SB Nation New York - Garcia vs. Morales: Danny Garcia retains titles with vicious knockout of Erik Moraleshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48977/ny-fave.png2012-10-21T00:07:14-04:00http://newyork.sbnation.com/rss/stream/32651392012-10-21T00:07:14-04:002012-10-21T00:07:14-04:00Garcia Knocks Out Morales in Four
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<p>Danny Garcia unleashed a wicked left hook on the chin of Erik Morales, planting the future-Hall-of-Famer nearly out of the ring altogether to retain his WBA, WBC and Ring super lightweight titles on Saturday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The technical knockout came halfway through the fourth round after Garcia essentially dominated the opening three rounds. It's certainly an candidate for Knockout of the Year.</p>
<p>Garcia improved his perfect record to 25-0 with 16KO's, while Morales fell to 52-9, 36 KO's.</p>
<p>Morales seemed willing to let Garcia back him down into corners and onto the ropes and punch his way out. Right at the end of the third round, Morales was practically saved by the bell as Garcia nailed him with a right cross. Morales nearly dropped to a knee but was just able to avoid Garcia's follow up left, stumbling into the ropes as the bell intervened.</p>
<p>Maybe Morales should have just called it quite then, because halfway through the fourth round, he was nearly spun around a full 360 degrees and out of the ring on a perfect, sweeping left hook by Garcia. Garcia now owns two victories over the Mexican legend Morales and one over Amir Khan, so the impressive wins are starting to pile up. He's unquestionably the world's top 140 pounder, and with more crowd-pleasing performances like Saturday's highlight-reel knockout, he's going to be one of the world's most popular fighters as well.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/10/21/3532804/garcia-vs-morales-ii-result-danny-garcia-knocks-out-erik-morales-barclays-center-boxingChris Celletti2012-10-20T23:37:52-04:002012-10-20T23:37:52-04:00Malignaggi wins split decision over Cano
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<p>Paulie Malignaggi won his homecoming fight in Brooklyn on Saturday, but it wasn't the dream scenario he had envisioned. Malignaggi struggled through 12 rounds with Pablo Cesar Cano, eventually winning a split decision on scores of 114-113 twice for Malignaggi and one card of 118-109 for Cano. Cano dropped Malignaggi in the 11<sup>th</sup> round and seemed to get stronger as the fight went on.</p>
<p>Early on, Malignaggi opened up a cut right above the left eye of Cano, giving the champ a target for the rest of the night. Cano, however, appeared to be much faster than Malignaggi had expected, which resulted in Malignaggi eating a few big shots in the first half of the fight. Also, with Cano missing the 147-pound weight limit in Friday's weigh-in, he was clearly the bigger fighter on fight night.</p>
<p>In the eighth round, Cano staggered Malignaggi with a solid counter-right hook to the body. As the fight wore on, Cano's body work seemed to have an effect on Malignaggi, who slowed down considerably in the later rounds, taking his one clear advantage away. Malignaggi also became visibly frustrated in the latter stages, once nearly lifting Cano off the ground during a clinch.</p>
<p>In his post fight interview with Showtime's Jim Gray, Malignaggi said he thought he won the fight, that he controlled the action and out-boxed Cano. What he probably didn't envision in his first major fight in his home borough of Brooklyn was the vociferous boos guided towards him after the fight. With many Mexicans in the crowd seemingly in support for Erik Morales in the night's main event, Malignaggi was a bit of a road warrior in his backyard.</p>
<p>To his credit, Malignaggi did bust up Cano's face, took a lot of power shots and held on to perhaps win the 12<sup>th</sup> round against a much bigger man. Malignaggi retained his WBA welterweight title and moved to 32-4, 7 KO's, while Cano dropped to 26-2-1, 20 KO's.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/10/20/3532758/garcia-vs-morales-ii-undercard-results-paulie-malignaggi-pablo-cesar-cano-showtime-boxingChris Celletti2012-10-20T22:25:45-04:002012-10-20T22:25:45-04:00Peter ‘Kid Chocolate" Quillin wins WBO title
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<p>It took 12 breathtaking rounds to decide the WBO middleweight title fight between champion Hassan N'Dam and Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin. </p> <p>It took 12 breathtaking rounds to decide the WBO middleweight title fight between champion Hassan N'Dam and Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin. Reminiscent of the Apollo Creed-Rocky Balboa wars, Quillen threw everything but the kitchen sink at N'Dam, but nothing short of a sledgehammer was going to stop the champion from coming forward full throttle.</p>
