Demetrius Andrade put on a clinic with a dominant performance against Walter Kautondokwa in the main event at the TD Garden on Saturday night to win the vacant WBO middleweight title. Andrade (26-0, 16 Kos) got off to a fast start dropping Kautondokwa (17-1, 16 Kos) four times enroute to a 12-round unanimous decision.
Glenn Feldman and Marcus McDonnell scored the fight 120-104 while Ramon Cerdan scored it 119-105, all for Andrade.
Andrade dropped Kautondokwa in the first round with a straight left hand that caught the Namibian off balance. Andrade must have been caught up in the moment because he threw another shot that seemed to land while Kautondokwa was down but the referee did not reprimand him.
Andrade deposited Kautondokwa to the canvas again in the third with a huge left hand. He then jumped on the ropes to celebrate but it was premature as Kautondokwa miraculously beat the count.
Kautondokwa hit the canvas again in the fourth after an exchange but it probably should have been ruled a double knockdown because Andrade’s glove appeared to touch the canvas too. It didn’t matter though because the American stormed right back moments later to deck Kautondokwa with a hard counter left hand for the fourth time.
The silver lining for Kautondokwa was the extraordinary toughness he exhibited in refusing the stay down after absorbing power shots from an elite opponent.
Andrade changed tactics after the fourth knockdown by not going for the knockout and instead boxed the rest of the way to victory. And he did so in dominant fashion.
CompuBox stats had Andrade landing 152 of 501 total punches (30.3%) to Kautondokwa’s 45 of 325 total punches (13.8%).
Kautondokwa was a late replacement for former WBO titlist Billy Joe Saunders, who failed a drug test and was denied a boxing license in Massachusetts.
Andrade looked fantastic and fought intelligently by staying away from his opponent’s power. He broke Kautondokwa down with hard combinations to the body and mixed it up with blistering head shots.
“Boo Boo” will be an automatic contender in a division that is already heating up. His awkwardness, physicality, speed and power is a nightmarish combination for most opponents.
Katie Taylor cruises
Katie Taylor defeated Cindy Serrano by a comfortable unanimous decision to remain WBC and IBF women’s lightweight champion. Taylor (11-0, 5 KOs) threw caution to the wind in this one by throwing power punches at will and succeeded in overwhelming Serrano (27-6-3, 10 Kos).
Serrano was visibly frustrated and could be seen walking back to her corner and put her head down between rounds. Taylor peppered Serrano with stinging combinations throughout the bout and thwarted every attempt by her opponent to counter effectively.
The Bray woman was clearly in control after round six and even put her hands behind her back daring Serrano to mount an attack. The end was never in doubt as Taylor dominated from start to finish. All three judges scored the contest in her favour 100-90.
Farmer gets rare knockout
IBF super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer successfully defended his title by knocking out challenger James Tennyson with a body shot in the fifth round. Philadelphia’s Farmer (27-4-1, 6 Kos) turned the tables on his opponent by becoming the puncher and ripped Tennyson’s body for four brutal rounds to record his first knockout in over three years.
Tennyson fell to 22-3 (18) and lost by knockout for the third time in his pro career. He had difficulty throughout the contest landing a clean shot on Farmer and the champion did a good job of controlling distance and staying out of punching range. Tennyson was knocked down in the fourth round as well, courtesy of a hard left to the body. The Irishman managed to get up to finish the round but was dropped again by another left in the next round.
Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. had seen enough and stopped the scheduled 12-round fight at just 1:44 of the fifth round. He reportedly told Tennyson, “That’s it. Another day, kid, another day.”
Galahad passes title elimination test
Kid Galahad won his IBF featherweight championship eliminator by unanimous decision against Toka Khan Clary. Judges Gary Litchfield and John Madfis scored the fight 118-110 for Galahad, who also won albeit by a slimmer margin 115-113 on Judge Steve Clark’s card.
England’s Galahad, 28, improves to (25-0, 15 Kos) with the win whilst handing Khan Clary ((25-2, 17 Kos) his second defeat as a pro. Khan Clary continually tried to land the straight left hand which he had some success in backing Galahad into the ropes. The fight featured some good back-and-forth action in the final 45 seconds but was mostly tarnished by constant holding by both fighters.
Neither fighter really took control of this match and it was excruciating to watch at times, particularly during the mostly uneventful fifth and sixth rounds. Galahad was even warned twice by referee Gene Del Bianco that he would deduct a point for stepping on Khan Clary’s foot. Overall, Galahad did enough to bag the win but the performance was underwhelming in his first major test.
Prelim Results
Tommy Coyle defeated Ryan Kielczweski via unanimous decision. Scott Quigg claimed victory over Mario Briones via second round TKO. Mark DeLuca got revenge in securing a unanimous decision win over nemesis Walter Wright in their grudge match. Kazakhstan poster boy Daniyar Yeleussinov scored a first-round TKO over Matt Doherty. Sean McComb recorded a third-round TKO over Carlos Galindo.
