According to Chris Cozzone of Fightnews.com, in the co-main event, once-lost Antonio DeMarco, of Tijuana, made his mark on the lightweight division by picking up the WBC’s interim version of the belt and dropping Nicaraguan Jose Alfaro for a tenth-round stoppage.
Clearly the better boxer, and with the height, reach and size advantages on his side, DeMarco took control early, jabbing at the advancing Alfaro and setting up straight lefts.
The harder Alfaro pressed, the harder he was hit by DeMarco. In the second, the Nicaraguan was in trouble. Though hitting the canvas in a knockdown ruled a trip or slip, Alfaro rose on shaky legs and barely managed to finish the round.
To his credit, the more DeMarco punished him, the gamer Alfaro got. In the fifth, both landed hard shots – finally a big right landing for Alfaro – but DeMarco kept his game plan under control, jabbing, moving, and setting up big lefts.
By the sixth, DeMarco was breezing bombs through Alfaro, who was in trouble at the round’s end. DeMarco reversed the roles in the seventh, becoming the aggressor and driving Alfaro back but, one round later, the Nicaraguan, refusing to yield, returned to his futile hunt.
Though landing several overhand rights, Alfaro was on the short end of the punishment in the ninth. In the tenth, it was all over – after three knockdowns, Referee Joe Cortez finally stopped the fight, official time 2:07.
“I was a little surprised the referee let the fight go,” said DeMarco, now 23-1-1, 17 KOs. “At one point he turned around and I knew then it was only a matter of time.
“It’s impossible to describe the feeling I have inside me right now,” said an emotional DeMarco, now 23-1-1, 17 KOs. “My lifelong dream was to become the WBC world champion. This is the second happiest day of my life. Only the birth of my daughter comes first.”
Alfaro ends a three-bout win streak, falling to 23-5, 20 KOs.
Photos by Chris Cozzone
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