BOXING ROUNDUP : Banke Comes Back, Stops Lee

Paul Banke, battered, bleeding, behind on points on some cards and in danger of losing his World Boxing Council super bantamweight title in his first defense, stopped Lee Ki-Jun of South Korea in the 12th round Saturday at Ichon, South Korea, about 45 miles south of Seoul.

Referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia stopped the bout as Lee reeled along the ropes after being knocked down for the second time in the round and third time in the fight.

Banke (20-4), born in Mexico and fighting out of Azusa, had won the title from Daniel Zaragoza at the Forum in April in a brawl much like Banke’s knockout of Lee (14-1-1). Banke also was behind in that fight before stopping Zaragoza in the ninth round.

His victory sets up a third fight with Zaragoza, who won the first in the Forum in June of 1989.

A Forum spokesman Saturday said matchmaker Tony Curtis would probably try to schedule Banke-Zaragoza III for this fall.

Lee took charge early against Banke. Lee opened a cut along Banke’s right eye with the approval of a crowd that packed the 1,000 seats of the town hall.

“I was losing the fight until I knocked him out,” Banke said. “Lee was a good fighter. In the Zaragoza fight, they had me losing on points, but this time I knew I was losing. But I stayed there. I kept going on. I don’t quit. That’s what makes a champion different from amateurs.”

The telling blow was a right hand that caught Lee on the head and sent him staggering to the canvas near the end of round 11. Garcia reached a three count as the round ended.

In the 12th, Lee charged out but went down twice before Garcia stopped the fight at 1:55.

The problem, said Choi Jin-Heungf, Lee’s trainer, was fatigue.

“Lee was too clean a guy,” Choi said. “He should learn to be more flexible. You know, when he needs a rest, he should rest. He just kept going and it tired him at the end.”

Nigel Benn of Britain retained his World Boxing Organization middleweight championship by stopping Iran Barkley of New York at 2:57 of the first round of their scheduled 12-round bout in Las Vegas.

Benn kept the title he won in April against Doug DeWitt by knocking down Barkley three times in the first round, ending the bout under Nevada rules.

There was momentary confusion, however, over whether the bout was over. Referee Carlos Padilla had to confer with members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission to determine whether Barkley’s third time on the canvas was a knockdown or a slip.

The commission ruled that Benn’s last flurry, two rights to the head and a third that missed, constituted a knockdown. Barkley was heading down but had not touched the canvas after the two rights landed.

Benn, at 159 1/2 pounds, knocked down Barkley, at 160, in the opening seconds of the round with a left-right-left combination to the head.

Barkley, the former WBC middleweight champion, was up quickly and responded with a left to the head that sent Benn reeling across the ring and into the ropes.

Benn, 26, answered with a series of rights that staggered Barkley. A left-right combination, followed by a looping right to the head, put Barkley on his knees.

Benn’s third knockdown came a minute later. The fighters flailed at each other’s heads, landing more often than not, from the opening bell. There were few body shots and only three jabs were thrown, all by Barkley after he went down for the second time.

Barkley, 30, has a record of 25-7 with 16 knockouts. He received $200,000 for the fight. Benn, 27-1 with 25 knockouts, received $400,000.

This was Benn’s 10th fight in the past two years, nine of them victories. This was Barkley’s third fight during that period, all of them losses.