[GForce]

February '05 Notable Results

WBA Welterweight: Rafael Pineda (2-1, 1 KO) vs Clyde Gray (0-1)

Pineda steps into the ring for the first time since his championship dreams came to a halt at the hands of Luis Rodriguez. But Pineda's 1-round destruction of Felix Trinidad in the tournament's opening round still has him on the minds of many as a force to be dealt with. Now, he's on the mind of Clyde Gray as well, as Pineda obliterates Gray in 2:39, ref Jose Medina-Solar having seen enough of Gray's head getting snapped back and forth. No objection from Gray's corner at the stoppage. Pineda still looks to be very dangerous.

Rafael Pineda TKO 1 Clyde Gray

WBA Middleweight: 'Marvelous' Marvin Hagler (3-1, 3 KO) vs Dick Tiger (2-1)

Both of these men were decisioned by champion Rodrigo Valdez, Tiger in the semifinal and Hagler in the shocking title bout. So both came in angry, looking to make a statement. Tiger starts the first round well, sticking Hagler with several hooks early. But a big uppercut from Hagler at the midpoint of the round brings the pace to a halt, crushing Tiger and relegating him to spending the final 1:30 holding on for dear life. Tiger regroups in the second for an action packed round that sees the two trade nonstop for 3 minutes in a warzone. Hagler's eye shows some swelling, but his corner keeps it under control. However, having seen numerous recent stoppages on account of swelling, Hagler wasn't taking chances. For the next 7 rounds, Tiger's only bright spots came when he slowed the pace. But that happened sparingly. It takes a great fighter to dominate someone the caliber of Dick Tiger...Hagler is a great fighter. Tiger is down in the fourth and is nearly put out cold when he's dropped again in the 9th. Tiger remarkably gets back to his feet, but Hagler smells the end and pounces. After several hooks to the head and Tiger slumped against the ropes, ref Luis Guzman realizes he needs to jump in.
Hagler knows if he takes care of business, he'll get his mandatory shot against Valdez by the end of the year. And he's hell bent on making it happen, with a very different result.

'Marvelous' Marvin Hagler TKO 9 Dick Tiger

WBA Featherweight: Michael Brodie (0-1) vs Davey Kotey (6-0, 1 KO)

Kotey debuts in the big leagues after having his contract purchased from the WBO. Brodie keeps pace with Kotey, but Kotey lands more than half of his blows, en route to a unanimous decision in his WBA debut, 97-91, 95-93, 95-94. The latter two cards were watching something else, because there's no way the fight was that close.

Davey Kotey UD 10 Michael Brodie

WBA Featherweight: Erik Morales (2-1, 1 KO) vs Barry McGuigan (1-1)

McGuigan reportedly was stricken with the flu for a good part of training, and came into the bout undertrained. Still, he was not about to pass up the chance to make a good showing against an opponent such as Morales. This wasn't going to be pretty, but it was going to be fun. Morales dominates McGuigan early, finding and exploiting every opening and after a round the bout looks like a mismatch. McGuigan comes out firing in the second though, landing a thudding hook to the head early. Morales counters with a stiff right hand, but McGuigan batters him with a combination and the two go toe-to-toe. The crowd is into it, and McGuigan seems to come out on top of the exchange. Morales lands a pair of uppercuts late in the round in an effort to steal it in the closing moments. McGuigan can't find the holes in the third, and Morales seems too quick for him again, much as he did in the opening stanza. But McGuigan opens the fourth with a hard uppercut and a wild right hand that lands flush, snapping Morales' head violently. Morales goes defensive for much of the rest of the round, visibly shaken, and he does so effectively. But his offense is little and late, and McGuigan has his first clear round of the fight. Morales starts the fifth in control, but McGuigan lands the same uppercut, wild right combination that shook Morales in the 4th, and again Morales looks in trouble. McGuigan traps him against the ropes and the two trade, with McGuigan again coming out on top. Morales is firing, but McGuigan isn't letting up and the bell ends with an eruption from the crowd. McGuigan is making it a fight again. An early uppercut in the 6th from McGuigan is met with a headbutt from Morales, which draws a warning. The pace slows a bit, but Morales accomplishes what he needs to in backing McGuigan off a bit. On 2 cards, the bout is even through 6, with Morales up on the third. But the 7th would be McGuigan's downfall, and where the illness during training may have come into play. Morales looks more fresh, and McGuigan is put on the canvas twice. By round's end, despite the swelling around Morales' left eye, it's McGuigan who looks flat out exhausted. He tries to hang in there in the 8th, but it's clear Morales has taken control and, without a knockdown, ref Fred Hernandez leaps in to call a halt to the fight at 2:15 of the 8th round.

Erik Morales TKO 8 Barry McGuigan

More to come...

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