(Jesus Pabon, shown here moments after being stopped by Luis Hernandez in the 2nd round) 09.08.07 – By Jeff Bastasini: Unbeaten lightweight Luis Hernandez (8-0, 7 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten Jesus Pabon (10-1, 7 KOs) in the 2nd round of a fight scheduled for six rounds on Wednesday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Hollywood, Florida. After a fairly slow first round in which Pabon out-boxed the slower Hernandez, both fighters traded knockdowns in the 2nd round.
However, after Pabon, 27, was knocked down for a second time in the round, the referee Frank Santore Jr. stopped the fight after deciding that Pabon wasn’t in condition to keep going. The time of the stoppage was 2:38 of the 2nd round. Hernandez, 24, was appearing in only his second fight in five years, after having been injured severely in an automobile accident five years ago.
In the first round, Pabon immediately made it clear that he was the faster fighter and the better boxer, as he landed a large number of fast to the head of Hernandez. For his part, Hernandez focused mainly on trying to land his powerful right hand, though he mostly missed with it until late in the round during which time he connected several times.
In the second round, Pabon continued to outbox Hernandez for the first minute of the round. However, while Pabon was attempting to land a right uppercut, Hernandez came in with a straight right hand that landed flush, sending Pabon back against the ropes. Hernandez charged after him, throwing a flurry of punches, almost all of which missed in his urgency to score a knockout. Hernandez was able to land several glancing combinations, which kept Pabon pinned to the ropes trying to fend off the storm of punches. Hernandez finally landed a right hand shot to Pabon’s midsection, sending him to the canvas. Pabon got up and was noticeably staggering, however, the referee allowed the fight to continue.
Thinking knockout, Hernandez came charging forward like a bull, throwing wild punches with little form whatsoever. Pabon, despite being hurt, had sense enough to throw a left hand which connected, as did a right hand which landed to the back of Hernandez’s head, sending him face first into the bottom ropes. While he was down, Pabon chipped in a right hand for good measure. For some reason, the referee didn’t count it as a knockdown, even though it appeared that Hernandez had been knocked down by a punch.
Upon getting up, Hernandez immediately complained to the referee about being punched while down, at which point the referee stopped the action and deducted a point from Pabon for the infraction. While the action was stopped, this gave Pabon an extra time off so that he could better improve from the knockdown he’d experienced earlier in the round.
After the action resumed, Pabon, looking like he’d completely recovered at this point from the earlier, threw two jabs and left hand. Hernandez, however, answered back with a monstrous right hand shot that staggered Pabon, sending him backwards to the ropes. Hernandez rushed immediately forward and threw a flurry of punches – missing most – before finally connecting with a right to Pabon’s chest which sent him to the canvas once again. After getting up, Pabon staggered badly while receiving an eight count from the referee, prompting the fight to be stopped at 2:38 of the 2nd round.