Tyson Fury overcame a terrible cut and a stiff challenge from Otto Wallin to successfully defend his lineal heavyweight title via unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 118-110) in front of 8,249 fans at T-Mobile Arena Saturday evening.
Fury, cut from a punch in the third round, survived some anxious moments and rebounded to take control of the bout.
Wallin buzzed Fury in the 12th round with a left hand, but Fury weathered the last-ditch effort. Fury now has his sights set on a much-discussed early 2020 rematch with WBC world champion Deontay Wilder.
“Congrats to Otto – and God bless his father and let him rest in peace,” Fury said. “He would be very proud of Otto’s performance.
“It was a great fight I got cut earlier on the eyelid and changed the fight completely. I couldn’t see out of the left eye and there was a lot of clashes.
“Deontay Wilder, I want you next, bum!
Navarrete KOs Elorde
Four weeks removed from his last fight, Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete stopped No. 2 contender Juan Miguel Elorde in four rounds to retain his WBO junior featherweight world title for the third time.
Navarrete knocked down Elorde in the third round and had him in trouble in the fourth, forcing referee Russell Mora to stop the fight.
“I’m happy because I think I put on a great performance. Fortunately, my opponent is OK, and I came out here to put on a show,” Navarrete said. “I hope the fans enjoyed it on my very first Las Vegas show on Mexican Independence Day Weekend. ‘Vaquero’ Navarrete is here to stay.”
— Jose “Chon” Zepeda, who gave current WBC/WBO super lightweight world champion Jose Ramirez all he could handle in February, won a clear 10-round unanimous decision over former two-weight world champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza.
All three judges scored the bout 97-93.
“It’s probably one of the best days of my life. It’s Mexican Independence Day. I was giving everything for Mexico,” Zepeda said. “I guess persistence {was the key to victory}. The people here were giving me excitement to go get him, to go after this guy. We knew that he was a hell of a boxer. Thank God I’m the third one that beat him. The other two were elite fighters. I’m happy for that.
“There were talks that maybe the winner of this fight would go after Ramirez. For me, the rematch, I would like that. It was a very close fight. A lot of people thought I won, a lot of people thought he won. I would love a rematch. I think the people would love it, too.”
Said Pedraza: “It was a very good fight. He looked very well, and I just couldn’t do any of the things I wanted to do. Nothing came out the way I wanted. The instruction from my corner was to throw more punches, but nothing was going my way.
“This was my debut at 140. I felt good. I will meet with my team to evaluate if we stay at 140, or if we move down in weight.”
— Former super flyweight world champion Carlos Cuadras (39-3-1, 27 KOs) scraped by the upset-minded veteran Jose Maria Cardenas (17-5, 14 KOs) via 10-round unanimous decision (95-95, 96-94 2x). Cuadras has now won three in a row and is prime position to challenge for another world title.
“I did what I had to do to get the win,” Cuadras said. “I don’t care what he says. I connected the most powerful and definitive shots. I won the fight.”
“This was a total robbery,” Cardenas said. “I clearly won the fight. I want an immediate rematch.”
— Undefeated 19-year-old phenom Gabriel Flores Jr. (15-0, 6 KOs) secured a workmanlike six-round unanimous decision over Miguel Angel Aispuro (12-9-2, 8 KOs) by identical scores of 60-54.
“It’s always a thrill to fight here in Las Vegas,” Flores said. “This has been a great year for me as I continue to develop as a fighter. I’ll be back soon.”
— Tyson Fury stablemate Isaac Lowe (19-0-3, 6 KOs) overcame a difficult challenge from Mexican veteran Ruben Garcia Hernandez (25-5-2, 11 KOs), but he closed the show strong to earn the eight-round unanimous decision (77-75 2x and 78-74) in a super featherweight bout.
— In matchup of unbeaten super bantamweights, Iskander Kharsan (7-0, 6 KOs) knocked down and punished Isidro Ochoa (7-1, 3 KOs) until Ochoa’s corner stopped the bout following the fifth round.
