Welterweight Margarito Shows He’s Too Strong for Ankamah

Welterweight Alfred Ankamah had the flashy knockout numbers and the experience, but he was no match for 19-year-old Antonio Margarito’s powerful right hand Monday night at the Pond.

Margarito’s right hand found Ankamah’s chin early and he kept landing punches to it until referee Robert Byrd finally stopped the fight with one second left in the fourth round.

Margarito (10-3), who had only five knockouts, might have turned his career around with his upset of Ankamah, who lost for only the second time in his 18 professional fights.

“He’s just a baby,” Margarito’s manager Francisco Espinoza said of Margarito, who trains in Chula Vista. “He’s got a long way to go, but he did a lot tonight.”

Margarito won a close first round, then wobbled Ankamah of Accra, Ghana, early in the second round with a right uppercut. Margarito followed up with a flurry of combinations before he punched himself out.

“He never had his legs after the second round,” Margarito said. “Once I got into the rhythm of the fight I knew it was a matter of time.”

Ankamah lost the third round but he was having his best round of the fight in the fourth until Margarito landed an overhand right flush on his jaw with seconds left in the round. As Ankamah was falling, Margarito landed two grazing blows. Before Ankamah hit the canvas, Byrd was waving his arms.

“I was really prepared,” Margarito said. “I knew he was a strong puncher, but I’m not surprised I won.”

In the main event, Demetrio Ceballos (17-1, 10 knockouts) of Brooklyn used an effective body attack to stop Manuel Gomez (14-8) of Laredo, Texas, at 2 minutes 47 seconds of the sixth round. Ceballos put Gomez down with a left hook to the body midway through the sixth, then finished him off with a right-left combination that knocked out Gomez’s mouthpiece.

Outside the ring, Forum Boxing Inc. is negotiating with HBO and Square Ring Productions to stage the Nov. 22 Roy Jones Jr.-Mike McCallum fight at the Pond or in Las Vegas. A Marco Antonio Barrera-Junior Jones matchup is scheduled on the undercard.

Forum Boxing’s public relations director John Beyrooty said Pensacola, Fla., Jones’ hometown, and Atlantic City are also being strongly considered. The Pond drew more than 10,000 for the Julio Cesar Chavez-Joey Gamache fight Saturday night, but it announced a crowd of only 2,101 for Monday night’s card.

On the undercard, heavyweight Ed Mahone (5-0-1, five knockouts) of Los Angeles knocked out Duke Mantee (1-3) of Los Angeles at 1:40 of the third round.