Wills Recovers to Defeat Rawls With 8th-Round KO

Just when it looked as if heavyweight Mark Wills might have punched himself out, he recovered to score an eighth-round knockout over Avery Rawls Monday in the main event at the Irvine Marriott in front of 1,239.

Wills (11-4) of Van Nuys had dominated most of the fight using a stunning left jab and upper cut.

He landed solid lefts in the first six rounds and hurt Rawls in the third, fourth and fifth rounds. Wills connected with a left jab and a left upper cut that hurt Rawls late in the fourth, but the bell saved Rawls from any more punches.

Rawls (11-3-1) of Compton had few counter punches until the sixth round when he landed a quick combination before Wills could get inside to throw his left.

In the eighth round, Wills looked tired and was starting to hold onto Rawls for the first two minutes. But after Rawls landed a combination followed by a short left hook, Wills suddenly threw a strong right followed by a punishing left that sent Rawls to the ropes where the referee issued a standing eight count.

At the end of the count, Rawls still looked dazed, so the fight was stopped.

“I was tired and hurting a little bit,” Wills said of the eighth round. “But he was too, and I knew I just had to want it more and I did.”

Genaro Hernandez continued to look impressive with a ninth-round knockout of Juan Manuel Vega in the semi-main event at 131 pounds.

Hernandez of Los Angeles is 14-0. He had control of the fight from the start, working Vega (10-4-1) with a series of head shots over the first four rounds.

Hernandez landed two stunning rights to bloody Vega’s nose in the third round.

Hernandez continued to dominate until the late in the seventh round when Vega finally landed some strong counter punches. But Hernandez was quick to recover in the eighth round.

Hernandez rushed from his corner with a flurry of combinations to start ninth round and 26 seconds later the fight was stopped.