'Sniper' way off target!
Pacquiao, tainted from scales, fouls Velazquez and fight

Ringside by Victor Perea and Albert Jimenez Howell
Photos by Chris Cozzone
- FightWireImages.com

Having lost his WBC Continental Americas super featherweight title on the scales the day before, coming in three pounds over the limit, Bobby “The Sniper” Pacquiao entered the ring last night at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. looking for respect and redemption against Hector Velazquez on a Top Rank-promoted card televised by VERSUS.

The unapologetic brother of a superstar needed to launch his own fireworks. Unfortunately, for the crowd, revved up after a fulfilling co-main event brawl between Jose Luis Cruz and Archak Ter-Meliksetian, and Velazquez, the aim of the ironically-named “Sniper” was way off target.

After a slow first round, things heated up as Velazquez dug into the younger Pacquiao’s body. Pacquiao answered the blow with his first stray body shot that went south, but was missed by referee Kenny Bayless. An even exchange of left hooks stirred the crowd as Pacquiao, again, went off target to the body of Velazquez, this time receiving his first warning from the referee.

Despite the warning, Pacquiao continued to look for the the big shot downstairs, but Manny’s clumsy, less-talented brother missed more often than he landed—and when he did it was south of the Mexican’s border.

Pacquiao returned to his corner looking uncomfortable while coaches Freddie Roach and Justin Fortune advised him during the break.

“Keep your punches up! Keep your punches up!” warned Fortune.

In the second, after landing a big right hook to the body, Velazquez was countered with a monster right uppercut that landed on target and put Velazquez right on his rump.

It was the only legitimate knockdown, although Velazquez would later say he was hit on top of his head.

After Velazquez rose to his feet and the contest was restarted, the fighters traded heavy shots in the center of the ring. This time, Velazquez found a welcome home for a big left hand while his back was to the ropes, and another left hook wobbled Pacquiao shortly after. Finding himself in trouble once again, Pacquiao went to the body but landed well below, prompting a point deduction from Bayless as Pacquiao lost the point he’d earned with the knockdown. Adding to the ruckus was an accidental head butt that opened up a cut over the left eye of Velazquez. 

Although Velazquez was the one who hit the canvas, Pacquiao looked the more beaten of the two fighters after just two rounds, and his forehead began to swell from clashing of heads.

In the third and fourth, Velazquez continued to counter well with his left hand although the damage was minimal. Constant clinching from Pacquiao earned vocal disapproval from the crowd and the fourth closed in favor of Velazquez.

Early in the fifth, Pacquiao landed the mother of all low blows and Velazquez dropped to the ground clutching his threatened family jewels. 

A second point deduction for Pacquiao prompted the crowd to show their frustration as they began to realize that the fight was very much in danger of being stopped because of Pacquiao’s inability to land on target. Velazquez spent nearly a minute on the ground recovering, followed by a few moments of pacing before the fight was restarted. 

Pacquiao caught a bit of a second wind and landed some of his most significant shots during the sixth and seventh rounds, all the while Velazquez’ corner yelled for him to stand his ground and not give the fight away. Pacquiao pressed the action, now fully aware that his straight left could end the fight and end a terrible night.

Giving the better of the exchanges, Pacquiao tripped over the feet of Velazquez as they traded on the inside, causing both fighters to stumble to the ground. It was ruled a mutual slip, and the fight resumed with Pacquiao keeping the round close by setting up his straight left with a jab, and also accidentally opening up a cut over the right eye of Velazquez in the process with another clash of heads.

Velazquez managed to land a heavy left hook that shook Pacquiao during the eighth round, but the tiring Mexican failed to capitalize on the opportunity.

Entering the ninth round, Velazquez was dissuaded by his corner to exchange with the desperate Pacquiao and, instead, ride out the rest of the fight using his jab. Velazquez listened to his corner until Pacquiao landed another solid straight left hand that motivated him to step it up. Moments before the end of the round, another low blow from Pacquiao had Velazquez turning away in pain as Pacquiao acknowledged the strike, turning to walk to his corner while Velazquez recovered. However, referee Bayless never called the bout to a halt and motioned to Velazquez, who was facing him, that he needed to keep fighting. Velazquez turned and lunged at Pacquiao, who had his back toward the Tijuana nativ, and just as Velazquez landed the blow, Bayless broke it up as the bell signaled an end to an ugly sequence that might’ve ended up even worse.

