Boxing reports from the United States, Poland, and Argentina as Dennis Contreras, Damian Wrzesinsk, and Adrian Sasso all win.
Plant City, FL, USA: Feather: Dennis Contreras (24-10-1) W TKO 10 Hairon Socarras (23-2-3).
Contreras steamrollers Socarras to defeat. Socarras boxed cleverly in the first, letting the taller Contreras bring the fight to him and countering with quick bursts of hooks. Contreras did a better job of cutting off the ring in the second, and despite some slick bobbing and weaving from Socarras, Contreras took the round.
Contreras attacked relentlessly in the third. He trapped Socarras in a corner and piled on the punches until Socarras slipped to the canvas.
He fought back over the rest of the round but was constantly under pressure. Socarras stopped Contreras in his tracks with a left hook in the fourth but was forced to defend desperately as Contreras again forged forward in the fifth and sixth. Socarras connected with some powerful counters in the seventh and eighth, but Contreras just shrugged them off and kept coming unloading on Socarras with hooks and uppercuts. Late in the ninth, Contreras had Socarras pinned to the ropes and just fired punch after punch with very little coming from Socarras.
A big attack in the tenth saw him drive Socarras along the ropes until Socarras pitched face down on the canvas. Socarras got up, but the referee had seen enough to convince him Socarras was finished for the night. Contreras seems to have moved his career up a level lately.
This is his second defense of the WBA Fedecentro title and wins No 22 by KO/TKO. In succession, the 28-year-old Mexican has beaten 20-2-1 Belmar Preciado, 20-0 Carlos Flores, and now 23-1-3 Socarras, but despite the Fedecentro title and impressive wins, he is still unrated by the WBA. Cuban Socarras has good skills but has found his ceiling.
Dzuerzonlow, Poland: Light: Damian Wrzesinsk (22-1-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Julio Barraza (19-3-1). Welter: Michal Lesniak (13-1-1) W Rodrigo Labre (6-4). Middle: Lukasz Maciec (26-3-1) W Pablo Mendoza (9-7).
Wrzesinsk vs. Barraza
Wrzesinsk decisions Barraza in an entertaining ten-rounder. Barraza landed a couple of useful lefts in the first round. Wrzesinsk then changed to southpaw and was more assured. He outboxed Barraza comfortably to collect the points over the second, third and fourth, but then Barraza got back into the fight from the fifth and is a hard-fought scrap from there with Wrzesinsk having the edge, but the round is close.
Wrzesinsk shook Barraza with a combination at the end of the ninth and boxed his way to victory through the tenth. Scores 97-93 twice and 98-92 for the Pole. Wrzesinsk,33, made the third defense of his Polish International title and registered his eighth win in a row. He is not in the EBU ratings as the EBU does not recognize the body he fights under. Mexican Barraza did Wrzesinsk work hard for the win.
Lesniak vs. Labre
Lesniak has to get off the canvas to take a close unanimous verdict over Labre. In the opening two rounds, Lesniak let himself be dragged into a brawl by Labre. He settled down to box in the third and fourth using his longer reach. Late in the fifth, a left hook to the body sent Lesniak down for a count. From there, Lesniak boxed at a distance under constant pressure from Labre, and the fight was close. Scores 76-75 twice and 77-74 for Lesniak. After an early loss, Lesniak is 10-0-1 in his eleven most recent outings. Spanish-based Ecuadorian Labre had won his last three fights.
Maciec vs. Mendoza
Usually, the Latin American fighters based in Spain tend to be non-threatening, competitive losers. Still, As with Labre, Mendoza gave Maciec all the trouble he could handle and looked unlucky not to come away with a draw. Scores 76-75 twice and 77-74 for Maciec. Since losing an important fight to Hugo Centeno in 2015, Maciec downsized his opposition’s quality and had periods of inactivity. Nicaraguan Mendoza suffers his sixth loss in succession.
Rio Cuarto, Argentina: Super Welter: Adrian Sasso (16-2) W TKO 3 Sergio Lopez (13-5).
Fighting in front of his home fans, Sasso stops Lopez in the third round. Sasso is tall for a super welter and a southpaw, and he used his long reach to slot punches home from a distance. Lopez was walking forward, throwing wild, wide punches to overcome the height disparity. He was taking punishment as he lunged forward. In the third, a series of punches had Lopez off balance and sent him tumbling down against the ropes. He climbed up, but after completing the eight count, the referee waved the fight off.
Lopez complained strongly and even did a little dance to show he was more than capable of continuing, but the fight was over. Sasso, 25, retains the South American title with his ninth win in a row, but he lacks the skills to go beyond the domestic level. Lopez had been stopped inside a round by Lucas Bastida is a challenge for the South American middleweight title in December.
