Morales Dramatically Defends Super-Bantamweight Title

Two dramatic punches.

Two sudden endings.

Although he started slowly Saturday night at the Toreo de Tijuana against Reynante Jamili, Erik Morales successfully defended his World Boxing Council super-bantamweight championship by delivering a devastating overhand right at the end of the sixth round that left the challenger dazed and unable to continue.

In the semi-main event, Michael Carbajal had his right eye swollen shut, his left eye badly cut and was behind on all three judges’ scorecards in the 11th round against World Boxing Organization junior flyweight champion Jorge Arce. But he still had his Manitas de Piedra, his little hands of stone.

Carbajal (49-4, 33 knockouts) used them to stun Arce (20-3-1, 15 knockouts) with a left hand that ended the fight with 1:53 remaining in the 11th, enabling Carbajal, at age 31, to win his fifth world title.

There was confusion at the end of the Morales fight because the bell failed to sound ending the sixth round, even though three minutes had elapsed.

The end of the round cannot save a fighter who is down, but Jamili made it back to his feet.

“I tried to walk him,” said referee Marty Denkin, working his 118th championship fight. “He didn’t want to walk or respond. That told me it was over.”

But since the sixth round had ended, the question was whether Jamili (39-5, 30 knockouts), the top-ranked fighter from the Philippines, should have been allowed to return to his corner to recover.

The victory by Morales boosted his record to 33-0 with 27 knockouts. It may have been his last at 122 pounds. At least for awhile. He is considering a move up to 126 pounds and a challenge of WBO featherweight champion Prince Naseem Hamed.

For Carbajal, a possible rematch looms after his upset over Arce. Carbajal was behind, 98-91, on all three scorecards when he went out for the 11th round. “I knew I was behind,” Carbajal said. “I went out looking for a knockout.”

And he got it, his left hand followed by a flurry of punches that sent Arce into the ropes. When referee Raul Caiz separated the fighters, Arce collapsed on the ropes, his eyes dazed, his resistance gone.

Caiz ruled that the fight was over.

Before the round, Arce’s corner had told the 21-year-old fighter to play it conservatively. But the temptation to try for the knockout was too great.

There was another Morales on Saturday night’s card, also a champion, also unbeaten. Erik’s younger brother, Diego, was defending his WBO junior bantamweight title against Ysiais Zamudio.

At first, it looked like it was going to be the quickest fight of the night. Morales (19-0, 15 knockouts) floored his challenger in the first round with a straight right hand and then shook up Zamudio later in the round with a straight left. Zamudio looked like he would have gone down a second time if the ropes had not saved him.

But Zamudio, getting his fourth shot at a world title, appeared determined not to let this one slip away as had the previous three.

By the seventh round, he had become the aggressor and there was swelling under Morales’ left eye.

But just as Zamudio’s window of opportunity seemed open, it quickly slammed shut when a large cut opened over his left eye.

The result was a TKO loss for Zamudio, referee Vince Delgado stopping the fight after the eighth round on the advice of ringside physician Raymundo Mejia Lopez.

It was another frustrating finish for Zamudio (45-9-1, 17 knockouts), who lost three bids for the World Boxing Council flyweight title, all by decision.

In a preliminary four-rounder, Eric Esch, better known as Butterbean, didn’t waste the opportunity to play to the boisterous crowd. He entered the ring wearing a sombrero and trunks the colors of the Mexican flag. He taunted his opponent, Tim Burgoon (3-4, one knockout), and gestured to the crowd for vocal support.

In the second round, Butterbean unleashed a barrage of punches that ended the fight with Burgoon defenseless in the corner, Butterbean having found another inept stooge to boost his suspect record to 46-1-1 with 35 knockouts.