By: William Holmes
Tonight’s main event of Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson features an undercard stacked with exciting and crowd pleasing fighters. Tonight’s card also features Jorge Linares, Paulie Malignaggi, Kendall Holt, and fast rising prospect Danny Garcia. The results of tonight’s undercard follows below.
Paulie Malignaggi (29-4) vs. Orlando Lora (27-1-1); Welterweight
Round 1:
Lora and Malignaggi come out to the center of the ring, and Malignaggi whips out three quick jabs. Malignaggi lands a stiff jab, and follows with two quick left hooks. Malignaggi lands a right hook to the body. Lora lunges forward with two jabs but misses. Malignaggi ducks under a jab and lands two hooks to the body. Malignaggi ducks under a jab and a cross from Lora. Malignaggi staying very active with his jab. Malignaggi flicking out quick combinations now, and gets stung with a hard right hand from Lora that stuns Malignaggi. Malignaggi tries to shake off that straight right. Malignaggi back to his jab, and has a mouse underneath his eye. Malignaggi pushes Lora to the ground that causes the referee to briefly stop the fight. Malignaggi gets off a quick three punch combination towards the end of the round. 10-9 round for Lora.
Round 2:
Lora comes out to the start of the round coming forward with his jab. Malignaggi dances around him on the outside landing a jab of his own. Malignaggi with a jab to the body and follows with a two punch combination upstairs. Malignaggi catches Lora with a check hook to the temple. Malignaggi comes forward with a jab, jab, cross combination. Lora lunges forward with a left hook. Malignaggi connects with a right cross and a left hook. Malignaggi with a left hook to the body of Lora. Malignaggi working the head body combinations nicely so far. Malignaggi has the significant edge in hand speed over Lora and is greatly outhitting him. 10-9 round for Malignaggi.
Round 3:
Malignaggi comes right back to his jab. Malignaggi is mixing up his shots well upstairs and downstairs. Lora lands a cross to the body of Malignaggi. Malignaggi catches Lora with a nice left hook on Lora as Lora tries to come in close. Malignaggi with two nice jabs, and a jab cross combination. Malignaggi with a nice four punch combination in the center of the ring. Malignaggi is keeping Lora at bay with his jabs and two punch combinations. Lora eats a jab from Malignaggi near the corner. Lora has not landed anything significant since round 1. Lora catches Malignaggi with a right hand near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Malignaggi.
Round 4:
Lora ducks under two Malignaggi jabs. Malignaggi catches Lora with a quick left check hook. Malignaggi catches Lora with a nice right hand. Malignaggi is mixing his jabs upstairs and downstairs again this round. Lora comes forward and tries to catch Malignaggi in the corner, but Malignaggi wisely ties up. Back in the center of the ring and more of the same, with Malignaggi working his jab and staying out of the way of punches from Lora. Malignaggi catches Lora with another hard right cross. Malignaggi hits Lora with a soft left hook. Lora still comes forward, but the accumulation of Malignaggi jabs has caused a mouse to open up near left eye. Another 10-9 round for Malignaggi.
Round 5:
The cut above Lora’s eye is being checked by the ringside doctor, and the doctor allows him to continue. Malignaggi staying active with his jab, Lora might need to press the action if he wants to win this fight. Malignaggi staying light on his feet, and working his jab. Malignaggi with another check hook on Lora as he comes forward. Malignaggi lands a hard two punch combination in the center of the ring. Malignaggi is looking very comfortable right now. Fighters briefly clinch and Malignaggi tags him with a right cross as they break apart. Lora catches Malignaggi with a nice string right hand, and Malignaggi tries to answer with body shots. 10-9 round for Malignaggi, and Lora has to be directed by the referee to go towards his own corner and not Malignaggi.
Round 6:
Malignaggi using his jab to keep Lora from coming forward. Lora throws two hooks to the body of Malignaggi. Lora catches Malignaggi with a short uppercut. Malignaggi is pop shotting Lora with jabs from outside the range of Lora. Malignaggi ducks under a Lora straight cross. Lora catches Malignaggi with a right cross right before Malignaggi can pivot out of harm’s way. Malignaggi hits Lora with two hooks to his head. Malignaggi trips over the feet of Lora and the referee rules that it is not a knockdown. Malignaggi hits Lora’s left eye with an overhand right. Lora’s face is pretty puffy. 10-9 round for Malignaggi.
