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Reyes Really Knocks Brown Out

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Times Staff Writer

In nearly 15 years as a professional fighter, John Brown thought he had seen everything in the ring.

But Saturday night Brown was knocked through the ropes by a right uppercut from Rolando Reyes and was counted out by referee Jack Reese 1:12 into the first round of their scheduled 10-round lightweight fight.

As the Arrowhead Pond crowd of 3,216 looked on, Brown -- after the knockdown -- was outside the ring listening to Reese’s count. As it approached 10, Brown tried to scramble back over the ropes, but his left leg slipped. Reese then stopped the fight.

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The win improved Reyes’ record to 20-2-2 with 13 knockouts. Brown dropped to 23-12.

“I knew there was a chance he’d stop it when he went outside the ropes,” said Reyes, who lives in Oxnard. “I thought I hurt him; you could see his legs weren’t there.”

Brown, of course, disagreed.

“I’ve been in some controversial fights, but this was ridiculous,” said Brown, from Atlantic City, N.J. “I wasn’t hurt. I was trying to climb back through the ropes and my leg slipped.

“How can you stop the fight like that? I didn’t get a chance to fight. [Reyes] caught me with a shot, but it wasn’t that solid.”

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Brown, 35, has fought four times for a world title, losing twice to Steve Forbes and once to Diego Corrales for the International Boxing Federation super-featherweight belt, and to Shane Mosley for the IBF super-lightweight belt.

But Reyes, 24, came into the bout the hot fighter. Saturday’s fight was his eighth this year, and he has now won 13 in a row -- nine by knockout.

Earlier, middleweight Jose Luis Zertuche of Mexico City (12-1-1, 9 KOs) outslugged Carl Cockerham of Las Vegas (12-9-3) for six rounds to earn a unanimous decision.

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Unbeaten super-lightweight Dmitriy Salita (16-0, 11 KOs) pounded out a fourth-round technical knockout over Richard Conchas of Aurora, Colo. (4-3).

In a battle of super-lightweights, wild-swinging Jesse Feliciano of Las Vegas (12-1-1, 7 KOs) scored a seventh-round technical knockout over local favorite Raul Franco of Anaheim (22-5).

In the opening six-round mini-flyweight bout, Javier Lagos (15-8-2, 4 KOs) effectively counterpunched Liborio Romero (10-4) to steal a majority decision.

Light-heavyweight Julio Gonzalez was formally presented his World Boxing Organization championship belt. Gonzalez, now a resident of Huntington Beach, won the title on a split decision over former unbeaten champion Dariusz Michalczewki in Germany on Oct. 18. He is the first Mexican fighter to hold a world title above 154 pounds.

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