Washington Stops Billups in Eighth, Wins State Title

Challenger Lionel Washington won the California state heavyweight boxing championship with an eighth-round technical knockout of Levi Billups Monday night at the Country Club in Reseda.

Washington, who earlier knocked Billups down twice, ended it with a flurry of lefts and overhand rights that sent the former champion sprawling against the ropes. Referee Bob Byrd stopped the contest at 1:35 when Billups could not defend himself against Washington, who entered the contest as the state’s seventh-ranked contender.

The fight was scheduled for 12 rounds.

Billups, who won the title last June 30 with a fifth-round knockout of Mike White at the Irvine Marriott, kept Washington at bay with left jabs through the first two rounds. Washington, however, floored him with an overhand right in the third and again in the fourth with a left-right-left combination.

Rounds six and seven had Billups countering effectively, but Washington dazed him with a left uppercut early in the eighth and finished him with the right.

The knockout was Washington’s ninth in 10 victories. He has lost four times. Billups is 14-4.

On the undercard, Los Angeles’ Calvin Meeks knocked out Kevin Spratt in the third round of their junior welterweight fight. Meeks (10-1) caught Spratt (18-3-2) with a short left that sat him down early in the third and finished him with the same punch 45 seconds into the round.

In earlier bouts, lightweight Tony Rivera won a four-round split decision over Oscar Gonzales, middleweight Reggie Jackson (of Oakland) knocked out Auberto Silva 2:29 into their scheduled four-rounder, and Rocky Pepeli, of Van Nuys, needed only 1:40 to knock out heavyweight Louis Morra.