Round 7:
Lora listens to his corner and comes forward trying to smother Malignaggi. Malignaggi with an overhand right and a quick jab. Malignaggi with a nice jab cross combination in the middle of the ring. Malignaggi and Lora briefly clinch in the center of the ring and Lora gets in some body shots. Malignaggi lands another overhand right on Lora. Malignaggi lands another straight right hand to the eye of Lora. Lora tags Malignaggi with a short left hook. Malignaggi lands a straight right and a quick jab. Malignaggi with another left hook on Lora. Malignaggi lands a hard right hand on Lora. 10-9 round for Malignaggi.
Round 8:
Lora throws out a jab cross combination but they fail to find their target. Malignaggi lands a jab to the body of Lora. Malignaggi trapping Lora in a corner but seems hesitant to come in and exchange. Malignaggi lands another quick jab, and Lora answers with a hook to the body. Malignaggi lands a short left hook to the temple. Two quick combinations land for Malignaggi. Lora can’t seem to find his range against Malignaggi. Malignaggi lands two more quick jabs, and another left hook. Lora’s punches bounce of the shoulder of Malignaggi. A straight left by Malignaggi snaps the head of Lora backwards. 10-9 round for Malignaggi.
Round 9:
Malignaggi bouncing around on the outside of the ring, seemingly knowing that his comfortably ahead on the scorecards. Malignaggi flicks out two quick jabs to the face of Lora. Malignaggi with a three punch combination in the center of the ring. Malignaggi catches Lora with a straight right hand after ducking out of the way of a combination by Lora. Malignaggi with two more quick jabs, then circles away out of danger. Malignaggi with more consecutive jabs. Lora comes in close and lands two short right hooks to the temple of Malignaggi. Another right hand lands for Malignaggi. Malignaggi with a three punch combination in the middle of the ring. 10-9 round for Malignaggi.
Round 10:
Lora comes forward and tries to trap Malignaggi against the ropes, but Malignaggi lands a quick combination and circles out of danger. Malignaggi staying active with his jab again, and keeps Lora at bay. Fighters exchange near the ropes and working body blows. Malignaggi lands an uppercut and a hook to the body of Lora. Lora eats two more hooks to the body. Malignaggi with another two punch combination. Lora tags Malignaggi with a right cross, but he is still having problems finding his range. Fighters exchange and Lora gets in some nice shots on Malignaggi. Malignaggi looks to be tiring and Lora is still coming forward. Ten seconds to go in the round, and Malignaggi lands a very hard right hand, begins to show off for the crowd as the round ends. 10-9 round for Malignaggi.
Official scores are 100-90, 98-92, and 99-91 for Paulie Malignaggi.
Kendall Holt (27-4) vs. Danny Garcia (21-0); Junior Welterweight
Round 1:
Garcia and Holt come out to the center of the ring, and Garcia is the first to connect with a quick jab. Holt flicks out two jabs but neither connect. Garcia ducks out of the way of a Hold hook. Hold throws to jabs towards the body of Garcia. Garcia barely misses a right cross. Garcia with two jabs to the body of Holt. Holt with a jab, but Garcia answers with two hooks to the body of Holt. Holt lands a hard right cross on Garcia. Holt with a quick left hook to the head of Garcia, and follows up with a right cross to his body. 10-9 round for Holt.
Round 2:
Holt flicks out a jab, and appears to be more willing to let his hands go this round. Holt ducks under a Garcia hook. Garcia misses with an overhand right hand. Holt catches Garcia with a left hook and a right cross. Garcia with a right cross off the shoulder of Holt, and Holt answers with a straight right to the body of Garcia. Garcia with three punches to the body of Holt. Garcia with a nice right cross on Kendall Holt. Garcia with a right hook to the body of Holt. Holt counters Garcia with a quick left hook. Holt with a straight right hand, and Garcia nails Holt with a right hand as the round ends. Tough round to score, but 10-9 for Garcia.
