BOXING : Whitaker Retains Title by Unanimous Decision

Pernell Whitaker, fighting in his hometown, successfully defended his world lightweight boxing championship Saturday night with a unanimous 12-round decision over European champion Poli Diaz of Spain.

Whitaker, 27, improved to 26-1 by dominating the pace with his stalk-and-counter style.

“I wanted to punish him,” Whitaker said. “I thought maybe he would quit on me.”

Diaz was able to take everything Whitaker threw and still taunt his opponent but at the end sustained his first loss in 33 pro bouts.

Throughout the bout, Diaz, 24, would circle the ring and then charge Whitaker with flurries that landed only occasionally.

Whitaker knocked Diaz down in the seventh round and had him in trouble several times in later rounds.

In the early going, Whitaker seemed perplexed with Diaz’s unorthodox style.

But patience paid off when the champion began to shake Diaz with combinations of right and left jabs as the fight wore on.

Whitaker, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist, admitted Diaz had him confused at times.

“I don’t know what style you can call his style,” Whitaker said. “A fighter like that can make a good fighter look bad.”

Despite a barrage of punches to the head, Diaz was able to smile and purse his lips in a mock kiss to Whitaker in the 11th round.

In the final round, Whitaker and referee Al Rothenberg bumped heads, stunning Whitaker momentarily.

But he recovered and, as the fight ended, Whitaker began to return the challenger’s taunts.

Diaz hit the canvas in the second round in what Rothenberg ruled a knockdown, but the Spaniard appeared to have slipped.

Diaz called the bout “a stepping stone” and said he hoped to fight again in the United States.

This was his second fight outside Spain.

His corner said he fractured a rib and sustained liver damage early in the fight.

In a preliminary bout featuring heavyweights, Michael Moorer of Detroit stopped Alex Stewart of Tampa, Fla., at 1:54 of the fourth round of a scheduled 10-rounder.

Moorer, 25-0 with 25 knockouts, got Stewart in trouble in the first round with a flurry of rights, knocking him down twice. Moorer was in trouble in the second round, but opened two cuts on his opponent’s face.

Stewart, who slipped to a 27-3 record, had his eyes and nose covered in blood when the fight ended.

An estimated 7,000 attended the fights held at the Scope, which has a capacity of about 10,000. The two bouts were televised by HBO.