As in the previous rounds, Pacquiao used his steam during the first minute of the round, landing a left hand or two while missing the rest of his strikes. Velazquez continued to land sloppy right hooks while Pacquiao, running on empty was warned for yet another low blow—this time, his final warning. The ref failed to deduct a third point, much less stop the contest in order to give Velazquez time to recover. 

Pacquiao threw heavy hands with desperation in the eleventh round while Velazquez countered back, landing several good shots on the body of the tiring Filipino. The round featured several good shots from Pacquiao who now looked as if he had a chance to drop the Mexican if properly followed up. But with just moments left in the round, Pacquiao landed yet another low shot that dropped Velazquez to the canvas.

This time, referee Bayless waved off the bout, at 2:56, awarding Velazquez the win by disqualification.

“I couldn’t believe how low he hit me,” said Velazquez, now 46-11-2 (32 KOs). “I took my time but I thought I’d never get up from those blows.

“It was ugly a very ugly way to win. It was real tough, not only the low blows, but because of his head butts. Just look at his head—it’s all bruised up from head butting.”

While Velazquez did not put on a great show of skill or sportsmanship, his rotten egg was not in character from the Filipino, now 27-12-2 (12 KOs), who appeared troubled from the beginning of the contest.

At the time of the stoppage Pacquiao was ahead on two of the judges scorecards, 95-93 and 94-93, while Velazquez lead on the third, 94-93.

Fightnews had the bout 95-93 for Velazquez before it was stopped. (Victor Perea)

Cruz stems 'Shark Attack'

After dropping his last two bouts to Sharmba Mitchell and Shane Mosley by decision—the only blemishes on his record—Jose Luis Cruz (34-2-2, 28 KOs) is back on the winning streak getting the nod over late sub Archak Ter-Meliksetian (16-5, 13 KOs) in an eight-round super welterweight brawl.

In round one, Cruz came out throwing everything but the kitchen sink. Cruz landed a damaging left hook upstairs early, followed by an overhand right that landed flush on the chin of his opponent. Cruz was landing his combinations but the game Ter-Meliksetian was fighting back. Ter-Meliksetian landed a left hook of his own upstairs that stunned Cruz. Near the end of the round, Ter-Meliksetian landed a big left hook to the chin that caught Cruz coming in, stopping him in his tracks.

In the second round, Cruz forced Ter-Meliksetian to the ropes and unleashed a picturesque combination. The boxers were content to turn this bout into a brawl, and at the end of the round, the two combatants leaned their heads on each other's shoulders and exchanged hooks. This type of phone booth bravado highlighted this exciting match-up.

In the third, Cruz forced Ter-Meliksetian to the ropes and put everything behind his hooks that crushed into the body of his adversary. Cruz' body shots were now taking a toll on his opponent while Ter-Meliksetian’s punches were not finding their mark with the same consistency as in the first two stanzas.

Cruz continued his assault on Ter-Meliksetian's midsection in the fourth round. After the midway point in the bout, Ter-Meliksetian no longer had the legs to make this a competitive fight.

But, lo and behold, Ter-Meliksetian displayed incredible courage the second half of the fight and he kept competitive, allowing him to even win rounds when it appeared as though he was destined to kiss the canvas.

Ter-Meliksetian caught his second wind in the fifth, a round that Cruz surprisingly seemed to take off even though he had his opponent hurt badly the previous round. Ter-Meliksetian controlled most of the sixth, too, until the last 30 seconds when Cruz landed a flurry of power shots upstairs that clearly stunned his foe.

By the seventh round, both fighters had slowed a bit. For the first time in the battle, the combatants began to clinch—a sign that this non-stop action fight was taking its toll on both warriors.

