The Stub Hub Center in Carson, California once again lives up to it’s reputation by hosting fights that never seem to disappoint. Headlining the night of action was the highly anticipated Welterweight showdown between Sheffield England’s, Kell “Special K” Brook (33-0) and the current IBF Champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter (24-1).
The opening rounds consisted of Porter pressing the action by landing good combination punches to the body while on the inside. It seemed Porter wanted to press the action and test Brook to see if he has the stamina to keep him off early while smothering Brook’s offense. Although Porter came forward mauling Brook, the distance that Brook was able to get while circling opened up his lead right hand that would continue to land from start to finish.
In the middle rounds Brook really started to land punches. Porter did all that he could to try and make this a tough night for Brook but did little to stop “Special K’s” right hand lead. Each round Porter tried to start aggressive but Brook would weather the storm and keep his composure. Just a much as Porter committed to body punches, so to did Brook but with boxing.
Heading into the seventh it was a close fight. Porter opened the round by throwing an early combination that seem to frustrate Brook. Towards the end of the round Brook hit Porter with a right uppercut as he came in, which wobbled Porter but so after the round came to an end.
Late in the fight Porter changed the way he held his hands up in a almost Mauy Tai stance. Clearly looking to confuse Brook but it appeared that the change in stance would not change Brooks game plan.
Porter came out in the 12th round more aggressive than he had in the previous few rounds. Uncertainty on how the judges would be scoring must have been a real threat in both corners. Once again Brook caught a over aggressive Porter towards the end of the round that seemed to tame the bull.
In the end the judges scorecards were 114-114, 117-111, and 116-112 in favor of the new IBF Welterweight Champion Kell Brook.
The Co-feature of the broadcast rematching foes Anthony Dirrell (27-0) challenged for Sakio Bika’s (32-6-3) WBC Super Middleweight title. While the majority of the fights this night were entertaining, this one definitely put a damper on the nights energy. Dirrell came out in the first round aggressive. It seem that he was trying to stop Bika early. Jack Reese the referee made his presence known early by warning both fighters who appeared to be wanting to make this into a rough fight.
Dirrell boxed for most of the night, keeping Bika back. From time to time Bika would dart in and try and smother Dirrell’s offense but each time that would happen, one of the two fighters would clinch.
The middle rounds did pick up more in action. In the 5th both fighters came out aggressive as the tempers started to build. Once again with time, Dirrell got back outside of the pocket keeping his distance while Bika charged forward. To cap off the round Dirrell hit Bika with a left hook counter that noticeably hurt Bika. Finally in the eighth a point was deducted from Bika when he hit Dirrell below the belt.
In the end Dirrell walked away with Bika’s title in a clear Unanimous Decision win to become the new WBC Super Middleweight Champion.
Opening the Showtime Championship broadcast Lightweights Daniel Estrada (32-3-1) and WBC champion Omar Figueroa (24-0-1) were in action. Both men rehydrated and entered the ring at 154+.
Early Estrada controlled the pressure that Figueroa committed to. Estrada used movement and counter punching to slip away in and out of the pocket. Figueroa tried to confuse Estrada by switching his style from orthodox to southpaw but this had little effect.
Figueroa tried to smother the offense of Estrada in the second but still it wasn’t enough as Estrada remained posed and stuck to his boxing game plan. In the third the action really began to pick up. Early in the round Estrada threw a punch that strayed really low hitting Figueroa below the belt stopping the action for a couple minutes. When the fight continued Figueroa would land big shots while Estrada still used volumn to keep him back.
Entering the fourth Estrada appeared to be getting slower and for the first time, started to have issues with the pressure that the defending champion Figueroa was continuing to come forward with. Rounds five and six Figueroa changed his game plan a bit and was outboxing Estrada giving both a little slack to rest between exchanges.
The lull in action didn’t sustain. The eighth round picked back up. Figueroa pressured the now noticeably tired Estrada, landing big shots and bullied him against the ropes.
In the 9th Figueroa threw a faint jab to Estrada and followed it up with a huge overhand right that knocked Estrada to the canvas. Estrada managed to beat the count but the Figueroa jumped on him causing the referee to stop the action. Figueroa retained his Lightweight WBC title.
On the Showtime Extreme part of the card Heavyweight Deontay Wilder and Lightweight Jorge Linares were back in the ring.
In a 10 round contest Deontay Wilder took on Jason Gavern (25-16-4). Early Wilder used his jab to try and disrupt Gavern who was trying all that he could to get past the large reach advantage the Wilder had on him. In round 3 and 4 it appeared Wilder was wanting to go rounds, he remained calm and didn’t throw his best punch, his right cross like we are accustomed to seeing.
Still in last two rounds Wilder still managed to down Gavern and in-between the fourth and fifth Gavern’s team threw in the towel ending the fight. Wilder improved to 32-0 with his knockout percentage staying unchanged at 100%.
Former Lightweight Champion Jorge Linares opened the Showtime extreme broadcast in a quick dismantling of Ira Terry. Linares knocked Terry out in a highlight reel knockout with his right cross in the second to become the mandatory challenger for the WBC title held by Omar Figueroa.
