WBC Welterweight Title Fight
Andre Berto (26-0, 20 KOs) TKO 8 Carlos Quintana (27-3, 21 KOs
Official time of stoppage: 2:16 in round eight.
What a year it has been for Andre Berto. First he gets the assignment of a lifetime, a title defense against the great Shane Mosley. Then, due to the earthquake in his parent’s native Haiti, Berto cancels the fight and heads to the island for a week long relief mission. With Mosley set to lock horns against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Berto prepared to face the tough Puerto Rican Carlos Quintana. The 11-month hiatus from the ring was evident early on as Berto looked everything but sharp. Of course, Quintana should be given some credit for giving Berto fits with constant movement and clinches. But just as the fight was getting ugly, Berto hit his stride and after bludgeoning Quintana for the majority of the eight round, the fight was mercifully stopped by the referee.
Interim WBA Featherweight Title Fight
Celestino Caballero (34-2, 23 KOs) UD 12 Daud Yordan (25-1, 19 KOs)
Scores: 119-108, 119-108, 120-107
Caballero is a freak of a fighter, one who is capable of throwing a jaw-dropping number of punches in a round with no visible signs of fatigue. While he chases his dream fight with Juan Manuel Lopez, a fight less likely to happen following Caballero’s dominance on Saturday, Caballero took on the tough, but untested Yordan. Poor Yordan, while he was game for most of the fight, the simple fact of the matter is that Caballero was too much, too good, and too strong for the young fighter. This was simply a one-sided beat down of the cruelest order and shame of Yordan’s corner for subjecting their fighter to the type of punishment that could end a career.
World Boxing Federation Heavyweight Title Fight
Evander Holyfield (43-10-2, 28 KOs) TKO 8 Francois Botha (47-5-3, 28 KOs)
Official time of stoppage: 0:55 in round eight.
Never mind that this farce of a fight was for a “title”, but shame on the prompters of this event for exploiting two fighters who are less than shells of their former selves. In a battle that held little more action than last Saturday’s Hopkins-Jones travesty, Holyfield had just enough to finish a severely out of shape Botha. Never mind that Botha was never a top-tier heavyweight in his prime, but Holyfield was, which is why their fight on Saturday was such a sad affair. While the fight itself was boring, the end came swift once Botha gassed out in the middle rounds. A Holyfield right hand ended the night, and unfortunately gave Holyfield justification to call out the Klitschko brothers. Heaven have mercy on the souls of anyone sick enough to make that fight.
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