Round 3:
Garcia catches Holt with a left hook as Holt comes forward. Garcia tages Holt with a right hand and Holt’s legs become wobbly. Garcia presses forward and nails Holt’s body with hooks. Garcia with a hard straight right hand by the corner. Holt swings and wildly misses with a right hook. Garcia with a hard body shot on Hold. Hold answers with a two punch combination. Garcia stays to the body of Kendall Holt. Garcia lands a right hook and Holt lands a hard uppercut of his own. Garcia comes forward and connects with a jab. Garcia throws a haymaker right hand that barely misses. Garcia with a body head combination on Holt. 10-9 round for Garcia.
Round 4:
Holt coming forward but tentative to throw. Garcia with a jab to the body of Holt. Garcia ducks under two wild hooks by Kendall Holt. Garcia with a hook to the body of Holt, and Holt answers with a straight cross to the body of Garcia. Holt with a quick left hook to the temple of Garcia. Garcia with a jab and a cross to the body of Holt. Garcia lands a check hook to the head of Holt, and follows that with a straight right hand. A left hook by Garcia barely misses. 10-9 round for Garcia.
Round 5:
Holt lands a jab to the body of Garcia, and a quick left hook to Garcia’s chin. Holt throws another hook to the body of Garcia. Holt and Garcia exchange a quick flurry in the center of the ring. Garcia touches the chin of Holt with a jab. Holt ducks under a combination by Garcia and lands a left hook. Holt lands a straight right hand on Garcia. Garcia lands a short hook, and two hooks to the body of Holt. Garcia lands two jabs to the body of Holt. Holt throws three violent punches that are partially blocked bty Garcia. 10-9 round for Holt.
Round 6:
Holt lands a hook to the body after missing two jabs to the head of Garcia. Garcia with two hooks to the body of Holt. Garcia lands a short jab, and pounds a right hook to the body of Holt. Holt fires off four punches and lands a cross in the process. Garcia with two crosses to the body of Kendall Holt. Garcia with a left hook to the head of Holt. Garcia lands two consecutive jabs. Garcia lands two body blows, and another hard left to the body of Holt. Garcia really working on the body of Kendall Holt. Garcia rips Holt with three body shots, and rips Holt with a left hook. Fighters exchange wildly and Garcia gets the better of Holt in the exchanges. 10-9 round for Garcia.
Round 7:
Holt lands a jab in the center of the ring. Holt lands a two punch combination. Garcia misses with a wild overhand right punch. Holt and Garcia exchange straight rights. Garcia lands two jabs in a row. Holt ducks under a Garcia left hook, but gets tagged with another hook by Garcia. Garcia hits Holt with a straight right hand. Holt lands a straight right hand. Garcia with a short left hook. Garcia lands a hook to the body but Holt answers with a harder hook to the head of Garcia. Garcia lands a straight left hand. The left eye of Kendall Holt is appearing to start to close up. Close round, but 10-9 round for Garcia.
Round 8:
Garcia immediately lands two punches to the body of Holt. Holt with two hooks of his own on the body of Garcia. Holt lands a hook to the body and Garcia lands a two punch combination of his own to the head of Holt. Holt lands a reaching jab, and Garcia lands three hooks to the body of Holt. A jab from Garcia gets through Holt’s defense. Garcia lands an uppercut hook combination on Kendall Holt. Garcia lands two more hooks to the body of Holt, and follows with a right cross and two hooks to the body of Holt. Garcia lands three punches on Holt right after the referee tells the judges the damage on Holt’s eye is from a headbutt. 10-9 round for Garcia.
Round 9:
Garcia throws two hooks to the body of Holt that is partially blocked. Kendall Holt’s left is swelling pretty badly. Holt lands a hard left hand. Holt digs in a hook to the body of Garcia. Holt lands a left hook that causes Garcia to back off of Kendall Holt. Holt lands a short left hook, and Garcia answers by banging at the body of Kendall Holt. Garcia lands a quick jab. Garcia lands a right hand to the body of Holt, and Garcia lands a hard right hand over the top of Holt’s defense. Garcia throws two looping hooks but Holt backs out of danger. Garcia lands a left hook as the round ends. 10-9 round for Garcia.
