NEW YORK–Danny Garcia retained the WBA/WBC?Ring Magazine Super Lightweight championship with a twelve round unanimous decision over former two division world champion Zab Judah at the Barclays Center.
The first few rounds were close but Garcia tried to land the hard right while Judah moved and looked for a win with the jab. Garcia had a strong round four that was highlighted by hard left hook that bounced off the jaw of Judah. Garcia had a big round five as he rocked and buckled Judah with hard right. Garcia was all over Judah and landed many power shots. Round six Garcia come out and jump all over Judah in the corner. he landed some thudding power shots that had the challenger in trouble for mist of the round.
In round eight, Judah landed his best left hand of the night but got countered with a hard right hand that sent Judah to the canvas. Upon getting to his feet a cut formed under his left eye. Judah made it a fight when rocked Garcia continuously in round eleven. A headbutt opened up a huge gash in the middle of Garcia’s frehead in the beginning of round twelve. Judah failed to capitalize on any of the momentum he garnered for himself in the previous six minutes. The two swung and connected down the stretch but Judah’s failure to unleash his left hand earlier probably cost him the contest.
Garcia won by scores 115-112, 114-112 and 116-111.
Garcia, 139.8 lbs of Philadelphia is now 26-0. Judah, 140 lbs of Brooklyn is 42-8.
After the fight Garcia (26-0, 16 KO’s) praised Judah, saying, “It was a hell of a fight. I had to beat the Brooklyn guy in his hometown. I knew he had a lot of pride behind him and he was never going to give up. He is a crafty veteran with power. He hit me with a good shot. He hit me in the eleventh with a left hand that spun me around. It shook me up a little bit.”
He continued “I am a true champion and I had to fight through a storm tonight to prove that. Judah is the craftiest and strongest guy that I have fought so far. I knew he had a lot of power with the left, but I was able to stand my ground and counter it. My game plan was to try to use the jab, but he was stepping around. He was crafty and he took my jab away so I had to do what I had to do.”
Referring to the bad blood between the two fighters, Garcia said, “It’s gone. It’s respect. As you can see, it’s a lot of bad blood. I’ve got cuts. He has cuts. We came here and gave the people of Brooklyn a nice show.”
Speaking on his performance, Judah (42-8, 29 KO’s) said, “It’s boxing and things happen. You win some, you lose some. Danny is a young, tough fighter. I was on my A-game tonight. I worked hard. I had a great training camp and we gave it our best shot.”
When asked if this would be his last fight Judah emphatically responded, “You’re going to see me fight again. Why would I quit?”
Peter Quillin made the defense of the WBO Middleweight championship with a seventh round stoppage over Fernando Guerrero.
After a lackluster first round, Quillin landed a vicious right that sent Guerrero to the canvas in round two. Guerrero was hurt badly and Quillin jumped on him and landed uppercut followed by a right that dropped the challenger for a second time in the round. Quillin was not down as he buckled Guerrero badly with a ghard roght just before the round came to an end. Guerrero was having a solid round four until a big right to the temple buckled him yet again. Round five was an incredible display of courage as both guys took turns landing hard power shots at close range.
Quillin came out in round seven and dropped Guerrero in the opening seconds from a right hand that sent Guerrero rubbery legged into the bottom rope. Guerrero was hurt and ate a huge right hand that sent him flat on his back and referee Harvey Dock stopped the bout at 1:30 of round seven.
Quillin, 160 lbs from Brooklyn is now 29-0 with 21 KO’s. Guerrero, 160 lbs of Salisbury, MD is now 25-2.
After the win,Quillin reflected on his preparation and the fight itself saying, “It’s the journey that is the most important. I have to thank Fernando for coming up, but he couldn’t do it. I had to do it for New York City.
“There is no concern when you are trying to stick to the gameplan. I believed in what my corner was telling me. I value their opinion and fernando came. This wasn’t a fight that was made because we thought that I could beat Fernando Guerrero. He came and had the opportunity. I’m very thankful.
“I’m inpsired by my team. It’s always working to try to do your best. I was working hard to do my best. I put myself through a hard training camp to try to come to this fight and try to look like superman. The sky is the limit.”
Former world title challenger Daniel Jacobs scored a fourth round beatdown of Keenan Collins in a scheduled eight round Middleweight bout.
Jacobs dropped Collins twice in round four from blistering left hooks. Collins continued on until he was battered all over the ring and the fight was stopped at 2:06 of round four.
Jacobs, 161 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 25-1 with 22 knockouts. Collins, 161 lbs of Brooklyn is now 15-8-3.
Former world Welterweight champion Luis Collazo scored a fifth round stoppage over Miguel Callist in a scheduled eight round bout.
Collazo was dominant throughout as he dropped Callist in round three and round five and the fight was waved off at 1:33 of round five.
Collazo, 146.4 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 33-5 with 17 knockouts. Collins, 147.4 lbs of Brooklyn is 27-9-1.
Eddie Gomez beat up Luis Hernandez over eight rounds to pound a unanimous decision in a Jr. middleweight bout.
In round one Gomez landed some heavy blows and scored a knockdown at the end of the round with a thunderous right hand. Gomez hurt Hernandez with some vicious shots in round two. Hernandez fought back monetarily. In round three, Gomez dropped Hernandez with a short left hook. Gomez continued to pound Hernandez with hard shots. Hernandez face was bloodied from that power shots. Gomez was in cruise control until he started to pummel a battered Hernandez at the end of round seven. Gomez was never challenged in the eighth round.
Gomez, 151 lbs of Bronx, NY won by scores of 80-70, 80-70 and 79-71 and is now 14-0. Hernandez, 148.6 lbs of Ibarra, ECU is now 21-5.
Boyd Melson scored a six round unanimous decision over Edgar Perez in Jr. Middleweight bout.
Melson dropped Perez in round five from a hard straight left. Melson was all over Perez but could not finish him.
Scores were 60-53 on two cards and 59-54 for Melson, 160.6 lbs if Brooklyn and is now 10-1-1. Perez, 161.4 lbs of Arecibo, PR is now 5-4.
2012 U.S. Olympian Marcus Browne scored a second round stoppage over Tanel Goyco in a scheduled four round Light Heavyweight bout.
Browne dropped Goyco in round one from a hard left hand and again in round two from a left / right combination. Browne jumped all over Goyco and Goycos corner stopped the bout at fifty-four seconds of round two.
Browne, 175 lbs of Staten Island, NY is noiw 4-0 with all wins coming early. Goyco, 173.8 lbs of Philadelphia is now 4-6-1.
Zachary Ochoa scored a four round unanimous decision over Calvin Smith in a Jr. Welterweight bout.
Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Ochoa, 140 lbs of Brooklyn and is now 4-0. Smith, 135 lbs of Prichard, AL is now 2-3.
Good looking Bantamweight prospect Miguel Cartagena scored a four round unanimous decision over Angel Carvaljal.
Both guys gave a good effort but Cartagena landed the harder blows and had Carvajal on the defensive after taking those shots.
Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Cartagena, 114.8 lbs of Philadelphia and is now 6-0. Carvajal, 117 lbs of Chicago is now 2-1
D’Mitrius Ballard scored a second round knockout over Marcus Clay in a scheduled four round Super Middleweight bout.
Ballard dropped Clay in round one from a body shot and again from a flurry of punches in round two and referee Earl Brow stopped the bout at 2:21 of round two.
Ballard, 166.6 lbs of Temple Hills, MD is 2-0 with two knockouts. Clay, 167.4 lbs of Baton Rouge, LA is 2-6.
