ARLINGTON, Tex. ––Truth is stitched in red across the waistband.
It’s no lie.
Errol Spence Jr. delivered truth in a jab, power and quickness again and again over 12 rounds that left Mikey Garcia looking exhausted, undersized and overmatched in a Fox pay-per-view bout in front of a crowd of more than 47,000 at AT&T Stadium.
It was every bit the one-sided massacre Spence promised, or perhaps threatened, a few days before opening bell.
“They said I wasn’t too smart,’’ Spence (25-0, 22 KOs) said after retaining the International Boxing Federation’s version of the welterweight title. “They said I couldn’t box. You saw it today. I can punch and I can box.’’
Truth is, Spence could pretty much do whatever he wanted against Garcia, a former featherweight champion and a current lightweight champ who was fighting at 147 pounds for only the second time. On the scorecards, Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs) didn’t win a round. The judges scored it 120-108, 120-107, 120-108, all for Spence.
“He really is the Truth,’’ said Garcia, who was Spence’s equal only on the pay scale. According to contracts filed with the Texas Commission, both fighters collected a minimum of $3 million.
Garcia took some solace in the fact he was never knocked down by power shots set up by a Spence jab that consistently rocked back his head.
“I was able to hold on,’’ said Garcia, who said he talked his brother and trainer Robert out of stopping the fight in eighth or ninth round.
For Garcia, it not clear what’s next. He took a risk in jumping up in weight to fight the biggest man in the welterweight division. He could go down in weight to defend his 135 pound title.
For Spence, the victory further enhances his pound-for-pound credentials. May, it also put him in line to fight Manny Pacquiao, who was at ringside.
“It would be an honor for me to fight him next,’’ Spence said.
From his ringside seat, Pacquiao said:
“Why not?’’
The why-not reasons were there, again and again. Don’t doubt Spence. There’s never much Truth in boxing. For now, however, he is the undisputed version.
David Benavidez roars back with second-round stoppage of J’Leon Love
It was called a comeback. It was that and more.
Phoenix super-middleweight David Benavidez (21-0, 18 KOs) came back from a suspension for a positive cocaine test with some early defense, then some quicker hands and in the end some of that same old power Saturday night in a second-round TKO of J’Leon Love (24-34-1, 13 KOs) at AT&T Stadium and a pay-per-view audience..
Benavidez said he never had any doubt about what he has to do and who he has become. In a comeback, he grew in terms of upper-body size and strength. From the skinny kid of a year ago, he became a man to be feared.
“Absolutely, I knew what would happen,” said Benavidez, who landed repeated bombs late in the first round and caught a defenseless Leon Love against the ropes midway through the second. At 1:14 of the round, it was over and Benavidez was back in a big way.
Luis Nery says hello to U.S. market with sensational stoppage
Mexican bantamweight Luis Nery’s introduced himself to the U.S. market with a performance that will created an appetite for more.
Much more.
The unbeaten Nery (29-0, 23 KOs), of Tijuana, scored four knockdowns in four rounds, finally forcing Puerto Rican McJoe Arroyo (18-3, 8 KOs) into sudden surrender. Arroyo’s corner threw in the towel 10 seconds after the bell sounded a beginning to the sixth.
Nery utilized quick hands and a long reach to score one knockdown in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth.
Arreola TKO winner
Chris Arreola opened the Fox pay-per-view telecast of the Garcia-Spence card at AT&T Stadium with a stoppage. Call it bang for the buck.
Arreola (38-5-1, 33KOs), a popular journeyman heavyweight from southern California, rocked Haitian Jean PIerre Augustin (17-1-1, 12 KOs) with one head-rocking shot after another, knocking him down midway through the third and finishing him in a TKO in the round’s late moments
Charles Martin gets victory in low blow DQ
It was a low blow. Actually, there were four of them, if you were counting. A heavyweight bout that could have been stopped for boredom after a couple of rounds was stopped in the eighth when Gregory Corbin of Dallas (15-1, 9 KOs) was disqualified for his fourth low blow. Charles Martin (25-3-1, 23 KOs), of Saint Louis, got the victory in the final bout before the start of the pay-per-view telecast of the Garcia-Spence card at AT&T Stadium.