<p>The difference was Quillin‘s patriot missile of a left hook, responsible for the six knockdowns that crowned a new champion on the night boxing returned to Brooklyn. All three judges scored the fight 115-107, seven rounds to five, in favor of the challenger, who took control of the bout in the fourth round with his first two knockdowns. According to Compubox, Quillin landed 25of 42 power shots in Round 4. For the fight, N'Dam had the edge in total punches (451-402), punches landed (147-135) and power punches (279-230). But it was the advantage Quillin enjoyed in power shots landed (102-97) and the six total knockdowns that made the difference.</p>
<p>SBNation New York also scored the contest 115-107. Despite the score, N'Dam competed like a champion and one could have made the case he made enough of a rally to eke out a draw. But once Quillin scored his final two knockdowns in the 12<sup>th</sup>, it left no doubt who was walking out of the Barclays Center with the title belt.</p>
<p><i>Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: </i><a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/JonLaneNYC">@JonLaneNYC</a></p>
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https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/10/20/3532550/peter-quillin-hassan-ndam-wbo-middleweight-title-boxing-brooklynJon Lane2012-10-20T21:13:36-04:002012-10-20T21:13:36-04:00Devon Alexander outpoints Randall Bailey
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<p>This wasn't quite the triumphant return of championship boxing to Brooklyn.</p>
<p>In the first major world title fight in Brooklyn in 81 years, Devon Alexander outpointed Randall Bailey in a listless fight to win the IBF Welterweight belt to open Showtime's telecast of the rematch between Danny Garcia and Erik Morales at the brand new Barclays Center. Alexander won on scores of 115-111, 116-110 and 117-109. SBNation New York scored it 107-109 for Alexander.</p>
<p>When Bailey won the IBF welterweight title back in June, he sat back and waited to hit Mike Jones with his thudding right hand. That night, he connected, and knocked Jones out in the 11<sup>th</sup> round after being out-boxed badly to that point. On Saturday, he hoped the same would happen against Alexander, but it wasn't the case.</p>
<p>It wasn't pretty, as many expected, but Alexander did what he had to do, mostly staying away from Bailey's powerful right hand. Both fighters were reluctant to engage, and the Barclays Center crowd voiced their disproval, raining boos down on both fighters throughout most of the bout. In the sixth round, referee Arthur Mercante took a point away from both fighters for holding. On second thought, Mercante might have been the most exciting man in the ring.</p>
<p>Like in June against Jones, Bailey did land a big right uppercut in the 11<sup>th</sup> round, but Alexander took it well and was able to hold on for the wide decision win.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/10/20/3532326/garcia-vs-morales-ii-undercard-results-devon-alexander-randall-bailey-showtime-boxingChris Celletti2012-10-20T20:05:50-04:002012-10-20T20:05:50-04:00Salita wins on Garcia-Morales undercard
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<p>One of seven hometown fighters on Saturday's Barclays Center boxing card in Brooklyn, Dimitriy Salita improved to 35-1-1, 18 KOs with a unanimous decision victory over Brandon Hoskins in a six round junior middleweight fight. Salita won on scores of 60-54 and two 59-55 cards. The loss was Hoskins' third of his career, dropping him to 16-3-1, 8 KOs.The bout was on the undercard of Danny Garcia-Erik Morales II.</p>
<p>Salita's impressive record is a bit misleading, for sure, as most fighters with that many scraps under their belt are done with four or six round swing bouts. In his only high-profile fight, Salita couldn't get out of the first round as he was blasted by Amir Khan, who dropped him three times to the canvas. But with the Barclays Center having a chance to become a very solid fight venue, Salita can certainly carve out a nice living for himself while fighting locally.</p>
<p>The fight came after Danny Jacobs' emotional return to the ring after beating cancer, when the Brooklyn-native scored a first round TKO of Josh Luteran. Other early winners on the card were Luiz Collazo, Boyd Melson, and Eddie Gomez.</p>
