BOXING ROUNDUP : Brown Knocks Out Norris to Take Title; Chavez Wins

Simon Brown, a former International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council welterweight champion, knocked out Terry Norris in the fourth round Saturday night at Puebla, Mexico, to win the WBC super-welterweight title.

Brown, who twice had fights with Norris postponed because of illness, made the most of his delayed opportunity, dropping the champion in the first round with a hard right. He knocked Norris out at 1:06 of the fourth round with another big right.

Brown, 40-2 with 30 knockouts, handed Norris his fourth loss in 30 fights and pointedly ended any debate about whether Norris, as some have claimed, is currently the best fighter pound for pound in the world.

“I thank God and Don King for this great opportunity,” Brown said. “I proved I’m a good fighter.”

Brown’s victory stole the thunder from the evening’s featured performer, Julio Cesar Chavez, who satisfied his Mexican fans by retaining the WBC super-lightweight title.

Chavez improved to 89-0-1 with 77 knockouts by stopping previously unbeaten Andy Holligan of England after five rounds. Referee Arthur Mercante signaled the fight was over as the bell sounded opening the sixth round.

Chavez had Holligan in trouble in the second, and the Briton was bleeding freely from the nose and eyes until the bout was finally halted.

In another title bout, Michael Nunn scored a unanimous decision over Dominican challenger Merqui Sosa to retain the World Boxing Assn. middleweight title.

Two judges favored Nunn by 116-113 and the third had it 116-112. Nunn, 42-1 with 27 knockouts, had been seven pounds over the weight limit at Friday’s weigh-in but made weight early Saturday.

In the opener on the card of four title fights, Hector (Macho) Camacho of Puerto Rico took a step toward an IBF welterweight title fight by stopping Lee Fortune 82 seconds into the first round with a barrage of punches after the fighters broke from a clinch.

“I’m sorry because I wanted to give a show to the public,” Camacho said.

“I punched him in the belly and hit him with an uppercut, and it was too much.”

Camacho, 44-2 with 21 knockouts, is scheduled for a Jan. 29 fight in Las Vegas with Felix Trinidad, also of Puerto Rico, with the winner taking on Chavez later in the year.

Chavez defeated Camacho in September of 1992 in a super-lightweight title fight.

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Ricardo Lopez (35-0-0) knocked out Manny Melchor (25-19-4) in the 11th round to retain his WBC strawweight title at Stateline, Nev. It was Lopez’s ninth title defense.