Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing promoted 3 world title bouts Saturday at a sold out Madison Square Garden, NY.
In the Main Event WBA Super Middleweight Champion Rocky Fielding, 27-2 (15), of Cheshire, UK, lost his title being stopped by WBC Middleweight Champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 51-1-2 (35), of Guadalajara, MEX, at 2:38 of the third round.
In the opening round Alvarez took it to Fielding with a left to the head but Fielding came right back throwing punches. A left hook from Alvarez to the mid-section and Fielding took a knee. He got up from referee Ricky Gonzalez’s 8 count. Alvarez rocked Fielding with the last punch of the round a left hook to the chin. In the second round Alvarez drove Fielding to the ropes but Fielding fought back. Alvarez landed a combination with the right rocking Fielding. With less than 30 seconds left in the round Alvarez dropped Fielding again with a left hook to rib cage.
In the third round Fielding landed a right uppercut to the chin of Alvarez. Alvarez came back rocking Fielding but Alvarez rocked Fielding in return. Fielding landed a 3-punch flurry. A hard lead right on the chin dropped Fielding for the 8-count. A left hook body shot dropped Fielding to a knee in a complete mismatch forcing referee Rick Gonzalez to wisely halt the fight.
“I thought he would use his reach but the body attack stopped him. I look forward to going home for the holidays. What I always wanted to do is make the best fights whether for the title or not. I’m happy to be here (MSG) and enjoyed the people,” said Alvarez.
In the co-feature IBF World Super Featherweight Champion southpaw Tevin “American Idol” Farmer, 28-4-1 (6), of Philadelphia, PA, defeated Francisco Fonseca, 22-2-1 (16), of San Ramon, Costa Rica, in an action fight.
In the first round Farmer pressed the action using his jab and landing with the left hand. Fonseca landed several rights on the chin at two separate times. In the second round Farmer landed a right hook to the side of Fonseca’s body following with a left to the chin. Referee Johnny Callas warned Fonseca to keep his punches up. Farmer slipped a pair of punches and countered with a left to the chin of Fonseca. In the final seconds of the round Farmer landed a right hook to the chin of Fonseca.
In the third round Farmer countered with a solid left to the chin of Fonseca. Farmer slipped numerous punches. Fonseca later landed a lead right on the chin of Farmer. Farmer landed 4 body shots in a flurry. In the fourth round Farmer came out landing a right hook to the body of Fonseca. Both mixed it up well in the final minute. Farmer backing up landed a solid left on the chin of Fonseca.
In the fifth round Farmer landed a solid lead left on the chin of Fonseca. Fonseca walked Farmer into a corner but got countered well. In the sixth round Farmer slipped many punches from Fonseca. At the end of the round Fonseca had a cut along his right eyebrow. In the seventh round Farmer used the ring quite well frustrating Fonseca. Farmer landed a solid combination to the head of Fonseca.
In the eighth round Fonseca landed a combination to the body. Farmer boxed sensationally to the delight of the crowd. He put on quite a performance. He ended the round with a hard right uppercut to the chin of Fonseca. In the ninth round while inside Fonseca landed several punches. Farmer came back with a solid right to the chin of Fonseca. The fans were cheering for Farmer who put on a show.
In the tenth round Farmer landed 4 separate uppercuts and left hands rocking Fonseca. Farmer landed a solid left to the chin but got countered with a right uppercut from Fonseca on the chin. In the eleventh round Farmer switched to orthodox doing well landing punches. Fonseca landed a hard right to the chin following with a right to the body of Farmer. Fonseca landed half a dozen punches without return from Farmer. It was Fonseca’s best round of the fight.
In the twelfth and final round Farmer still showed good hand speed though in the last round. Farmer countered with a hard left uppercut to the body of Fonseca. Farmer landed a hard left to the chin of Fonseca. At the end of the fight Fonseca had a mark and swelling under his left eye. Farmer had a great performance.