<p>Up next, IBF Welterweight titlist Randall Bailey defends his belt against Devon Alexander in the first of four bouts on Showtime's main card.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/10/20/3532070/garcia-vs-morales-ii-undercard-dimitriy-salita-brandon-hoskins-danny-jacobs-barclays-centerChris Celletti2012-10-20T19:22:36-04:002012-10-20T19:22:36-04:00Danny Jacobs knocks out Josh Luteran in Round 1
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<figcaption>Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>Back inside a boxing ring for the first time in nearly 18 months, Danny Jacobs wasted no time in wiping out Josh Luteran with a vicious left hook-right uppercut combination to score the knockout at 1:13 of the first round.</p> <p>Everything happened so fast. A matter of seconds, actually, all of 73 for Danny Jacobs to experience a rebirth, and both a professional and personal catharsis. Never mind the thrill the Brooklyn born and bred middleweight contender provide his hometown fans at Barclays center with a vicious left hook-right uppercut combination that sent Josh Luteran into orbit. For Jacobs, the moment went by so fast he still didn't fully come to grips that he was actually inside a boxing ring, 18 months after he was in the fight for his life.</p>
<p>Jacobs' fantastic professional boxing victory was a flash. His win over cancer was a test of endurance that will be discussed for a longer amount of time.</p>
<p>"The journey was a long one," Jacobs said. "It seemed like forever to me."</p>
<p>Last April, Jacobs, former NABF and NABO middleweight champion who once fought for the vacant WBO title, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a life threatening form of spinal cancer that threatened to terminate his career at the age of 24. But during the nightmare of living in paralysis, not being able to walk, take a shower or feed himself, among other things, Jacobs was hatching big plans. Plans to prosper when everyone told him, forget it, kid, your career is over.</p>
<p>This wasn't going to be just another inspirational comeback, oh no. Jacobs was going to execute his internal orders with substance and style. He did it by knocking Luteran cold for nearly four minutes. The kid from Brooklyn was back and proved everyone wrong. At 25 years old, Jacobs was reborn and poised to terrorize the rest of the middleweights.</p>
<p>"This is the greatest victory I ever had," Jacobs said. "This is one of the greatest moments of my life I've ever experienced - ever. Everything I've been through, this was a goal for me to open Barclays. When I was laying in that hospital bed, this is what motivated me because I knew that this moment was a possibility, even though they told me it wasn't. I had a chance to say, ‘We're going to do it. And we're going to do it big.' And we did it."</p>
<p>Both fighters came out aggressive with Jacobs landing the body shots that set his opponent up for disaster in mere moments. Conceivably, he could have put Luteran away earlier, but he fought for his life for nearly a year-and-a-half, so Jacobs was content with waiting for the precise opening.</p>
<p>"I hit him with a left hook and I remember shaking him in the first half of the fight," Jacobs said. "I said, ‘OK I'm taking my time.' He threw a punch and I remember catching him with a left and a right and that was it."</p>
<p>Jacobs moved to 23-1 with 20 knockouts, his second consecutive kayo in the first round. When asked who's next, "The Golden Child" provided the stationary answer of "Whomever they put in front of me." His return to action may have been nothing but a flash, but the cold-cocking of Luteran was more than a victory. It was a symbol of hope, established when Jacobs knocked cancer out of his life.</p>
<p><i>Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: </i><a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/JonLaneNYC">@JonLaneNYC</a></p>
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https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/10/20/3531944/cancer-survivor-danny-jacobs-knocks-out-josh-luteran-in-round-1Jon Lane2012-10-20T17:43:37-04:002012-10-20T17:43:37-04:00Boyd Melson and Jason Thompson fight to draw
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<p>The curtain was raised on Brooklyn's first boxing event in 80 years at approximately 5:11 p.m. EST when hometown fighters Boyd Melson and Jason Thompson squared off to open a nine-bout card on Saturday at the Barclays Center. The two fought to a six-round draw with all three judges scoring the fight 56-56.</p> <p>The curtain was raised on Brooklyn's first boxing event in 80 years at approximately 5:11 p.m. EST when hometown fighters Boyd Melson and Jason Thompson squared off to open a nine-bout card on Saturday at the Barclays Center. The two fought to a six-round draw with all three judges scoring the fight 56-56.</p>
