Hooker vs. Saucedo: Maurice Hooker retains WBO title with exciting TKO in 7th round by Alex Saucedo | Boxing



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There were high expectations for Maurice Hooker's first defense of his WBO junior welterweight title against Alex Saucedo. Hooker not only faced a recent contender for the fight of the year, but also in front of his hometown crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

Hooker passed the test brilliantly. He retired from the canvas in the second round and earned a seventh TKO in an exciting main event on ESPN.

The night started badly for Hooker (25-0-3, 17 KO), Saucedo losing little time to reduce the shot and snatching the penalty shootout, while Hooker languished in the ropes. Despite his fierce battles, Hooker's advantage in reaching the reach was canceled, Saucedo (28-1) penetrated inside and fired powerful shots. In the second round. Saucedo planted Hooker on the back with a hard right hand and questions were asked as to whether Hooker was above his head.

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"I am a true champion," said Hooker. "I stayed calm and relaxed, worked on my defense and forced him to get tired, once I did that, I headed for him. I knew it would be my time to fight. "

Hooker found his rhythm in the third and fourth rounds by placing Saucedo at the end of his jab and managed to control the distance. Despite all his efforts, Saucedo was clearly at a disadvantage when the fight took place in the center of the ring. He needed to do something radical.

He roared with a powerful fifth round in which the Mexican pioneered a path inside Hooker's guard and knocked out his opponent with a series of straight hands. Hooker may have played the possum and just waited for his opponent to tire.

The sixth round saw Saucedo move away from Hooker, who kept his back to the ropes for much of the round. A burst of energy at the end of the round was a sign of things to come.

With his opponent raised, Hooker ran out of the corner in the seventh and bounced a pair of right hands on Saucedo's head. Conscious that there was blood in the water, Hooker collected a series of powerful shots that wrapped the lap of his opponent. A shining right hand completely destroyed Saucedo's balance and sent her stumbling through the ropes. The referee ruled that it was a reversal because the ropes were the only thing that kept him upright.

Hooker seized the opportunity and closed the show with a new series of punches that forced the referee to suspend the fight at 1:36.

With the win, Hooker may have been in the spotlight to win Jose Ramirez's WBC junior welterweight title. After this performance, it would certainly be a confrontation that would illuminate the division of 140 pounds.

Hooker vs. Saucedo live updates

Maurice Hooker def. Alex Saucedo via TKO in the seventh round. Stop time, 1:36.

Round 7: Saucedo tries to make his way, but Hooker is wise and hits him with a huge right hand. Hooker is everywhere Saucedo. Hooker smokes Saucedo with a pair of right hands and is about to go down. A good right hand of Hooker marks a technical reversal because the ropes are the only thing that holds Saucedo. Hooker storms and destroys Saucedo. The referee saves him from a new punishment. TKO!

Round 6: Hooker drops a pair of bombs on the right that mark Saucedo. It is clear that Saucedo is clearly at a disadvantage when the fight is in the center of the ring. Hooker with a combination; he dominates the tour. The two men exchange hard shots at the end of the game but it's Hooker's control of the distance that gets him around. 10-9, hooker (57-56, Saucedo).

Round 5: Saucedo closes the distance and throws punches at Hooker while his back is on the ropes. Saucedo chokes him with gunshots inside. Hooker is unable to hold him back. Saucedo had Hooker on the ropes for nearly two minutes and hit him. Ten seconds from the end, Hooker pulls the ropes and brings a sparkling combination. Judges can give it a ride based on this burst, but it was all Saucedo until then. 10 to 9, Saucedo (48 to 46, Saucedo).

Tour 4: Hooker finds his rhythm and lays a solid left hook that knocks Saucedo. Hooker lands a hard right hand. Saucedo does not manage to make his way inside as he did in the first two rounds and is regularly at the end of the Hooker jab and his fast and fast right hand. 10-9, hooker (38-37, Saucedo).

Round 3: Hooker starts shooting again. Saucedo has a lot of success with the short right hand. Hard combination of two strokes of Hooker. He has bounced a lot up to now and used his reach to keep Saucedo at the end of his shots. 10-9, hooker (29-27, Saucedo).

