Jermell Charlo got his revenge and stopped Tony Harrison in round 11 to regain the WBC Super Welterweight title in a rematch of a fight that took place one year ago. This bout took place at The Toyota Arena in Ontario, California
Charlo dropped Harrison in round two when he connected with a left hook. That would be a foreshadow of things to come later. Harrison though got right back in the fight as he took the fight on the inside and landed some terrific body shots as well as some flush right hands. Charlo was being active, but he was looking for the home run shot throughout the contest. He was able to land some solid combination through the fight.
With the action-filled fight seemingly on the table, Charlo had a different look and thought process in round 11. In the penultimate round, Charlo landed a hard left that dropped Harrison into the ropes. Harrison was hurt and went down again after a hard flurry of power punches. Harrison was able to get up again, but it was only seconds before Harrison ate a bevy of punches that forced referee Jack Reiss to stop the fight at 2:21.
Charlo, 153.5 lbs of Houston is now 33-1 with 17 knockouts. Harrison, 153,25 lbs is now 28-3,
“I got the belt back and I didn’t leave it up to the judges,” Charlo said. “Tony is a former champion. He had a lot on the line. I dominated and I knocked him out.”
It let him know that the power was real and 2020 is going to be real,” Charlo said. “It’s going to get loud.”
“Jack is a championship referee. I started getting a little lax and got caught,” Harrison said. “He earned it. I hate it, but he earned it. The game plan was to do a little boxing. But taking a year off, my boxing wasn’t used to it. He earned it and no excuses. I got caught slipping. I never trade offense for defense. He caught me in between. I feel like I let us down. I let me down. It’s one on one. Back to the drawing board.”
Charlo said the animosity that built up before the rematch is real.
“Listen, I’m a gentleman at the end of the day. I showed my respect, but at the end of the day I don’t like the dude. He can get it again, but I’m off to bigger and better things. I’m down for making history. He held the title too long and I had to come back and get it.”
Efe Ajagba remained undefeated by stopping Iago Kiladze in five very action filled heavyweight rounds.
In round two, Ajagba sent Kiladze to the canvas with a hard right hand. In a wild round three, Ajagba landed a crushing right that wobbled Kiladze badly across the ring. Seconds later, Kiladze somehow landed a counter right to the jaw that sent Ajagba to the canvas. In round five, Ajagba landed a huge right hand that sent Kiladze in to the canvas. Kiladze was hurt and took a big combination on the ropes that forced referee Thomas Taylor stop the fight at 2:09.
Ajagba, 237.75 lbs is 12-0 with 10 knockouts. Kiladze, 230.5 lbs of Georgia Republic is 26-5-1.
“When I got knocked down, I didn’t see the punch coming. I tried to hit him with the left hook and that’s when I got caught,” Ajagba said. “He has a lot of experience and he’s a good fighter. This kind of fight will help me perform better in the future. This guy was a good fighter and he can take a lot of shots. I missed a lot of shots. Ronnie Shields, my trainer, kept telling me to work behind the jab and come back with the hook. It’s something that I have to learn to do. I made some mistakes, but I will go back to the gym and work on it. I’ll do better next time.”
Rene Tellez Giron shocked 2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas via 6th round knockout in their scheduled eight-round lightweight bout.
At the end of round three, Giron landed a crushing left that sent Balderas to the canvas. Balderas barely beat the count, and stumbled back to the corner, yet referee Ray Corona let the fight continue.
At the end of round six, Giron landed another left hook to the head that put Balderas in his back. He barely did not beat Corona’s count at 2:59.
Giron, 132 lbs of Mexico is 14-1 with eight knockouts. Balderas suffers his 1st defeat and is now 9-1.
“After I knocked him down in the third round, I saw his eyes were rolled back like he was hurt, but he has the heart of a lion,” Giron said. “He didn’t want to lose his undefeated record in front of his people. When he got up, I was like, ‘Wow! He got up! He’s up!’ So, I kept on him and left everything in the ring. I’m really happy. Karlos had said he fought with the best and he was an Olympian. Well, I fought a lot of people too and you see the result.”
Hugo Centeno Jr. and Juan Macias Montiel fought to a 10-round draw in a middleweight fight.
In round two, Montiel buckled Centeno with a left hand.
In round eight, Montiel was cut over the right eye.
The scores read 97-93 for Centeno; 96-94 for Montiel and 95-95.
Centeno, 163.4 lbs of Oxnard, CA is 27-3-1. Montiel, 162.4 lbs of Los Mochis, MX is 21-4-1.
“I don’t agree with the decision at all. I thought I out-boxed the guy. He landed a couple shots, but I don’t think it was enough to get a draw or win on any of the cards,” Centeno said. “To be fair, I’d give him like three rounds. I know I didn’t win all the rounds, but I know I won enough to win the fight. If I can, I’m going to appeal the decision because I thought it was (the wrong) decision. This is the thing that drives away fighters from boxing is scores like this.”
“I took the fight to him and he was just boxing. I’d like a rematch and I’d like him to fight and not run,” Montiel said. “I was inactive for a year and I gave him three pounds and he still didn’t bring it. In reality I brought it to him. Next time, I want him to stand and fight.”
Oscar Escandon stopped previously undefeated Jhack Tepora in the 1st round of their scheduled 10-round featherweight bout.
Escandon landed a perfect right hook to the body that sent Tepora down for then 10 count at 1:30.
Escandon, 127 lbs of Colombia is 27-5 with 18 knockouts. Tepora, 126.4 lbs of Cebu City, PHL is 23-1
“This fight was very important to me because I know I needed to win if I wanted to continue forward with my career,” Escandon said. “I know I have a lot of fight left in me. I just want to thank my team. Ruben Guerrero, my trainer, was on me about listening to him in the corner and all his instructions worked perfect. I want to thank the PBC and Bob Santos for always believing in me. I give all the glory to God for this victory.”
Raymond Guajardo took out Donnis Reed in round one of their scheduled four round super welterweight bout.
Guajardo landed a booming right hook that sent Reed down face-first and the fight was over at 1:40.
Guajardo, 157 lbs of San Antonio is 5-0 with three knockouts. Reed, 154.6 lbs of New Orleans is 3-5.
“I’m always looking to get my opponents out, so that was the first thing I wanted to do,” Guajardo said. “I think I had landed a hook before that and I saw I had hurt him, so that’s when I went in for the kill. Everything happened naturally after that.”
Petr Khamukov remained undefeated by stopping Maceo Crowder after round two of their scheduled six-round middleweight bout.
In round one, Khamukov dropped Crowder with a right over the top. Crowder bowed out of the fight after the 2nd round citing an eye injury.
Khamukov, 160.2 lbs of Russia is 5-0 with two knockouts. Crowder, 160.4 lbs of Roxbury, MA is 2-4.