Scores were Julie Lederman, Don Trella and Waleska Roldan all had it 117-111 while this writer had it 119-109.
“I gave myself a B- or C+. I wanted to hurt everyone. I have been fighting in Australia after winning the title, then Boston and now in New York. It’s not who I want to fight but who wants to fight me,” said Farmer.
IBF & WBA World Female Lightweight Champion and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Katie Taylor, 12-0 (5), of Bray, Ireland, pitched a shutout over Eva Wahlstrom, 22-1-1 (3), of Helsinki, Finland, over 10 rounds in defending her two titles.
In the opening round having fought six times against one another in the amateurs (Taylor won all) they knew each other well. Taylor pressed the fight landing a double left hook to the head of Wahlstrom. Taylor controlled with a solid jab. In the second round Taylor landed a right followed by a left hook on the chin of Wahlstrom. Taylor continued pressing using the jab at all times.
In the third round Wahlstrom came forward low landing several punches to the body of Taylor. Taylor kept the pressure on landing enough that Wahlstrom showed some bruising on her right cheek bone. In the fourth round Taylor showed feinting before throwing lead rights to the head of Wahlstrom.
In the fifth round Taylor landed a right but got countered by a left hook to the chin by Wahlstrom. Taylor landed a pair of rights to the head with the second one stunning Wahlstrom. Fighting inside with less than thirty seconds left Taylor landed a hard right to the head of Wahlstrom. Wahlstrom was holding while Taylor landed four body shots. In the sixth round Taylor landed a pair of rights while Wahlstrom countered with a left hook to the chin. Wahlstrom’s right cheek bone was showing swelling where the bruise is.
In the eighth round Taylor was warned for using her forearm. A small cut on the hairline area of the forehead of Wahlstrom was caused by a clash of heads. In the ninth round Taylor opened up looking to end the fight as blood covers the forehead of Wahlstrom.
In the tenth and final round Taylor landed half a dozen body shots before Wahlstrom grabbed Taylor. Wahlstrom received a cut under her left eyebrow. Taylor rocked Wahlstrom with a lead right on the chin with seconds to go.
Scores were Bernard Bruni, Larry Hazzard, Jr. and David Sutherland along with this writer had it 100-90.
“I though it was a great performance though Eva was tough. Amanda Serrano will be one of my biggest upcoming fights. Let’s get it on,” said Taylor.
Welterweight Sadam “World Kid” Ali, 27-2 (14), of Brooklyn, NY, defeated Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera, 24-8 (7), of Riverside, CA, over 10 rounds.
In the opening round it was a feeling out round. In the second round Herrera was pressing the action. He tried going to the body with few jabs like he showed against Danny “Swift” Garcia. Ali landed four left hooks without Herrera coming back with anything. In the third round Herrera worked the body as Ali tries keeping his distance.
In the fourth round Herrera backed Ali toward the ropes and landed a solid right to the chin. Herrera started using his jab and having a better round. In the fifth round Ali started getting more active throwing punches. In the final minute Ali landed a hard left hook to the chin of Herrera.
In the sixth round Ali walked into a Herrera left hook on the chin. Ali came back with a lead right to the chin of Herrera. As Ali held and walked Herrera back he was hit by rights to head and body. In the seventh round Ali landed a good left to the body hurting Herrera and followed with a combination. Near the end of the round Herrera landed a short left hook to the chin of Ali.
In the eighth and ninth rounds both mixed it up well. Herrera kept pressing the action but Ali got his counter shots in. In the tenth and final round Herrera had continued to slip many of Ali’s punches. Herrera walked back with hands to his side against the ropes inviting Ali to come in who did landing a left hook on the chin of Herrera. Just before the bell Ali threw a wild left hook that missed as he landed on the canvas and almost out of the ring. At the end Ali had marks under both eyes. Herrera hadn’t fought for 16 months coming into this fight.
