Faded legend Morales dealt KO by Garcia

Faded legend Morales dealt KO by Garcia
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
October 22, 2013

BROOKLYN--Though they went twelve tough rounds the first time, Philadelphia's Danny Garcia (25-0, 16 KOs) whitewashed living legend and future Hall of Famer Erik Morales (52-9, 36 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico, stopping him with a single counter left hook in the 4th round of their junior welterweight contest. Both fighters were looking to land left hooks but the younger, quicker handed Garcia found the mark with a brutal left hook that turned Morales around like a spinning top in a Knockout of the Year candidate. Morales was badly hurt and one of his cornermen jumped into the ring, forcing referee Benjy Esteves Jr. to halt the bout at the 1:23 mark.

Morales was competitive in the first round, landing some good counter shots of his own before Garcia took over in the 2nd round. Garcia never relinquished control after that, tagging Morales with hard shots throughout until the end finally came. Morales proclaimed this was his last fight in the United States but will likely fight his swan song in Tijuana, hopefully against a fighter of lesser ilk. Garcia caps off an impressive 2012 that puts him in the running for Fighter of the Year, sandwiching his knockout of Amir Khan in July with two wins over Morales, one by knockout.

There was quite a bit of controversy prior to the bout, as Morales tested positive for low amounts of clenbuterol, a drug sometimes used as a masking agent and weight loss drug, flunking two tests administered on Oct. 4 and Oct. 10 before passing a third test taken closer to the date of the fight. The fight was in jeopary up until 2 AM ET the day of the fight, as meetings were conducted involving the New York State Athletic Commission and the United States Anti-Doping Agency, as well as the camps of the two fighters.

Welterweight titlist Paul Malignaggi was fighting for the first time in Brooklyn for the first time since his professional debut back in 2001, controversially decisioning Pablo Cesar Cano of Mexico via a split verdict. Malignaggi's WBA title was not on the line as Cano failed to make weight prior to the contest. However, Cano gave Malignaggi everything he could handle, dropping Malignaggi in the 11th round with an overhand right that seemingly swung the fight in his favor. Cano won an unfairly lopsided 118-109 on one scorecard, which was overruled by two 114-113 cards in favor of the local fighter. Malignaggi used his handspeed to befuddle Cano early on, but the 23-year old Mexican fighter poured it on late as he was able to cut off the ring and find a home for his right hand often. The crowd booed the decision vehemently.

In an entertaining slugfest, Peter Quillin (28-0, 20 KOs) of New York took traveling champion Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (27-1, 17 KOs) of France's WBO middleweight title, dropping him six times in an otherwise close battle. Early in the bout, N'Jikam troubled the challenger with his movement and his quick jab, which found a mark regularly. Quillin had the equalizer with his power, catching the wide-swinging Frenchman (originally of Cameroon) in between with some more compact shots that packed a thud. N'Jikam looked done especially in round four, but managed to hold on and then somehow take control of the fight as Quillin tired from going for broke. If the fight was close, Quillin put the finishing touches in the 12th by putting N'Jikam down two more times to earn a unanimous decision victory by scores of 115-107 thrice.

In a snoozer, St. Louis, Mo.'s Devon Alexander (24-1, 13 KOs) become a multi-divisional world champion as he captured the IBF welterweight belt from Miami knockout artist Randall Bailey (43-8, 37 KOs) via unanimous decision. There were many lulls in the bout as well some dirty tactics, and both fighters lost a point in round six for holding. Alexander controlled the action with his superior foot speed, often spinning Bailey around into a position where he could land numerous clean shots. Bailey was looking for the big right hand all night but at his advanced age of 38 he was unable to pull the trigger.

Returning to the ring not just from his first professional defeat, but from osteosarcoma (a life threatening form of cancer that nearly ended his life) was middleweight Brooklynite Daniel Jacobs (23-1, 20 KOs), who made it a triumphant return by stopping Josh Luteran (13-2, 9 KOs) of Blue Springs, Mo. in the very first round. Jacobs buckled Luteran with a sweeping right hand and finished him with a left an a right that had his lights out before his head hit the canvas. Time of stoppage was 1:13.