Haney, Yoshida Win New Titles as Paro and Cruz Score KO Wins
In his first fight in the division, former undisputed lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (31-0 15 KO’s) easily defeated two-time super lightweight champion Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (29-2, 24 KO’s). With the spoils of victory, Haney collected Prograis’s WBC super lightweight title.
There was not one round, minute, and significant exchange in the fight that favored Prograis. Instead, The Dream controlled the distance, pace, and intensity throughout with his laser-like precision, straight right, ability to constantly turn Rougarou, and thumping body attack. By the halfway point in the fight, it was clear that Prograis had no answers or adjustments to offer.
Despite being labeled as feather-fisted, Haney dropped Prograis in the third and hurt him badly in the sixth. With the win, Haney is not only a two-division champion, he’s also a serious threat in the super lightweight division. Let’s see if The Dream can follow this duel with another significant fight.
LIAM PARO EASILY STOPS MONTANA LOVE IN SIX
In an extremely dull affair, super lightweight fighter Liam Paro (24-0, 15 KO’s) stopped Montana “Too Pretty” Love (18-2-1, 9 KO’s) in the sixth. For essentially the entirety of the match, the Aussie played the role of ring general by moving forward and pressing the action.
A back-peddling Love used his legs to bend out of striking range and occasionally remembered to throw punches. The two fighters maintained a very sparse and unentertaining pace for the first five rounds of the fight. In the sixth round, Paro dropped Love with a left uppercut that chopped into his whiskers.
Too Pretty got back up only to quickly hit the canvas from a straight left hand. Once again, Love made it to his feet only to be swarmed on the ropes where referee Thomas Taylor jumped in to save him from taking any further damage.
Redeemed by the knockout, this made for a sufficient American debut for Paro and very well could have sounded the death knell for Love’s career. The Ohioan probably should have been more focused on his opponent instead of eyeing a fight against the winner of Regis Prograis-Devin Haney.
ANDY CRUZ OBLITERATES JOVANNI STRAFFON IN TWO!
In his second professional prizefight, Olympic gold medalist and lightweight boxer Andy Cruz (2-0, 1 KO’s) picked up his first knockout win versus Jovanni “Impacto” Straffon (29-6-1, 19 KO’s).
From the clang of the opening bell, it was clear he was by far the faster and sharper fighter. It led to the Cuban pugilist blasting Straffon with a bevy of sharp, thudding punches in the face and chin.
With Straffon unable to competently defend himself, referee Edward Collantes called a halt to the action at the top of the third period. With the win, Cruz is becoming more accustomed to a professional, heavier-handed style of boxing.
Cruz wasted little time putting all the top names in the division on notice. It will be interesting to see how he continues to develop in the professional ranks going forward.
MIYO YOSHIDA BATTERS EBANIE BRIDGES FOR THE IBF BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE
In the second defense of her IBF bantamweight title, Australian fighter Ebanie Bridges (9-2, 4 KOs) was thoroughly beaten from pillar to post in a losing effort. As a result, her challenger, Miyo Yoshida (17-4, 0 KO) was crowned the new IBF bantamweight champion by way of unanimous decision. The overall contest was never really close at all.
Each fighter established a rhythm that would persist for all ten rounds. For her part, the champion didn’t bring much to the table. Throughout the bout, the IBF champion fought like she was full of Thanksgiving dinner and stiff bourbon. She moved lethargically, had poor accuracy, and displayed nonexistent defense.
Yoshida was her polar opposite. The Japanese boxer was a constant blur of punches that regularly spun and snapped Bridges’ head around. She also easily muscled the champion around the canvas in every clinch.
From roughly the third round on, Yoshida was operating a few levels above the champion. Having beaten Bridges in every possible metric of scoring, Yoshida was correctly awarded the unanimous decision to the tune of 99-91 (twice) and 97-93.
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