He controlled the distance very good and I didn’t expect that from him. “But the thing I like about Joshua is that he seemed to change his style and adapt to what I was doing. “I started good in that fight and by the midway point it was still pretty close,” recalled Parker. Despite claiming a wide 12-round unanimous decision, Joshua was taken the distance for the first time in his career, and the Englishman’s vaunted power rarely troubled the visitor. Two title defenses and 15 months later, Parker faced off against Joshua, the IBF and WBA titleholder, in a money-spinning unification showdown at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. I was able to work my combinations, get the better of him and he faded a bit.” The pressure was just more intense in the first half and towards the middle I picked it up. He has very fast hands and he likes to mix it up he throws to the head, he throws to the body and he put the pressure on throughout the fight. When he does attack, he throws a lot of combinations. De Los Santos was only added to the card Wednesday when Jezreel Corrales couldn’t secure a travel visa from Panama.“In the fight we had, he started a lot faster than I did. The pay-per-view card opened with an enormous upset: Edwin De Los Santos, a Dominican lightweight filling in as a late replacement opponent, battered previously unbeaten Mexican prospect Jose Valenzuela for a third-round stoppage victory. “But I felt good, and I thought I was landing the more powerful shots. “Obviously it had been over four years, so I was a little off with my timing, and a little sluggish,” Mares said. Mares tired in the second half, but won 96-94 on one judge’s card. He recovered from surgery on a detached retina shortly before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and his ring absence stretched on while he landed a commentary job with Showtime.īut Mares eventually decided he had to return, and he looked quite sharp early against Flores (25-4-1) with a series of big right hands that rocked his opponent. Mares (31-3-2) hadn’t fought since his second loss to Leo Santa Cruz in June 2018. “The ability that I have for counterpunching instead of waiting for him to load up, that was a blessing.”Įarlier, Cruz (24-2-1, 17 KOs) made his case for a rematch with Gervonta “Tank” Davis with his two-round demolition of Ramirez, first knocking him down face-first with a left hook to the jaw before finishing him with a combination in the corner.ĭavis, who narrowly beat Cruz by decision last December, smiled as he watched the bout from ringside amid chants of: “We want Tank!” from Cruz’s fans. But Ruiz connected again late in the seventh, staggering Ortiz before sending him to the canvas with a right to the top of the head. Neither fighter threw much or risked much in the next four rounds, and the crowd that loudly backed Ruiz grumbled its displeasure. Ortiz wobbled to his feet and soon slipped back down while trying to clinch with Ruiz, but he made it to the bell. I want to be a champion again.”Īfter entering the ring in a blue-and-gold robe and trunks featuring the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams’ colors and helmet horns, Ruiz abruptly floored Ortiz early in the second round with a short right hand. “I want to fight at least three or four times a year. “I do not want to be waiting,” Ruiz said. Ruiz had fought just once since, but he rededicated himself to training with hopes of getting another shot at the belts. Ruiz pulled off one of the bigger upsets in recent heavyweight history when he took Anthony Joshua’s three championship belts in 2019, only to lose them back to his British opponent six months later. The Associated Press also had Ruiz 114-111, with the knockdowns making the difference. “I thought I did a beautiful job handling his pressure and also coming forward.” “I worked so hard for this fight, because I knew he’s a warrior and he hits hard,” Ruiz said. The Southern California native knocked down the 43-year-old Ortiz twice in the second round and again in the seventh, but his Cuban opponent punched more accurately during long stretches of relative inactivity for both fighters. In the main event, Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) had all of the big moments while grinding out a decision over Ortiz (33-3), a two-time world title challenger.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |