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Number 1s Dominate
Mugabi upset on undercard
Top seeds in separate WBA, WBC and IBF tournaments won impressively on the biggest event thus far in Federal Boxing Alliance history, but before those events "The Beast" was tamed.
In the night's main event, Sugar Ray Leonard defended his claim as the top seed in the WBA Welterweight tournament by dismantling Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis. With many expecting the flashy Leonard to dance and pop Lewis from a distance, Leonard threw a monkey wrench into that plan, attacking Lewis from the start. Looking like a deer in headlights, Lewis backtracked but Leonard persisted and with a straight right dropped Lewis for the count at 2:08 of round 1.
"I came to make a statement," Leonard said after the fight. "Anyone who thinks I lack fire, lack power, will be greatly surprised."
Leonard's explosive performance followed the same from WBC Middleweight top seed Carlos Monzon, whose onslaught was more damaging as his opponent, John David Jackson, was cut under the right eye in a flurry of blows from Monzon. Near the end of the opening round, a 4-punch combination from Monzon sent Jackson stumbling forward. He caught himself but, after another blow from Monzon, referee Barry Yeats jumped in to save Jackson at Monzon's request.
The IBF's Bantamweight top seed Jeff Chandler won unanimously over Eddie Cook, with 99-91 scores across the board. Cook was awarded round 9 by all judges, in the slowest round of the fight. But Chandler moved easily and Cook was never able to mount an attack.
The shock of the night came in a WBA Jr. Middleweight affair, when #4 seed John Mugabi was beaten by a close but unanimous decision by #13 Mike Baker. Mugabi seemed off from the opening bell, sluggish despite looking to be in outstanding shape. The first round was a non-event, but Baker certainly did more, a trend that continued into the second until Mugabi dropped Baker to his knees with a shot under the ribs.
Mugabi woke up in round 3 but then, in round 4, was invisible again. Round 5 was the first action-packed round, with both fighters standing toe to toe. Most ringside observers felt that, if Baker was going to keep that tactic, he would falter. Yet, when round 6 began, it was Baker who kept up the aggression and Mugabi who looked ready to call it a night.
Mugabi had his best round of the night in the 7th, standing in with Baker again and this time getting a definitive upper hand. A hook and uppercut within 15 seconds of each other near the end of the round left Baker shaken, and it seemed The Beast would finally awaken.
But it wasn't to be. Baker was the aggressor in round 8 and, though Mugabi had effective moments, the round was unanimously awarded to Baker. The next two would also be given unanimously to Baker, and those final 3 rounds would give him the 95-94, 96-94, 96-94 decision.
Also on the card:
WBC Flyweight: #3 Eric Morel vs #14 Dave McAuley (Morel MD 10, 97-93, 97-93, 95-95)
WBC Jr. Featherweight: #7 Willie Jorin vs #10 Jesus Salud (Salud SD 10, 97-95, 96-95, 94-96)
GH
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