Bradley tops Abregu in welter debut

Ringside by Francisco Salazar
Photography by “Big” Joe Miranda

After winning a 12-round unanimous decision over previously-unbeaten Luis Carlo Abregu, in his first legitimate bout as a welterweight, Timothy Bradley wants the biggest welterweight out there.

Like Manny Pacquiao.

Then again, he is also open to going down to 140 pounds and facing some of the top fighters in that weight class. And that includes a match up against Devon Alexander or Amir Khan.

“I’m a throwback fighter. I want to fight them all," he said after defeating defeated Abregu in front of a pro-Bradley crowd of 2,152 at the Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The bout headlined an eight bout card, presented by Gary Shaw Productions and Thompson Boxing Promotions.

Bradley and Abregu were originally scheduled to face one another in June, but Bradley took a bout against another 140-pound titleholder, Marcos Maidana. When Maidana suffered a back injury in April, promoter Gary Shaw was able to get Bradley and Abregu to fight one another again. Shaw promotes both fighters.

Bradley had not fought since December, also at the Agua Caliente Casino, winning a 12 round unanimous decision over previously-unbeaten Lamont Peterson. Despite suffering a knockdown, Abregu defeated Richard Gutierrez in his last fight, winning a wide ten-round decision.

In the opening round, both fighters were cut by an accidental head butt. Bradley was cut along his right eye while Abregu was cut on the right side of his forehead, right below his hairline. Ironically, it was Bradley’s first time suffering a cut in his professional career.

Despite the cut, Bradley was able to control the action, momentarily stunning Abregu with an overhand right to the chin and also finding a home for lead or counter left hooks to the head of Abregu. To his credit, Abregu did not lose his composure, occasionally landing a left hooks, but nothing flush.

Abregu had a decent fourth round, catching Bradley with a series of right hands to the head. Again, he was not able to catch Bradley flush, but the punches did land.

Bradley used the middle rounds to move in and out of Abregu’s reach, landing to the head and body. At times, Bradley would miss wildly, but Abregu was not quick enough to capitalize on Bradley’s mistakes as Bradley would be out of Abregu’s reach.

In the seventh, Abregu went down to the canvas as both fighters’ heads again collided. There was some questions as to if a punch did land, but television replays clearly showed both fighters’ heads collide.

Abregu had his best round in the eighth, connecting with a series of left hooks to the head and body. He was much busier and at times, had Bradley backing up rather than going side to side. Abregu started strong in the ninth, by landing a hard left hook to the body. However, Bradley came on strong, landing a series of left hooks of his own on Abregu.

Bradley was able to control the tempo in the final rounds of the bout. He would make Abregu miss often and attempted to counter as best he could. He would land with a left or a right, but would miss at times. Both had their moments in the final minute of the last round, exchanging punches until the final bell.

Bradley’s performance was more than enough to convince the judges, earning scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112. Fightnews.com scored the bout 117-111 in favor of Bradley.

“He’s a hard puncher and my corner told me to calm down and not rush in,” said Bradley, who called out Amir Khan, Devon Alexander, and recognized number one pound for pound fighter, Manny Pacquiao. “I did feel his power a little bit. I just want to fight the best out there. If the money’s right, I’ll fight them all.”

Abregu acknowledged a hurt right hand in training, but complimented Bradley on his style and victory.

“He was every bit as tough as I though he was going to be. I don’t agree with a unanimous decision victory for him. I thought the fight was more of a draw. I want a rematch or if that doesn’t happen, then I will fight the best fighters out there. I have a long journey back.”

Bradley, from Palm Springs, CA, improves to 26-0, 11 KO’s. Abregu, from Salta, Argentina, falls to 29-1, 23 KO’s.

Angulo stops Alcine

In the co-feature bout of the evening, popular super welterweight contender Alfredo Angulo stopped former world titleholder Joachim Alcine in the first round of a scheduled 12 round eliminator bout. With the victory, Angulo is the No. 1 contender for a world title bout.

Angulo was victorious in his last bout in April, knocking out fellow super welterweight contender Joel Julio in the 11th round of a 12 round bout. Alcine had not fought in over seven months, winning a 12 round unanimous decision over French fringe contender Christophe Canclaux.

After a few exchanges in the first half of the opening round, Angulo landed a right hand to the head of Alcine. After the punch landed, Alcine grabbed onto Angulo’s left arm. In the meantime, Angulo landed 12-14 unanswered right hands to the head of Alcine.

“He was hurt because he grabbed onto my arm,” said Angulo, who has won his last four bouts in a row, since a 12 round decision loss to Kermit Cintron last May. “He wanted to hold on. I had one hand free to punch so I threw as many punches as I could.”

After both fighters were separated, Alcine was able to come back with a nice left hook to the chin of Angulo. However, Angulo came on strong, landing a series of punches that backed Alcine against the ropes. Angulo landed a hard right hand to the head, followed by a left hook that prompted referee Dr. Lou Moret to step in and stop the bout at 2:59.

