Doubling Down in Vegas

Robert Garcia and Lance Whitaker left Las Vegas with victories Saturday night, but not without bloodshed.

Garcia, International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight champion from Oxnard, and Whitaker, a heavyweight hopeful from Granada Hills, made the most of their appearance on the undercard of Mike Tyson’s comeback bout against Francois Botha at the MGM Grand Arena.

Garcia improved to 32-0 by successfully defending his title with a 12-round unanimous decision over John John Molina of Puerto Rico.

Whitaker improved to 18-0 with his 16th knockout by stopping veteran Alex Stewart in the seventh round of a scheduled 10-round bout.

Both fights featured telling blows. Both featured blood. In Whitaker’s case, the blood belonged to Stewart. In Garcia’s, it was his own.

Whitaker emerged with his black and white trunks splattered with crimson after opening a deep gash above Stewart’s right eye. Whitaker, fighting his toughest opponent to date, also emerged with a slice above his left eye. But the damge he inflicted on Stewart (43-9) led to two stoppages by the ring doctor before the bout stopped at 1:40 of the seventh round.

Whitaker survived several good blows by Stewart, including a strong right in the fourth round. But the 6-foot-8 Whitaker was less than impressed with Stewart.

“He wasn’t really that tough, not really,” Whitaker said. “He just caught me a couple of times when I was lazy. I really didn’t have that much trouble with him.”

Garcia had a tougher time with Molina, a former two-time champion, although he was in control most of a bout fought largely in the center of the ring. Using a quick jab and landing a hard left hook, Garcia kept Molina at a distance, counterpunching effectively.

But Garcia was cut above his right eye early in the fight and, by the final bell, was in need of medical attention while Molina appeared unscathed.

Garcia, who won on the three judges’ cards by a score of 115-112, was knocked down by a right hand to the right side of the head in a heated 12th round.

The fight ended with a fury. Garcia landed a low blow with 10 seconds left that dropped Molina to his knees for several minutes. After fighting resumed, the fighters butted heads hard at the final bell.

The decision was greeted with a smattering of cheers and boos. Molina (45-6) stormed from the arena. Garcia was whisked away for medical attention.

It was the second title defense for Garcia, 23, who defeated Harold Warren for the vacant title last March. Garcia stopped Ramon Ledon in five rounds in October.

Whitaker, in his first 10-round bout, connected with a hard right with Stewart against the ropes in the sixth round, prompting a visit from the ring doctor.

Joe Goossen, Whitaker’s trainer, pointed to his fighter’s ability to take punches from an opponent who went the distance against Evander Holyfield and George Foreman.

“Lance proved a lot tonight,” Goossen said. “He showed a huge heart. And his body shots were killing [Stewart].”

Whitaker, unranked, has elevated himself to among the top dozen or so heavyweights, Goossen said.

“You give me another nine months and a little more seasoning and I’ll put Lance in there with anybody,” Goossen said.

Stewart, 34, blamed his poor strategy but praised Whitaker’s punching ability.

“No excuses, but I had a chance to take him out and I didn’t,” Stewart said. “In the fifth round, I was backing him up. He was just busy and I wasn’t busy enough.

“You gotta give him credit. Most of his punches were strong. But he couldn’t have stopped me.”

Also on the undercard, Goyo Vargas recorded a 12-round unanimous decision over Ben Tackie, a member of the Goossen stable, for the World Boxing Council Continental America lightweight championship.