Delgado continues to emerge as a leading prospect
Lindolfo Delgado, a young super-lightweight from Mexico, added to his rep as prospect with a powerful first-round knockout of James Roach (5-2, 5 KOs) of Grove, OK, in a swing bout on the pay-per-view portion of the Garcia-Spence card at AT&T Stadium.
Delgado (9-0, 9 KOs) overwhelmed Roach in every possible way. He knocked him down. He pushed him down. At 2:59 of the round, he knocked him out.
Oh, Brother: Marsellos Wilder flashes Deontay’s power for first-round stoppage
Marsellos Wilder is a lot like his better-known brother, Deontay, the World Boxing Council’s heavyweight champ. He punches wildly. He punches powerfully. In the Wilder family, power prevails and it did again Saturday with Marsellos (4-1, 3 KOs) scoring a first-round stoppage of Mark Sanchez (0-3) of Midland, Tex., on the Spence-Garcia undercard at AT&T Stadium
Featherweight Fernando Garcia rolls to 12-0 record with KO win
There are reasons Dallas featherweight Fernando Garcia (12-0, 7 KOs) is still unbeaten and Colombian Marion Olea (14-5, 12 KOs saw — felt — most of them in fifth round assault that left him doubled over with is head down and any chance of an upset gone in a crushing knockout.
Dallas super-lightweight Rashidi walks down, breaks down foe for sixth-round stoppage
Dallas super-lightweight Amon Rashiidi (6-0, 4 KOs) walked down, broke down Gabriel Gutierrez (5-8, 3 KOs) over five rounds, then finished in the sixth him with a succession of punches for a TKO victory.
No stopping San Antonio bantamweight Jesse Rodriquez in TKO win
San Antonio bantamweight Jesse Rodriquez (9-0, 5 KOs) proved be tireless and unstoppable, a forward-moving force who overwhelmed Rauf Aghaven (26-7, 11 KOs) of Azerbaijan in fourth-round stoppage.
Milwaukee super-welterweight wins split decision. Anybody for a rematch?
It was debatable. Split decisions always are. But Milwaukee super-welterweight Thomas Hill (8-2, 1 KO) got the nod and Limberth Ponce (17-4, 10 KOs) of Rock Island, Ill, got a reason to demand a rematch after six rounds that could have gone either way.
Bantamweight Morales flashes more of everything in scoring unanimous decision
Oklahoma City bantamweight Aaron Morales (6-0, 3 KOs) employed quicker hands, quicker feet and was more accurate from more angles angle, scoring a unanimous decision over Fernando Robles (2-1) of McAllen, Tex., in the fifth bout of the Spence-Garcia featured card.
In the card’s fourth bout, the judges — one of the few people at AT&T Stadium to actually to be in their seats — went back to work, all three scoring a four-round cruiserweight bout for Adrian Taylor (9-1, 4 KOs) of Mesquite, Tex., over William Quintana (7-13, 3 KOs) of Kearney, Neb.
Third bout ends in second-round TKO
The card’s third bout didn’t last much longer. Luis Coria (11-2, 6 KOs), light from Moreno Valley, Calif., finished it with two rounds, scoring a swift stoppage of Omar Garcia (6-8, 1 KOs) of Monterrey, Mex.
Second bout on Spence-Gracia card ends in quick stoppage
There were only echoes at empty AT&T Stadium and one the biggest was caused by Dallas super-middleweight Burley Brooks, who who went crashing to the canvas head-over heels in first-round stoppage delivered by Randy Mast (2-0, 1 KO) of Springfield, MO in the second fight of 17 on card featuring Spence-Garcia.
The corner side of Team Garcia went to work early.
Robert Garcia, Mikey Garcia’s brother and trainer, had to hope the show would end as it opened. It began at empty AT&T Stadium with Garcia-trained Robert Rodriguez (3-0) of San Antonio, winning a unanimous decision over California super-flyweight Fernando Ibarra (0-1) in an afternoon matinee.
About five hours and 16 fights later, Mikey Garcia would face welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. in a Fox pay-per-view televised bout.