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<p>Thompson scored the first knockdown of the bout in Round 1, but Melson came back with one of his own in the third.</p>
<p><i>Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: </i><a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/JonLaneNYC">@JonLaneNYC</a></p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/10/20/3531640/boyd-melson-and-jason-thompson-fight-to-draw-in-first-brooklyn-boutJon Lane2012-10-20T10:55:32-04:002012-10-20T10:55:32-04:00Controversy clouds Morales' shot at redemption
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<p>The questions surrounding Erik Morales' USADA drug test have dampened the excitement of Saturday's main event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. </p> <p>There isn't much that Erik Morales needs to prove. Already an eight time world champion in four different weight classes - the first Mexican fighter to ever achieve that feat - a ninth world title wouldn't make Morales' career any more meaningful or legendary than it already is. On Saturday, Morales looks to avenge his last loss, the eighth of his career in 60 total fights, when he rematches undefeated 24-year-old Danny Garcia, one of boxing's most exciting young fightes and probably the 140 pound division's best. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the night will not come off without controversy. It was reported late on Wednesday that irregularities had been found in Morales' system after a drug test. I was later learned that he had sted positive for clenbuterol, a substance which is supposed to help with weight loss. Clearly, Morales was struggling to make the 140 pound limit, something that can happen as fighters get up there in age, and Friday's weigh in was a bit bizarre.</p>
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<a href="http://Www.badlefthook.com">From Bad Left Hook's Scott Christ:</a>
<p style="margin-bottom: 1.7em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">e controversy, or at least it seemed the way. Hitting the scales in the <i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;">nyood</i>, Morales (52-8, 36 KO) and a New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) member had some words before the Mexican legend even stepped onto the scales. He weighed in, and it appeared as though he'd missed the weight, but no announcement came.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 1.7em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">After more words between "El Terrible" and his team and the NYSAC rep, Morales stepped back on and weighed in at 139.2 pounds, 0.8 pounds below the junior welterweight limit. It's entirely possible that Morales and the commission guy were talking/arguing/whatever about something else, but it doesn't seem likely, and the weigh-in just <i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;">looked</i> shady to most observers.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 1.7em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But Morales made the weight officially, and that's what matters. Defending WBC and WBA junior welterweight champ Danny Garcia weighed in at 139.8 pounds, without controversy.</span></p>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 1.7em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; max-width: 100%;">In today's sports culture, and even more so in boxing where seemingly nobody knows what to believe, it's unfortunate that a situation like this happens surrounding Morales so late in his career. There are undoubtedly going to be his staunchest supporters who will believe this is a one-off thing, and those who have never liked him will probably link this to him forever and believe he's always used illegal substances. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 1.7em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; max-width: 100%;">Garcia is the favorite on Saturday night, and rightfully so. He's the younger, faster and fresher fighter who is squarely entering his prime and already owns a win over his counterpart. Unfortunately for Morales, he likely enters the ring agains the fan favorite as well. </p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/10/20/3529950/garcia-vs-morales-2-controversy-clouds-morales-chance-at-redemptionChris Celletti