-Contributor: Nolan Howell
Super Lightweight: Terence Crawford defeated John Molina Jr. by eighth-round TKO to retain the WBC and WBO World super lightweight titles.
Molina did what he could after disappointing the crowd and costing himself the titles a day before, weighing four pounds over at the weigh-ins, but Crawford lit up the bullish brawler coming in and earned an eighth-round stoppage. Crawford spent the first round orthodox before switching up to southpaw the rest of the fight. The power advantage was even more noticeable after the switch and Crawford peppered the body maliciously, where a straight left sent Molina reeling into the corner in the eighth and a head-body flurry finished him off. Crawford looked impressive in his hometown once again despite the disappointing build and, though a fight with Manny Pacquiao was teased, nothing seems to be off the table as Crawford looks to continue his rise.
Lightweight: Raymundo Beltran defeated Mason Menard by seventh-round KO to win the NABF and WBO NABO lightweight titles.
Beltran looked sharper than ever against Menard, demonstrating a lot more power than we have ever previously seen. While Menard was able to get a few power shots in there, the fight was dictated by the lead left hand from Beltran and using the right to batter the body. That left hook spelled the end for Menard as he clobbered Beltran with a left to the body, but exited by popping his head up and leaving his right hand low. Beltran countered with a left hook that slept Menard and capped off a great performance. With Beltran, who knows what can be next and how he will do? But, this was a unique and impressive showing from a fighter who is aiming to be more than just action opening card fodder in his twilight.
-Nolan can be reached @undercardnolan or at [email protected]
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