on two of the judges’ scorecards, 79-73 und 77-75, and ahead on one judge’s card, 79-73. Prior to the one-punch KO, George was getting out-landed 127-89 by Escudero, and Escudero held a 2-1 edge in punches thrown.
“I was setting him up with the jab to the body, I had him leaning over a little,” said Houston’s George, die gedreht 31 am Freitag. “I was shooting the right uppercut, some landed and some didn’t. I wanted him to get comfortable and relaxed, and that’s exactly what he did. He was relaxed and I slipped over and just shot it. He gave it to me and I had to take it. It put him down.
“The result is self-explanatory. I don’t have to say nothing. I’m willing to fight whoever next. One fight at a time and I’ll be prepared for whatever’s on the way.”
Saturday’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast, the first of a nine-event television lineup taking place over the next five months, will replay on Monday at 10 p.m. ET / PT auf Showtime EXTREME.
Saturday’s fights were presented by Premier Boxing Champions and promoted by TGB and Mayweather Promotions in association with Kings Promotions. The main event was promoted in association with New World Sports and Warriors Boxing.
Ein branchenführendes Produktionsteam und eine Ankündigungsmannschaft lieferten alle Sehenswürdigkeiten, sounds and drama from Mohegan Sun Arena. Der erfahrene Sender Brian Custer moderierte die Sendung, versatile combat sports voice Mauro Ranallo called the action ringside alongside Hall of Fame analyst Al Bernstein and three-division world champion and Olympian Abner Mares providing expert analysis for the first time on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. Two Hall of Famers rounded out the SHOWTIME telecast team – unofficial ringside scorer Steve Farhood and world-renowned ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. The Executive Producer was David Dinkins, Jr. und der Direktor war Bob Dunphy.
Die Sendung war auf Spanisch über Secondary Audio Programing verfügbar (SAP) mit Alejandro Luna und Ex-Weltmeister Raul Marquez Aufruf der Aktion.
