McJoe Arroyo vinner IBF Junior Boxning VM & Amir Imam tjänar skott på 140-pound titeln på Showtime Championship Boxing®
Titta Den Replay Måndag Vid 10 p.m. OCH/PT på SHOWTIME EXTREME
STEG, TEXAS (Juli 18, 2015) - Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. tjänade ett enhälligt beslut (97-92, 98-91, 96-93) över Marcos Reyes i den viktigaste händelsen i SHOWTIME Championship Boxing på lördag framför 9,245 på Don Haskins Center i El Paso, Texas.
Reyes was the more active fighter – he doubled Chavez’s output – but simply couldn’t hurt his larger opponent. Following a loss at light heavyweight last April, Chavez beslöt att försöka kämpa på super mellanvikt.
Chavez (49-2-1, 32 Kos), som kämpade för första gången med tränare Robert Garcia, tycktes kunna landa sin makt skott efter behag, however he would pick his spots and had long bouts of inactivity. Although he was working with a new trainer, Chavez fortsatte att skrämma fram och slogs en mycket liknande kamp som han gjorde mot Andrezj Fonfara i april, denna gång mot en mindre motståndare.
“I won. This is big for me and Robert,” Chavez said. “I can do it better, but I won and that is the important thing. I’m going to fight at 168 pounds. Undan för undan, I’m going to get down in weight. We know we’re doing much better work in the gym.
“In the third round I hurt my left hand. I think it’s broken, Jag vet inte. I’ll see the doctor. With all respect to Reyes, om jag inte hade ont min hand skulle jag ha slagit ut honom.
“I connected on the best punches to the chin and the body. Jag skada honom, but I couldn’t finish him because I hurt my hand. He threw a lot of punches but missed a lot. Han skadar aldrig mig. I felt I hurt him every time I landed.”
Efter kampen, Reyes (33-3, 24 Kos) predikade hans fall till SHOWTIME reporter Jim Gray och påpekade vikten skillnad.
“I feel I won the fight. I showed him how I box,” Reyes said. “I made the weight at 168 and he didn’t make weight. He’s like a light heavyweight fighting a middleweight.
"Jag var mot alla odds - domaren, vikten, allt. Jag tror att jag vann kampen. It’s OK – I did my best.”
I co-funktionen, McJoe Arroyo vann ett tekniskt beslut över Arthur Villanueva att vinna den vakanta IBF junior Boxning VM efter anfallen stoppades vid 2:10 i 10th round due to a deep gash over Villanueva’s right eye. The fight went to the judges’ scorecards and Villanueva was ahead 97-92, 98-91 Efter domarna gjorde det 10th.
Puerto Rican Arroyo (17-0, 8 Kos) blev den tredje jaktplan från ön för att vinna en 115-pound titeln.
The lefty-righty matchup was at times highly technical and foul-filled. Referee Rafael Ramos deducted a point against Villanueva (27-1, 14 Kos) for leading with his head in the sixth. In a different clash in the sixth, a deep gash opened up over the right eye of Villanueva that ultimately led to the stoppage. Ramos ruled that the clash that opened the cut was unintentional.
Dr. Brian August inspected the cut midway through the seventh round and again after the eighth. Ramos again signaled for August to inspect the cut in the 10th and ruled that it was too deep to continue. In an interview with Jim Gray, Augusti uppgav att han stoppat matchen i bästa intresse fighter men att Villanueva hävdade han hade inga syn problem.
"När han var på väg in, he was entering low. He was clashing heads a lot,” Arroyo said. “Before the fight, I knew he was a tough fighter. All Philippine fighters come to fight. I knew I had to be ready for 12 rundor, boxing or brawling. It was a competitive fight but we just worked harder every round.”
När du uppmanas av Gray om det var svårt att hitta sin rytm, Arroyo reagerade, “That’s a normal thing when a southpaw fights a right hander. We were both trying to be slick and smart. That happens when two boxers with the same style fight.”
Villanueva höll med stoppet och efterlyste en omedelbar returmatch.
"Det var en tuff kamp och mycket tufft för mig efter skallning,” Villanueva said. “I thought I won the fight. I didn’t want them to stop the fight because it was just getting into the flow. I’m disappointed with the stoppage. Jag vet att jag kan slå honom och jag vill ha en omedelbar returmatch. "
I öppnings skjutningen av kvällen, obesegrad 140 pund utmanare slog ut Fernando Angulo med en dundrande rätt att tjäna en obligatorisk skott på vinnaren av den planerade fall uppgörelse mellan Viktor Postol och Lucas Matthysse för den vakanta WBC Superlätt VM.
Det visade sig vara en svår kamp för Imam (18-0, 15 Kos), men han var alltid i kontroll och ytterst noggrann, landning 54 procent av sin makt slag jämfört med bara 17 för Angulo (28-10, 16 Kos). Imam ended the bout in brilliant fashion with a powerful right to Angulo’s ear, tvingar sin motståndare att falla ansikte fram till duken och domaren att omedelbart stoppa matchen vid :56.
“I take my hat off. He’s a good opponent,” Imam said. “I just hit him with a big shot on his ear and he was done.
“These guys get the belts and just hold it. I’m going to get the belt and hold it with pride.”
Nämnda Imam promotorn och Hall of Famer Don King, "Det var en utmärkt prestanda - precis vad jag förväntade mig och mer. You should never underestimate but pontificate when it comes to the ‘Young Master.’ We will take the belts and anyone that comes in front of us.”