“I knew it was going to be a tough fight against Alcine,” reflected Angulo, who thanked strength and conditioning coach Daryl Hudson for putting him through hard workout sessions during training. “He likes to work hard and so do I. We worked on combinations in the gym, but working with Daryl was excellent.”

“I wanted to keep going,” said Alcine, who held a title at 154 pounds before losing it to Daniel Santos two years ago. "I should have held on to him rather than punch. My punches were too wide.”

Angulo, from Downey, CA by way of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, improves to 19-1, 16 KO’s. Alcine, from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, drops to 32-2, 19 KO’s.

DeMarco tops Attah with TKO

Lightweight contender and former world titleholder Antonio DeMarco stopped former world title challenger Daniel Attah in the second round of a 10 round bout.

After winning the first round by being busier, DeMarco dropped Attah in the second round with an overhand left cross to the head. Attah stood up on very wobbly legs and tried to fight back. However, DeMarco pinned Attah against the ropes, landing hard left hands to the head, prompting referee Raul Caiz, Jr. to stop the bout at 2:30. Attah vehemently protested the stoppage.

DeMarco, from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, improves to 24-2-1, 18 KO’s. Attah, from Miami Beach, FL by way of Kalaba, Nigeria, drops to 24-6-1, 8 KO’s.

Hovhannesyan bests Favela

Art Hovhannesyan remained unbeaten with an eight round unanimous decision victory over veteran trial Cristian Favela.

Favela did very little in the first half of the fight, landing a few punches every round. Hovhannesyan was content to set up his combinations behind a jab. However, Favela pressed the action more in the second half of the fight, letting his hands go more. However, as Favela would land more, Hovhannesyan was able to outland Favela at a rate of two or three punches to one.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Hovhannesyan, with scores of 77-75, 77-75, and 78-74.

Hovhannesyan from Glendale, CA by way of Yerevan, Armenia, improves to 12-0-1, 6 KO’s. Favela, from Los Angeles, CA by way of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, drops to 19-28-6, 10 KO’s.

Salas decisions De La Cruz

Junior flyweight Gloria Salas won a four round unanimous decision over Katarina De La Cruz.

The shorter Salas controlled the action in the first two rounds. Salas was much busier and was able to score inside to the head and body. De La Cruz had her best round in the third, as she connected with left hooks and right crosses to the head. However, the rally was short-lived as Salas controlled the fourth round, backing up De La Cruz. Both fighters finished the fight with a few good exchanges before the final bell sounded.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Salas, with scores of 40-36, 40-36, and 39-37. Fightnews.com scored the bout 39-37 in favor of Salas.

Salas, from Rancho Mirage, CA, improves to 3-4-1, 1 KO. De La Cruz, from Los Angeles, CA, falls to 0-4-1.

Lopez stops Boxley

Abraham Lopez remained unbeaten, as Willshaun Boxley remained on his stool after the third round of a scheduled six round bout.

Lopez put his punches together well, moving forward and throwing left hooks and crosses. Boxley attempted to counter as Lopez went forward. Boxley was much busier in the second, connecting with the occasional hook or cross to the head. However, Lopez was busier in the third round, landing more vicious shots to the head. Although it would have been better to set up punches behind the jab, Lopez attacked the body as well. Boxley attempted to again counter, but his punch output dropped significantly.

After the third round, Boxley’s corner advised referee Raul Caiz, Jr. to stop the fight, citing an undisclosed injury.

Lopez, from La Puente, CA, goes to 12-0, 10 KO’s. Boxley, from Coon Rapids, MN, falls to 5-7, 3 KO’s.

Serrano tops Cruz

Junior lightweight Rufino Serrano won a four round unanimous decision over Eduardo Cruz.

Serrano was much quicker than Cruz throughout the fight, throwing and landing mostly arm punches to the head and body. Moving towards Serrano, Cruz attempted to counter and would land as both were on the inside. Cruz was able to connect more in the third round. He found success more with overhand right hands to the head. However, Serrano dominated the fourth round, landing an abundant amount of hard left hooks and right crosses to the head and body.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Serrano, with scores of 40-36, 40-36, and 39-37.

Serrano, from Santa Maria, CA, goes to 6-3. Cruz, from East Los Angeles, CA, falls to 1-1, 1 KO.

Diaz wins in debut

Featherweight Joel Diaz had a very successful professional debut, knocking out Rene Torrez in the second round of a scheduled four round fight.

Diaz dominated Torrez in the first round, easily out landing his much-slower opponent. Diaz, from Lancaster, CA, dropped Torrez with a left hook to the temple in the opening moments of the second round. Torrez got up, but dropped again to one knee. Referee Jack Reiss counted Torrez out at 23 seconds.

Torrez, from Pomona, CA, drops to 0-3-1.

Ringside Notes

- Brothers Antonio and Julio Diaz took in the action from ringside.

- Bob Papa, Max Kellerman, and Harold Lederman called the action from ringside for HBO’s Boxing After Dark.

- Ring announcer for the televised portion of the card was Michael Buffer. Ring announcer for the non-televised portion of the card was radio show host Marc Lichtenfeld.