The fairytale ending for Alex Saucedo wasn’t meant to be. The Oklahoma City native Saucedo fell short in his first world title challenge, as Maurice Hooker defended his WBO junior welterweight title against Saucedo via seventh-round TKO In front of 4,102 fans at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
“Alex is a great fighter. He came to fight, and I came to fight, and I went right at him,” Hooker said. “I knew the first couple of rounds would be tough, but eventually it would be my time to take over.”
Said Saucedo: “He’s a champion for a reason. Now, I am going to rest, enjoy my family, and come back stronger. I gave it my very best in the ring.”
Saucedo (28-1, 18 KOs) landed the first major blow of the night, knocking Hooker down with a right hand in the second round, causing blood to gush from his nose. Hooker responded with a late flurry to end the round. The fight entered a familiar pattern, as Saucedo marched forward and Hooker (25-0-3, 17 KOs) landed flush counter punches.
Eventually, Hooker took over, as cuts over Saucedo’s left eye opened up. Hooker, using precision punching, knocked Saucedo down with a right hand in the seventh. The end came soon after, and Hooker, a native of Dallas, Texas, left Oklahoma with his world title.
Check out the complete-card results below. Download the RBRBoxing app for more coverage including breaking news push notifications.
Live Boxing Results
Maurice Hooker vs. Alex Saucedo
Maurice Hooker dug deep and recovered from a second-round knockdown to successfully defend his WBO Junior Welterweight title against Alex Saucedo via seventh-round TKO.
Egidijus Kavaliauskas vs. Roberto Arriaza
Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas stops Roberto Arriaza in the 2nd round via KO and is now the NABF WBO Intercontinental champion.
The bout remained fairly competitive but a pair of hooks from Kavaliauskas would stun Arriaza and he would not get up in time to beat the referees count. Kavaliauskas is now 21-0 with 17 KOs.
Cletus Seldin vs. Nelson Lara
Brooklyn native, Cletus Seldin improves his record to 22-1 and adds another KO victory to his resume with a win over Nelson Lara. The bout ended in the first with a body shot dropping Lara who could not make the count.
Jonathan Guzman vs. Roberto Castaneda
Jonathan Guzman of the Dominican Republic fought a hard battle against Roberto Castaneda for all 10 rounds. This would make the first time that Guzman would go the distance but still came out with the victory in the end.
Final scorecards read 99-91 x3 for the unanimous decision victory.
Trevor McCumby vs. Felipe Romero
A very game Felipe Romero gave the undefeated, Trevor McCumby all he could handle for all eight rounds. Both fighters were dropped to the canvas but it was McCumby who came out on top in the end. McCumby won via unanimous decision and improves to 25-0.
Albert Bell vs. Carlos Padilla
Albert Bell came out guns blazing against Colombian fighter Carlos Padilla. Bell would drop Padilla twice in the opening round and Padilla would lose an extra point on top of that due to spitting out his mouthpiece after an exchange. Padilla refused to quit despite an atrocious first round and fought on.
An accidental headbutt towards the end of the 6th round would cause a cut above the left eye of Padilla and he would not come out of his corner for the seventh. Bell now improves on his perfect record and is now 13-0 with 5 KOs.
Tyler Howard vs. Isiah Seldon
Tyler Howard wasted no time finishing Isiah Seldon at the 1:30 mark of the opening bell. Howard would drop Seldon twice and Seldon failed to get to his feet before the 10 count. Howard is now 16-0 with 11 KOs.
Aaron Morales vs. Francisco Javier Lapizco
Both Aaron Morales and Francisco Lapizco let their hands go during their six-round encounter with both men landing cleanly. Just as on landed with crisp shots, the other returned fire with heavy shots.
Morales would eventually land the cleaner and more thudding shots that impressed the judges and he was awarded a unanimous decision victory with all three judges scoring the bout 59-55.
Paul Kroll vs. Travis Conley
Paul Kroll made quick work of his opponent Travis Conley in the opening bout at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
After dropping Conley in the first round, it wasn’t long before Kroll began to unload on Conley. After a flurry of punches landed cleanly on Conley, the referee called a halt to the action and Kroll improved to 2-0.
Rasheen Brown vs. Sebastian Baltazar
A scrappy bout between Rasheen Brown and Sebastian Baltazar in OKC. Both fighters came to throw blows but ultimately, the longer and rangier Brown would be crowned the victor.
The fight was close and hard fought but Brown would edge it out with scores of 38-38, 39-37 x2.
John Rincon vs. Emanual Williams
John Rincon shined in his pro debut and finished off Emanual Williams in dominating fashion. Williams, also fighting in his pro debut, appeared to be way over his head and the knockout proved it.
Rincon would floor Williams with a body shot that he would never recover from. The official time was 1:24 of the first round.
Photos by Mikey Williams/Top Rank
