Congrats Vasquez Jr! Great fights tonight @MikeTyson & @IronMikeProd! #FSLive starts now! pic.twitter.com/hvvZcJrVRO
— FOX Sports 1 (@FOXSports1) August 9, 2014
In a battle of two undefeated Welterweights, Samuel Vasquez (16-0, 12 KOs) scored a technical knockout victory over James Stevenson (21-1, 14 KOs) in the ninth round of a scheduled ten-round fight at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The bout was the main event of a card presented by Iron Mike Productions, Fight Promotions Inc, and Fox Sports.
Vasquez, a 28-year-old southpaw, used a solid jab, right hooks to the body, and ring generalship to outbox and outgun Stevenson.
Stevenson was hurt in each of rounds two and three, the latter of which ended with Stevenson’s back against the ropes.
Stevenson’s back would find the ropes several times throughout the fight, as Vasquez landed powerful uppercuts to hurt Stevenson in round five.
In an unexpected turn of events, however, Stevenson hurt Vasquez with a solid right hand, demonstrating that it would not be easy to stop him.
In the following rounds, however, an already finished Stevenson would find himself at the end of powerful flurries that weren’t powerful and frequent enough to merit a stoppage, but which dropped him once in the eighth round.
In the ninth round, Stevenson was surprisingly allowed to continue fighting by his corner, only to be stopped thereafter by another Vasquez flurry.
Vasquez is now the IBF/USBA Welterweight champion, while Stevenson, a 31-year-old Baltimore, Maryland native, suffers the first defeat of his career.
MONTY MEZA CLAY! Winner by TKO! Main event coming up NEXT! pic.twitter.com/QAVts5Cy4c
— FOX Sports 1 (@FOXSports1) August 9, 2014
In the co-main event, Monty Meza Clay (36-3, 22 KOs) scored a technical knockout victory over Alan Herrera (32-7, 21 KOs) in the final round of a scheduled ten-round Lightweight Welterweight fight.
Clay spent the better part of the fight at close range, ducking and slipping punches before landing thudding right hands and left hooks.
The 33-year-old slugger from Raskin, Pennsylvania was simply too much for Herrera, 24, who could not keep the shorter fighter off of him for the entire fight.
Herrera, who is from Sinaloa, Mexico, was a tough opponent, but he was outslugged throughout the fight.
In round six, Clay dropped Herrera with an overhand right that was followed by a short left hook.
Rather than finishing the fight, however, Clay finished the round with his back to the ropes as an undaunted Herrera regained his composure to land hard shots of his own.
Herrera’s heart allowed him to hurt Clay in the ninth round as both traded at close range, but his skill was not there to finish Clay or keep up with him in the later rounds.
Herrera was eventually stopped in the tenth round after several unanswered straight right hands and uppercuts.
In the first televised bout, Ievgen Khytrov (6-0, 6 KOs) blasted through Willie Fortune (17-2, 8 KOs) in the first round of scheduled six-round Middleweight fight.
According to a December 2013 RingTv.com article, “Khytrov participated in over 500 amateur bouts, more than current RING junior featherweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux and WBA middleweight titleholder Gennady Golvkin.”
With this kind of amateur pedigree, it was no surprise that Khyrov walked through Fortune with right hands and left hooks within the first thirty seconds of the first round.
Khytrov, 25, only recently moved from the Ukraine, but will surely make a name for himself in the near future.
