Timothy Bradley stuck and moved his way past Lamont Peterson to retain the WBO 140 lb. championship at a sold out Agua Caliente Casino, Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, CA. Non-stop movement was not Bradley’s original game plan, but became plan B at the insistence of his corner. “The game plan was to take it to him, but he decided to take it to me”, explained Bradley of the change in tactics midway through the contest.

Bradley, of nearby Palm Springs, CA, found a home for his right hand early in the second. Bradley (25-0) landed the punch repeatedly in a round he won decisively. An overhand right dropped Peterson early in the third, setting the stage for a tremendous round of boxing. “I planned to win the first four rounds big”, said Peterson. “But when I went down in the third it was time to fight.” For the remainder of the round the combatants fought toe-to-toe exchanging vicious body blows. Peterson (27-1) continued the body assault in the fourth to win the round. “He made me fight”, said Bradley. “He made me do things in there I normally don’t do.”

If boxing is something Bradley normally doesn’t do, he should do more of it. Over the remaining eight rounds Bradley controlled the distance, the action and the fight. Bradley moved fluidly while sticking Peterson with both lefts and rights. Bradley landed check hooks while floating back and counter rights when Peterson got close. Bradley fired and moved; fired and moved. Frustrated, Peterson followed Bradley around the ring and ran into punches. Unlike Bradley, Peterson had no plan B or didn’t execute it and suffered his first defeat as a professional. “When I got hit by a good shot I let my balls get the best of me. I abandoned my plan from then on and forgot about the jab.”

Bradley won handily on the scorecards but called the fight the toughest of his career. Judge Werner scored the fight 120-107. Judge Nelson favored Bradley 118-110 while judge Cobian saw it 119-108.

 

Vic Darchinyan did what he does best; knockout the man standing in front of him. At 2:54 of round two Darchinyan (33-2-1) dispatched Tomas Rojas with a left hand to retain the WBC and WBA super flyweight titles. Rojas (32-12-1) entered the ring with a smile. He left dazed and confused.

Darchinyan entered the ring a raging bull and left with a renewed confidence. Determined to get back on the winning track, Darchinyan started the fight with controlled aggression. He increased the intensity in the second but lunged at Rojas leaving himself off balance and out of position.

Rojas countered the aggression beautifully and was in control of the round when he ate the left hand that ended his evening.


Off Air Results:

Lenny Zappa (22-0) remained undefeated with a six round shut out of professional opponent Sergio Macias (14-19). All three judges scored the bout 60-54.

Salvador Sanchez (18-3-2) MD 6 over fellow featherweight Rodrigo Aranda (8-12-2). The scores were 60-54, 59-55 and a questionable 57-57.

Welterweight Freddy Hernandez (27-1) UD 8 over Octavio Navarez (7-9-1). The judges scored the contest 78-47, 78-74 & 80-72.

Undefeated heavyweight Lateef Kayode (9-0) stopped journeyman Billy Willis (11-19-1) at 1:14 of round two.

The Kaliesha West (11-1) / Kasha Chamblin (11-4) fight was scratched when Chamblin withdrew for medical reasons.