Round 10:
Garcia lands the first jab of the round. Garcia tags Holt with a quick left hook, and ducks under a Holt combination. Garcia lands a two punch combination that gets a reaction from the crowd. Garcia ducks under another Holt combination. Holt hits Garcia with a hard body shot, and Garcia lands two quick jabs. Garcia lands a straight right hand on Kendall Holt. Garcia tags Holt with a jab then moves out of the way from a Holt counter attack. Garcia flicks out two quick jabs to the eye of Holt. Garcia lands a quick left hook and a straight right hand. Garcia finishes the round with a quick flurry. 10-9 round for Garcia.
Round 11:
Kendall Holt’s left eye is badly bruised up. Garcia with an overhand right to the head of Holt, and then a quick jab. Garcia digs a hook to the body of Holt. Garcia with a well timed jab. Garcia with a four punch combination in the center of the ring, and digs another hook to the body of Holt. Fighters clinch by the ropes and the referee seperates them. Garcia lands a hard left hook to the chin of Holt. Garcia lands a big right hand snaps the head of Holt backwards. Garcia lands a left hook then ducks under a Holt counter shot. Garcia lands a two punch combination and then a jab to the head of Kendall Holt. Holt is on his bike trying to back up, and Garcia tags Holt with two punches by the ropes. Garcia lands two more jabs to the head of Holt. 10-9 round for Garcia in a dominating round.
Round 12:
Holt badly needs a knockout to win this fight. Garcia lands a quick left hook and Holt comes in with a right hand lead. Garcia tags Holt with two quick jabs. Holt tags Garcia with a left hook and a right hand, and Garcia answers with a quick cbomation, and a lead left hook. Garcia throws a straight right hand and ducks out of the way. Holt lands a body blow, but misses upstairs. Garcia with a straight left and a straight right that connects. Garcia with another quick four punch combination. Garcia with two quick jabs. Holt catches Garcia with a nice left hook. Garcia with two quick jabs on Holt. Garcia finishes the round with three body shots on Kendall Holt. 10-9 round for Garcia.
Official scores are 115-113 for Holt, 117-111 for Garcia, and 117-111 for Danny Garcia. The 115-113 score for Kendall Holt is very questionable.
Antonio DeMarco (25-2-1) vs. Jorge Linares (31-1); Lightweight
Round 1:
Linares comes out in purple shorts and gloves. DeMarco lands a quick jab, and Linares answers with a two punch combination of his own. DeMarco lands a jab and a cross, and Linares answers with two jabs of his own. Linares comes in with a quick jab cross combination. Linares lands a quick jab to the chin of DeMarco. DeMarco lands a cross to the body of Linares. Linares lands a nice two punch combination, and a left hook to the temple of DeMarco. A jab by Linares snaps the head of DeMarco. Linares with a nice left hook. 10-9 round for Linares.
Round 2:
Linares comes out at the beginning of round 2 by throwing a looping left hook. DeMarco catches Linares with a right cross. Linares with a jab to the body of DeMarco. Linares with a nice hook to the body of DeMarco. Linares with a nice straight right hand. Linares with a looping left hook to the temple of DeMarco. Linares working his combinations very nicely. Linares snaps out a very quick jab that connects. Linares lands another jab, and is very elusive with his head movement. Linares lands a solid check left hook as the round ends. 10-9 round for Linares.
Round 3:
Linares is very light on his feet. Linares comes forward with a lead left hook that is partially blocked. Linares lands a right cross to the body of DeMarco, and follows up with a two punch combination to the head of DeMarco. Linares with another lead left hook to the temple of his opponent. Linares with another two punch combination in the center of the ring. Linares throwing an underneath jab. Linares connects with a straight right hand. DeMarco lands a straight right hand of his own. Linares lands a hook to the body of DeMarco. A mouse is developing underneath the left eye of DeMarco. Linares lands another two punch combination on DeMarco. Linares lands a beautiful uppercut on DeMarco. Linares lands an over the top right hand, and four very quick punches. 10-9 round for Linares.
Round 4:
Linares lands another reaching jab, and a reaching right hand. DeMarco lands a right cross. Linares lands a two punch combination, and a cross to the body of DeMarco. Linares lands a hard jab, and DeMarco lands with a right cross of his own. Linares is showing very good foot movement, but gets caught with a loop[ing right hand. Linares throws out two quick jabs that connect. DeMarco lands another straight right hand. Linares with a nice three punch combination, and follows that with another combination in the center of the ring. 10-9 round for Linares.
