Lewis Finishes Awkward Lefty . . Finally

Welterweight Mark Lewis of Mira Loma wasn’t exactly proud of his performance Thursday night at the Marriott against Mario Morales, but he got through it. And sometimes when a classic boxer is fighting an awkward left-hander, winning is all that matters.

Lewis (12-1), frustrated for much of the fight, finally wore down Morales and stopped him at 2 minutes 43 seconds of the eighth round with a barrage of punches in front of 1,107 fans.

“Man, that guy’s awkward,” Lewis said as he stepped into his dressing room. “The southpaw style is tough for me. I hate fighting southpaws, but they’re out there.”

Morales (16-13-2) had his best round in the first and then spent the rest of the fight running from Lewis right hands. Most of Lewis’ jabs and right hands came up short until the sixth when he landed an overhand right flush on Morales’ jaw.

After that, it was a matter of time before Lewis put Morales away. In the eighth, Lewis hit Morales with everything he had while Morales simply tried to stay on his feet. Finally, referee Jose Cobian stopped the bout.

“I had to get him out of there,” said Lewis, 27. “He was making me look bad. I don’t like doing that.”

Lewis’ managers said his next fight will probably be for the California junior welterweight title May 16 at Long Beach State’s Pyramid.

In the semi-main event, Azusa light heavyweight Jerry Moran lost his second straight fight after winning his first five. Moran was cut on a head butt by Calvin Coombs of Los Angeles in the second round and never recovered, losing a split six-round decision.

Moran was cut on his eyelid and on the bridge of his nose. Coombs (4-5) landed several big left hands while Moran had trouble landing more than one punch at a time.