07.10.07 – By Matthew Hurley: Librado Andrade out of La Habra California, last seen taking unending punishment from Mikkel Kessler, improved his record to 26-1 (20) by stopping Yusaf Mack 23-2 (14) from Philadelphia, in a slugfest on the under card of Barrera – Pacquiao. Referee Jay Nady stopped the super middleweight contest, for the USBA title belt, after Mack hit the canvas three times in the seventh round..
The fight started well enough for Mack when he backed Andrade towards the ropes in the first round and launched a wild left hook that caught the unsuspecting Andrade on the side of the face. Andrade crashed to the mat and then struggled to his feet and clutched and grabbed until he cleared his head. It was a shocking development considering that Mack was expected to box against the iron chinned Andrade who took everything Kessler could throw at him for twelve rounds and barely even blinked.
The second round began to set the pace for the remainder of the bout. Andrade would press Mack, hitting him with short power shots and tossing in a few fouls as well. Nady warned Andrade for low blows and head butting but the relentless, lumbering Andrade kept coming forward.
Mack would continue to try and measure his man with jabs but found Andrade so easy to hit that he allowed himself to be pulled into a thrilling slugfest. Andrade continued to press, working upstairs and downstairs with short hooks and uppercuts while Mack would try to counter punch and then move to the center of the ring where he would look for another opening for that left hook or straight right hand.
The rounds proceeded with Mack seeming to get the better of it with his technique and boxing abilities but Andrade was exacting a toll. Mack kept getting drawn in to the false hope of catching Andrade with that perfect left hook again but nothing he threw at his opponent seemed to stop his forward progression. It was as if he caught lightning in a bottle in the first round and it did nothing but wake Andrade up.
As the fight approached the middle rounds Mack continued to dangerously engage Andrade on the inside. Every time Andrade had him pinned he pounded his body and head with thudding punches while Mack would fire back with big swinging hooks that were aesthetically pleasing and appeared much crisper and harder than Andrade’s more cumbersome approach.
The fight’s momentum seemed to shift early in the seventh when Mack landed several power punches but Andrade got in close again and suddenly Mack’s body deflated almost instantly. An uppercut backed him to the ropes and he suddenly took a knee. His face gave away his exhaustion. He beat Nady’s count but was quickly forced to take another knee after a short Andrade assault. Mack again beat the count but was down again quickly and just like that it was over.
In the wake of the rather disappointing main event Andrade – Mack became the fight of the night.