Sergey Lipinets and Custio Clayton battled to a 12-round majority draw in an IBF Interim Welterweight World title bout at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The fight was a close battle that saw Lipinets try to press the action, while Clayton countered effectively by showing a strong jab and counter attack. Clayton showed his mettle in the later rounds and he threw and landed more punches.
Lipinets landed 175 of 610 punches; Clayton was 247 of 687.
In the end, Clayton won a card 115-113, while two cards were even at 114-114.
Lipinets, 147 lbs of Kazakhstan is 16-1-1. Clayton, 147 lbs of Dartmouth, CAN is 18-0-1.
Sergey Lipinets
“I thought I won the fight, but Clayton is a good fighter. He was stronger than I thought he’d be. I haven’t fought in a year and it shows. I need to get my rhythm back in a couple of fights before I face the top level fighters.
“For the interim title, I’ll be ready for a rematch with Clayton.
“The guy didn’t do anything and he was running. I threw more punches and I connected on more punches.”
Custio Clayton
“I thought I did enough to win the fight. It was a close fight, but I landed the cleaner shots.
“At the end of the day, you can’t knock the judges’ decision, but I thought that I landed the cleaner shots and won. He came forward a lot, but he wasn’t landing as much. I probably could have pushed more a little earlier, but at the same time, I knew he was strong. I thought I stayed patient and poised. I could have put combinations together quicker, but overall I thought I fought a smart fight and pulled it off.
“I showed the world that I’m not just a guy from Canada. I proved I’m a good fighter. People will have to respect me a little bit more. If Lipinets wants the rematch for the interim title, we should be able to make that happen.”
Martinez survives Two Knockdowns; Decisions Marrero
Xavier Martinez was able to withstand two knockdowns, and win a 12-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Claudio Marrero in a super featherweight bout.
Martinez controlled the 1st seven-plus rounds.
In round eight, Marrero dropped Martinez with a short right hook. Seconds later, it was a hard flurry of about six punches that put Martinez down for a 2nd time. A mouse started to form under the right eye of Marrero. In round 10, Marrero began to swell around his right eye.
Martinez landed 128 of 579 punches; Marrero was 161 of 625
Martinez was able to bank enough rounds down the stretch, and win by scores of 115-111 and 114-112 twice.
Martinez, 130 lbs of Sacramento, CA is 16-0. Marrero, 130.75 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is 24-5.
Xavier Martínez
“To be honest, it was weird when I got knocked down. I just said, ‘Let’s get back up.’ Losing wasn’t on my mind. I just thought I have to get up. I’m not happy I went down but it’s all an experience. A lot of guys wouldn’t have fought Claudio. He was tough. But I rose to the occasion and I proved something to myself.
“Not every win is going to be pretty and a knockout, but if you can pull yourself out of tough situations it proves what type of fighter you are.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be a cake walk. I told [trainer] Ray [Woods] I might hit this guy a couple of times and he might not drop. It’s all part of the experience.”
Claudio Marrero
“I feel like it was a bad decision. I don’t think the judges took into account all the hard work I did in the ring. I wouldn’t do anything different if I fought him again. I would fight the same way. I fought smart and I put pressure on him.
“He hits hard, but I recovered quickly. I felt like I won the fight.”
Matias Stops Hawkins in 7!!
Subriel Matias stopped previously undefeated Malik Hawkins in round seven of their scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout.
Matias applied immense pressure throughout the fight that had Hawkins going back.
In round six, Matias landed a left hook to the head that sent Hawkins to a knee. The right eye of Hawkins started to swell and the fight was stopped one-second into round seven.
Matias, 139.5 lbs of Fajardo, PR is 16-1 with all 16 coming via stoppage. Hawkins, 140 lbs of Baltimore, MD is 18-1.
Subriel Matías
“The biggest difference between this fight and my last loss was the way I trained in the gym. I didn’t train as much as I should have (for the last fight). Malik didn’t have the power to hurt me. In the first round, I knew that. And that’s when I kept moving forward and starting hurting him in the body. And that’s what I kept doing, just going to the body.
“I’ll fight anyone. Whoever they put in front of me. I want a title eliminator, and then I want to fight for a world title.”
Malik Hawkins
“He was doing a bunch of dirty things in the fight. I’m not going to sit here and cry over spilled milk. He was the better man tonight. I’m back in the gym.”
