WEEKEND RECAP

Salido defeats Lopez in 8th round TKO
(From AP)
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)—Challenger Orlando Salido upset Juan Manuel Lopez on Saturday, stopping the WBO featherweight champion with a technical knockout in the eighth round.

Referee Roberto Ramirez ended the fight with 1:39 left in the round. Salido also knocked down Lopez at the end of the fifth.

Judges Lisa Giampa, Thomas Miller and Jose Torres all had the fight even at 66-66 when Ramirez stopped the bout.

The 27-year-old Lopez was defending his title before a home crowd at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon.

Salido improved to 35-11-2 (23 KOs). Lopez fell to 30-1 (27 KOs).

Next up for the 30-year-old Salido will most likely be a unification bout against Yuriorkis Gamboa, the WBA and IBF champion. Salido lost a unanimous decision to Gamboa in September.
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Ortiz upsets Berto for title in unanimous decision
(From AP)
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LEDYARD, Conn. (AP)—Victor Ortiz got some advice from Manny Pacquiao before his title fight against unbeaten Andre Berto.

“Manny told me to stick to my game plan,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz listened to boxing’s biggest star and the result was three knockdowns in an upset victory over Berto in a World Boxing Council welterweight title fight Saturday night.

Ortiz (29-2-2) won a unanimous decision despite having a point taken away for hitting behind the head. The three judges scored it 114-112, 114-111 and 115-110.


“That wasn’t me in there tonight,” Berto said, adding that he hurt his right thumb in the second round at the MGM Grand at the Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Berto had made five successful title defenses since he took the WBC welterweight crown in June 2008, when he knocked out Miguel Rodriguez in the seventh round.

Berto (27-1) was nearly knocked out in the first round against Ortiz, who came out firing combinations from the bell, stunning the champion with a right hand followed by a left hook that put him on the canvas.

With Berto clearly dazed, Ortiz tried to finish his rival off. He produced another knockdown, but Berto made it out of the round.

“I noticed he was vulnerable on the inside,” Ortiz said. “Part of my game plan was to smother his shots and overwhelm him.”

Ortiz appeared to be in command in Round 2, when out of nowhere, Berto connected with a short right hand that sent Ortiz backpedaling. He didn’t go down, but took a brief count from referee Michael Ortega.

The brisk pace continued in Round 3 with Ortiz continuing to apply the pressure. The 24-year-old Ortiz continued to stalk Berto in Round 4. Berto kept waving at his opponent to keep coming forward, and Ortiz was happy to oblige.

“I wasn’t surprised the way he tore into me,” Berto said. “I knew he would come out the way he did.”

The 27-year-old Berto turned it around in the sixth round and knocked Ortiz down with a right hand. But just seconds before the round ended, Ortiz flattened Berto with a left hook. Berto got up with no trouble just before the bell sounded.

“That was a beauty of a right hand he hit me with and it was a heck of a round,” Ortiz said. “I’d vote it the round of the year.”

After three uneventful rounds, Berto landed a good right to begin Round 10. Ortiz, who had been warned earlier about hitting in the back of the head, had a point taken away by Ortega. That seemed to motivate him, and he finished the round with a solid combination.

The crowd gave both fighters a standing ovation when the bout ended.

“I would rather have won than just be in an exciting fight,” a dejected Berto said.

Ortiz now has a six-fight winning streak. He hasn’t lost since June 2009, when he was knocked out in the sixth round by Marcus Maidana.

“I think this is where I’m going to stay now at 147 pounds,” Ortiz said. “I’m the king here. “I’m the king of the welterweights.”
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Khan keeps WBA light welterweight title on points
(From AP)
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MANCHESTER, England (AP)—Amir Khan retained his WBA light welterweight title on points after Paul McCloskey was stopped by the referee in the sixth round because of a nasty cut over his left eye on Saturday.

Referee Luiz Pabon deemed the cut to have come from an accidental clash of heads, and summoned ringside doctor Phil Sahu, who believed McCloskey couldn’t continue with blood seeping into his eye and impairing his vision.

McCloskey disagreed but Pabon sent the fight to scorecards, and the Irish challenger and his team were livid.

All three judges had Khan leading 60-54 halfway through the scheduled 12-round bout, and the Englishman improved to 25-1 with 17 knockouts.

McCloskey, the European champion, was furious with the decision that cost him his first loss in 23 fights, and his team believed Khan should have been disqualified.

Khan started patiently against the challenger’s rangy southpaw style. But Khan landed a big right at the start of the second that visibly shook McCloskey, who recovered with a few shots of his own by the end of the round.

McCloskey grew in confidence, and his left crosses in the third pushed Khan back.

Another tactical few rounds followed, with Khan the main aggressor.

In the decisive sixth, a five-punch combination from Khan staggered McCloskey and moments later the pair went toe-to-toe before McCloskey wheeled away and noticed blood coming from around his left eye.

The referee immediately brought the fight to an abrupt end to a chorus of boos from the 6,000-strong crowd of McCloskey fans.
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Perez wins by unanimous decision, wants title shot next
(By Dennis Taylor)
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AN FRANCISCO — World ranked super featherweight Eloy Perez used a sharp jab, crisp combinations and a left hook that couldn't miss Friday to win a 10-round unanimous decision over Alejandro Rodriguez at Longshoreman's Hall.

Perez won every round on all cards (100-90) to retain his NABO belt and improve to 21-0-2.

Rodriguez (12-2, 6 KOs) cringed from a first-round body shot and fought the rest of the bout in survival mode, backing up, circling and jabbing but refusing to engage.

Perez was ranked this week as the No. 1 super featherweight contender in the world by the WBO.

"We caught him with a great shot to the body and he was just surviving from that part on," said Max Garcia, Perez's trainer. "He was a good boxer but he didn't want to fight."

Perez also was frustrated by Rodriguez's lack of aggression.

"I felt like I had to make something happen because he kept going backward. I tried to fight smart and listen to my corner but it was frustrating," said Perez.

There were no knockdowns or cuts in the fight, though Perez sent Rodriguez stumbling backward on several occasions.

"I'll fight whoever Golden Boy or my manager Kathy Garcia want me to fight at this point," Perez said. "If I keep winning they can't keep me from a title shot."

Ricky Burns of Scotland is the reigning WBO super featherweight champion.