2nd round: Hooker starts to stick the jab. Saucedo drops Hooker with a hard right hand. Saucedo is looking for murder. He swarms Hooker with powerful shots. Hooker does not seem too damaged but Saucedo tears him inside. Hooker picks up the pace and knocks Saucedo with his right hand. 10-8, Saucedo (20-17, Saucedo).

Tour 1: Saucedo has already narrowed the gap on Hooker and has pioneered a path inside the jab. Saucedo is doing hard knocks. Both throw their hands with a feverish rhythm. Hooker is at his best when he boxes outside. Both have their moments. Saucedo nails Hooker with a short, hard right hand that probably caught him. 10-9, Saucedo.

12:07: After a long wait, Maurice Hooker and Alex Saucedo finally make it to the ring. Saucedo is received as a hero while he boxing in front of the fans of his hometown. Will Hooker be able to take up the challenge? Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. are also present. Crawford walked up to Spence and told him a few words before the main event.

Egidijus Kavaliauskas def. Roberto Arriaza by KO in the third round. Time of stop was 3:00.

11:17 p.m.: With the worsening of the situation, Kavaliauskas put the pressure up and put the locks on Arriaza with a wild assault at the end of the third round which resulted in a knockout. A blow to the body put in place a right angle that knocked out Arriaza. With his opponent buzzing, Kavaliauskas closed the show. Arriaza had no idea where he was and could not answer the count of 10. Such a win could very well put Kavaliauskas in the crosshairs to fight with Crawford.

11:13: It's a bit of a surprise to see Kavaliauskas having to roll back the box, but he managed to do a great job after two rounds. A clash of heads opened a notch on Mean Machine's right eye. Let's see how he looks to get going.

11:03 p.m.: Egidijus Kavaliauskas, unbeaten, is invoked by Roberto Arriaza. The winner could be facing Terence Crawford.

10:35: Emanuel Williams had no reason to be in a boxing ring with John Rincon. Even though they were both boxing debut, Williams clearly had no boxing experience and was destroyed with a body shot in the first round of their fight. It was ugly and, fortunately, it ended quickly.

10:23 .: Tyler Howard shorted Isiah Seldon with a brutal knockout in the first round. Howard crushed Seldon with a right hand that made him sink into the canvas. Seldon's goose was cooked, but he chose to get up and continue the fight. He would pay dearly with a glittering left hook to the body that degraded him for good. Everything happened in 90 seconds, while Howard was 16-0 with his 11th knockout.

22h00: Albert Bell (no connection to the baseball player) improved his undefeated record to 13-0 with a TKO of Carlos Padilla. Bell nearly finished the fight in the first round with a knock-down pair, but Padilla was able to sustain the penalty and come out of the round. From there, Bell had total control until a shock of the heads forced the fight to stop after six rounds. With Padilla on the ground, he decided not to continue and gave Bell his fifth victory by stopping.

9:21 p.m.: In the first fight of the night, Cletus "Hebrew Hammer" Seldin annihilated Nelson Lara in 26 seconds. A left hook of the body decimated Lara and set the tone for the night.

Hooker vs Saucedo Fight Card

Winners in bold .

  • Maurice Hooker Alex Saucedo, 12 rounds, for the Hooker WBO junior welterweight title
  • Egidijus Kavaliauskas against Roberto Arriaza, 10 rounds, welterweight
  • Cletus Seldin vs Nelson Lara, 10 round, junior middleweight
  • Jonathan Guzman against Roberto Castaneda, 10 laps, junior featherweight
  • Albert Bell vs Carlos Padilla, eight rounds, light weight
  • Trevor McCumby Felipe Romero, eight rounds, light heavyweight
  • Tyler Howard vs Isiah Seldon, eight rounds, middleweight
  • Aaron Morales Francisco Lapizco, six rounds, weighted
  • Rasheen Brown Sebastian Baltazar, four laps, junior featherweight
  • Paul Kroll against Antonio Wattell, four laps, welterweight
  • John Rincon vs Emanuel Williams, four rounds, lightweight

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