Scores were Bernard Bruni 100-90, Larry Hazzard, Jr. 99-91 and David Sutherland 98-92 while this writer had it 96-94. Michael Griffin was the referee.
Lightweight Ryan “The Flash” Garcia, 17-0 (14), of Bakersville, CA, knocked out Braulio “El Chavo” Rodriguez, 19-4 (17), of Santo Domingo, DR, at 1:14 of the fifth round in a scheduled 10.
In the first round Garcia was pressing while Rodriguez keeps putting the left arm out as a defense measure. With about a minute left in the round a chopping right followed by a short left hook on the chin of Rodriguez knocked him down. In the second round hands held high Rodriguez got hit with a right hear the back of the head of Rodriguez who complained. Rodriguez got warned for a pair of rights on the back of the head by Garcia. Rodriguez started showboating doing a shuffle with his feet and twirling his right hand. Garcia landed a 3-punch combination in the final 10 seconds.
In the third round Rodriguez got warned for the second time by referee Ron Lipton for a low blow. Shortly after for a third time another low punch caused him to lose a point. Garcia rocked Rodriguez with a right hand. Then Rodriguez again landed a low punch losing a second point.
In the fourth round Garcia landed a flurry of punches having Rodriguez against the ropes until getting into a clinch. Garcia landed a combination to the head of Rodriguez who then started running. In the fifth round a lead right stunned Rodriguez followed by a left hook knocking Rodriguez on his back partly under the ropes. He was counted out. Rodriguez suffered a bloody nose and mouth at the end.
“First I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my trainer Eddie and my dad. I didn’t know how my opponent could fight. I cannot speak Spanish but I have that Mexican blood in me. I tried knocking everybody out but I knew it was a process,” said Garcia.
WBO Super International Featherweight Champion Lamont Roach Jr., 18-0-1 (7), of Upper Marlboro, MD, defeated southpaw Alberto “Transformer” Mercado, 15-2-1 (3), of Humacao, PR, over 10 rounds.
In the first round both feeling out one another until Roach landed a lead right on the chin of Mercado. Mercado using his jab got countered by a right to the mid-section of Mercado. In the second round Mercado landed a lead left to the chin of Roach. Mercado knocked Roach back several steps with a left to the mid-section but possibly stepping on his foot. In the third round Mercado got in a solid left uppercut to the body of Roach. Roach landed a lead right on the chin followed by a double left hook to the body and head of Mercado.
In the fourth round Mercado continued using his jab. Roach continued to work the body with left hooks. In the fifth round Mercado dropped his right hand and got hit with a Roach right on the chin. In the sixth round Roach pressed Mercado for the first minute before landing a right on the chin rocking Mercado. In the final thirty seconds Mercado started pressing until a clash of heads. Roach was showing a little puffiness under his left eye.
In the seventh round Roach landed a right on the head followed by a left hook staggering Mercado with just over a minute left in the round. A right followed by a left hook to the side of the head of Mercado got his attention. In the eighth and ninth rounds both boxers took turns being the aggressor. In the ninth Roach landed a flurry at the halfway point. Mercado coming forward got hit with a Roach uppercut on the chin. Mercado landed a solid left to the head of Roach in the final seconds.
In the tenth and final round both mixed it up a bit. In the final thirty seconds Mercado came alive driving Roach back toward the ropes off balance going after him until he got hit by a Roach right to the chin.
Scores were Alan Rubenstein 97-93, Robin Taylor 99-91 and John Poturaj 98-92. This writer had it 97-93.
Super Middleweight Bilal Akkawy, 19-0-1 (15), of New South Wales, Australia, stopped Victor Fonseca, 17-9-1 (14), of Tijuana, MEX, at 2:53 of the seventh round.
Super Lightweight Yves Ulysse, Jr., 17-1 (9), of Montreal, CAN, defeated Maximilliano “Max” Becerra, 16-3-2 (8), of Santa Anna, CA, over 8 rounds. Scores were 79-71 and 78-72 twice.