BOXING : Canizales Finishes Fast, Keeps Title

Orlando Canizales extended his bantamweight championship reign to 38 months Saturday by beating Fernie Morales at Indio’s Desert ExpoCentre.

Canizales, from Laredo, Tex., was defending his International Boxing Federation title for the eighth time, and in the middle rounds Saturday it appeared he might lose it.

Morales, who learned to fight in East Los Angeles gyms but lives in El Paso, faded over the last few rounds and lost a unanimous decision by judges’ margins of 119-108, 118-109 and 116-111. The Times card had the fight even after 10 rounds but favored Canizales, 115-112, after 12.

Morales (28-5) was knocked down twice by left hooks to the jaw, in the second round and again in the final five seconds of the fight. Canizales (29-1-1) was said to have had difficulty making the bantamweight limit of 118 pounds. Some in his camp said he weighed 126 pounds as recently as Tuesday.

“It’s not true. I’ve never had trouble making 118,” he said afterward.

Whatever, the champion seemed to falter after winning the first three rounds. The left hook that dumped Morales early in the second seemed to infuriate the slower, plodding challenger, who fought back late in the round.

After the third round, Canizales’ punches seemed to lose their sting. Relentlessly, Morales brought the fight to the champion.

The more athletic Canizales seemed to be wearing down slowly, until he went up-tempo in the ninth round. He bloodied Morales’ nose and scored with straight rights and left hooks.

After winning the 10th and 11th rounds in much the same way, Canizales won the last round easily. Morales was exhausted. With his hands down in the final seconds he became an easy mark, and Canizales dropped him again with a left hook.

“He was tough, but I knew he was a tough guy going in,” Canizales said.

“He caught me with a lot of overhand rights and that disappoints me, because I saw every one of them coming.”

Canizales earned $100,000, Morales $10,000. Canizales became the IBF champion by knocking out Kevin Seabrooks in 1988.

A crowd of about 1,200 (571 paid) attended the 60-round show in the 3,000-seat Desert ExpoCentre, where promoters said Canizales-Morales was the first of a regular pro boxing program there.