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Benavidez Jr. Scores TKO Win; Orozco and Taylor Put On Slugfest

Jose Benavidez Jr. (23-0-0, 16 KOs) put on a dominant performance in front of a hometown crowd at the U.S. Airway Center in Phoenix, Arizona Saturday night May 16 when he beat challenger Jorge Paez Jr. (38-6-2, 23 KOs) by twelfth round TKO.

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Jose Benavidez Jr. (23-0-0, 16 KOs) put on a dominant performance in front of a hometown crowd at the U.S. Airway Center in Phoenix, Arizona Friday, May 15, when he beat challenger Jorge Paez Jr. (38-6-2, 23 KOs) by 12th round TKO.

Benavidez connected with a straight right followed by a hard left hook that put Paez down forcing the referee to stop the fight with 21 seconds left in the final round.

Length and reach was the difference in the fight, Benavidez established the advantage early snapping Paez’s head back with hard jabs and combinations while keeping him on the outside.

Paez showed signs of success in the second round when Benavidez got too comfortable with his back on the ropes allowing Paez to put in good work to the head and body.

Paez’s success didn’t last long as the first knockdown of the fight came in the third round when Benavidez landed a hard right hand to Paez’s body forcing him to take a knee.

As the fight went on Benavidez gathered rounds by continuing to pick Paez off from a distance while landing the harder and sharper punches.

Benavidez has been criticized in the past for spending too much time with his back on the ropes and was criticized again tonight by ringside commentators Timothy Bradley Jr. and Ray Mancini, the difference between this fight and his fight against Mauricio Herrera was Benavidez was able to tire out Paez and do good work while coming off the ropes.

Benavidez, who is just 23 years old, keeps his undefeated record, his interim WBA Super Lightweight title, and is now a major player in the 140 and 147 pound divisions.

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In his post-fight interview Benavidez told Crystina Poncher he’s ready for all challengers.

Whoever’s the best at 140-147, I’m ready to fight them,” said Benavidez.

In the co-main event Antonio Orozco (22-0-0, 15 KOs) and Emmanuel Taylor (18-4-0, 12 KOs) staged a slugfest that flat-out stole the show.

It was a tale of two fights with great back-and-forth action, Orozco controlled the first half of the fight by keeping it on the inside with a ferocious body attack that opened Taylor up to be hit with hard left hooks.

As they moved towards the middle of the fight, the tension grew giving the feeling that a brawl was going to break out and even though Taylor tried to box and move more, Orozco successfully managed to drag him into exchanges.

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The wheels finally came off in the sixth round and both fighters opened up with multiple punch combinations going back and forth, landing big shots on the other man.

Surprisingly it was Taylor who maintained composure after the big round, controlling Rounds 7-9 by switching rolls from boxer to aggressor while landing the more meaningful punches on Orozco who was bothered by a mouse under his right eye.

Entering the 10th round you got the impression that whoever stood out to the judges in the last frame would earn the hard-fought victory.

It was Orozco who once again became the aggressor and Taylor who wasn’t able to pull the trigger. Orozco earned the unanimous decision and a potential big fight for later in 2015.

The judge’s scored the fight 96-94, 96-94, and 98-92 for Antonio Orozco.

 

All photos by Omar Martinez/RBRBoxing

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