Alberto shakes off a “shaky” start to get the win!
Former WBA junior lightweight champion Alberto Machado (22-2, 18KO) moves up in weight to put his shocking dual knockout loses to foormer champion Andrew Cancio behind him.
His opponent would be a tough fighter from Ecuador that packed powerful hooks from either hand, Luis Porozo (14-2, 7KO).
The former champ from Puerto Rico looked to get acclimated in the new division; citing the cut in weight was the reason why he lost twice to Cancio by knockout via body shots. However, in the first round of this fight, it didn’t seem like a few body shots were his problem at all!
HERE WE GO AGAIN
In the first round, Porozo would measure his taller, rangier opponent from the outside before lunging in with left hooks. While Machado has never been known for his defense, he would keep his chin upright and in line for multiple hooks in succession that had him hurt by the middle of the round.
For a few moments, it seemed Machado would get knocked out for a third consecutive time in the same arena where it happened twice previously. He struggled to get out of the first round, but as we have seen many times before, the minute of rest is enough for these fighters to regain their composure.
This is exactly what Machado did.
FINDING A GEM
He started the second round still getting hit but judged distance much better as he stalked Porozo behind the jab. With not much time wasted, the former champion corners his prey and shoots a decoy jab to setup a left hook to the liver of Porozo.
The fighter from Ecuador went down on one knee after a delayed reaction. He would get back to his feet but Machado already found the answer!
While never recovering from the first knockdown, Porozo would go down two more times. He would be counted out on the third knockdown.
BACK ON TRACK
Machado gets back on track to end 2019 with a win after back-to-back loses from ironically the same shot he that led him to victory.
In the post-fight interview, Machado talked about how significant this win was for his confidence. He then went on to callout former WBC junior lightweight champion and back-to-back fight of the year participant, Francisco Vargas!
By: EJ Williams
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