Round 5:
DeMarco tries to establish his jab early on in round five. Linares with a hard two punch combination n the center of the ring. Linares with another hard jab that lands. Linares with a jab to the body of DeMarco. Linares connects with another jab on DeMarco, and three hard body shots to DeMarco. Linares lands a very hard right hand to the nose of DeMarco. Linares ducks under a DeMarco jab and picks him apart with his own combination. Linares gets caught with ah ard uppercut by DeMarco. Linares lands a jab and a cross near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Linares.
Round 6:
Linares takes the center of the ringt, but eats a hard right hand from DeMarco. Linares land a hard straight right hand. Linares lands an uppercut to the body of DeMarco. DeMarco tries to get in close but Linares is able to fight his way out of danger. Linares with another hard straight hand. DeMarco lands a straight right hand. DeMarco gets some sudden energy and lands some clean shots to Linares. Linares had blood coing out of his nose. Linares lands a combination of his own. DeMarco lands an uppercut while in close. DeMarco lands a hook to the temple of Linares. Linares lands two hard body shots to DeMarco. Linares with a hard left hook and a straight right hand. Close round, 10-9 round for Demarco.
Round 7:
DeMarco takes the center of the ring in round 7 and looks more confident after a strong round 6. Linares land a short left hook on DeMarco. Linares ducks under a DeMarco combination. Linares lands a two punch combination in the center of the ring. Linares lands a nice uppercut to the body of DeMarco. Linares with another two punch combination. Linares with a stiff jab, and two quick hooks to the body and head. Linares with a four punch combination in the center of the ring. 10-9 round for Linares.
Round 8:
Linares misses with a straight right hand. Linares with a quick jab that snaps the head of DeMarco back. Linares with a jab to the body of DeMarco. Linares with a fast three punch combination by the corner, and lands an uppercut. Linares with a four punch combination that is partially blocked, and DeMarco lands an uppercut. Linares with a two punch combination. DeMarco lands a short uppercut, and Linares answers with four hooks to the head of DeMarco. Linares with another jab to the body of DeMarco. Fighters exchange by the ropes, but Linares gets the better of DeMarco. Linares now has a cut over his right eye. 10-9 round for Linares.
Round 9:
Linares ducks under a jab from DeMarco. Linares lands a hard left hook to the body of DeMarco, and follows that up with two hooks to the body of DeMarco. DeMarco lands a straight right hand. Inares catches DeMarco with a left hook, and DeMarco answers with an uppercut. Linares with a very nice multi punch combination, but blood is pouring out of the cuts of Linares. Linares lands a short uppercut. Linares with a nice body head combination. Linares with three hard left hooks to the temple of DeMarco. Linares is a bloody mess, but 10-9 round for Linares.
Round 10:
Linares connects with a hard jab. Linares comes forward with a hard two punch combination. DeMarco lands a short uppercut, and Linares answers with a hard jab of his own. Linares lands two body blows on DeMarco. Linares with a hard straight right hand, and a quick jab. Linares with two nice hooks to the head of DeMarco. Linares face is crimson red again. Linares with a two punch combination. 10-9 round for Linares.
Round 11:
DeMarco has urged him to go for the knockout. Linares lands a straight right hand. DeMarco lands a straight right hand, and a short uppercut. Linares with a quick two punch combination on DeMarco. DeMarco lands a hard straight right hand and a right uppercut. DeMarco has Linares against the ropes and connects with three punches. DeMarco lands two hooks to the head of Linares and three uppercuts. Fighters exchange viciously and Linares is getting nailed by DeMarco. Linares lands an uppercut of his own, and DeMarco lands a hard right hand and two more shots. Linares lands a hard right hand of his own. DeMarco lands two straight right hands and an uppercut. A straight right hand by DeMarco causes him to step back. Blood is pouring out of the head of Linares. DeMarco with two very hard shots and Linares is against the ropes, and the referee stops the fight. DeMarco with the thrilling come from behind victory.
Anotonio DeMarco wins by TKO at 2:32 of round 11.