In the eighth and final round, Cruz ripped a four-punch combination that included a picturesque short left hook to the jaw of his opponent. Cruz went back to the body mixing hooks downstairs with uppercuts upstairs, punctuating a hard-fought battle.

The scorecards read 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75 all for Cruz the victor by unanimous decision.

“I was turned off by how tall he was,” said Cruz. “He was a late sub and I usually fight guys smaller than me.”

Cruz also commented on how many hard shots Archak was able to absorb, saying that he was surprised by Ter-Meliksetian's resilience. (Albert Howell)

Nishioka wins curtain raiser

The opening bout of the night pinned journeyman Jose Alonso (29-13-2, 14 KOs) of Navojoa, Mexico in a scheduled eight-round super bantamweight battle against Hyogo, Japan’s Toshiaki Nishioka (28-4-3, 16 KOs).

Although Alonso carried the “Lighting Bolt” moniker, it was Nishioka who zapped his opponent with crisp speed from the outside from the opening bell.

Alonso endured heavy punishment to the body throughout the first round, too slow to effectively counter the quicker Nishioka who easily won the round.

Aggressively answering the beginning of the second round, Alonso landed a flush straight right, only to be countered with the right hook from the 30-year-old Nishioka. Moments later, Nishioka landed a big left uppercut, just as Alonso missed a wild haymaker, making for a good display of footwork by Alonso to stay on his feet as he stumbled forward but not down.

Alonso received the worst of an accidental head butt early in third, and the bout was paused to allow time for Alonso to shake it off. Using his jab to stay on the outside, Nishioka landed a barrage of hooks and jabs, constantly switching it up from body to head shot and not giving the now tiring Alonso a chance to counter or even breath. Alonso endured a low blow that went unseen by the referee but he made a strong push to end the round.

Sweeping the first three rounds, Nishioka continued to stick with what worked for him and punished the tired Alonso with unwavering hooks to the body again during the fourth. A second low blow by Nishioka earned him a warning and the bout was continued. While Alonso’s corner called for him to return the favor, the good sportsman Alonso did not comply and then allowed himself to be swallowed by a wave of stiff jabs. Like a dagger to the heart, one final straight left to the body dropped Alonso in pain, reaching the count of six with Alonso still on his back wincing in pain. Referee Jay Nady waved off the contest declaring,  Nishioka the winner by KO at 2:59. (Victor Perea)

Molina KOs foe in one!

John Molina (5-0, 4 KOs) destroyed opponent Odilon Rivera (5-9-3, 3 KOs) earning a TKO victory in round one of their scheduled four-round lightweight bout.

Rivera was clearly out-gunned from the outset by the taller and stronger Molina. In the early moments of the fight, Molina landed big right that decked his combatant but the gun-slinging Molina was deducted a point for hitting Rivera with a follow-up right after his adversary had already hit the canvas.

Rivera lifted himself from the floor to resume fighting but his comeback was short-lived. A big right by Molina floored Rivera a second time, prompting referee Toby Gibson to step in and wave off the bout as Rivera crumbled to the canvas. The bout was ended at 2:11 of the first round with the undefeated Molina declared the victor by TKO.

Lopes wins decision

Alejandro Lopez (7-0, 2 KOs) earned a unanimous decision victory over Miguel Reza (3-2, 0 KOs) in their six-round featherweight fight, with scorecards reading 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55.

The counter-punching Lopez leveraged his superior footwork and technical skill to win rounds and combat Reza's aggressive style.

After a tentative first round, Lopez caught Reza coming in with a stiff right in the second, then again, with another right. The aggressor, Reza connected with an overhand right that was his best punch of the fight.

In the third round, Reza was cut above the left eye. In the same round, Lopez landed two big rights upstairs, his best combination of the fight. Although neither fighter seemed to possess knockout power they both threw a lot of punches throughout the bout.

In the fifth, an overhand right landed for Reza. Lopez fired back catching Reza coming in with a stiff left. Lopez nailed his opponent again with a left that landed flush on the jaw. Lopez began the sixth and final round on his bicycle. There were lots of missed shots by both fighters in the last round. Nonetheless, the cautious Lopez sailed to the finish taking home the victory. (Howell)

Da Luz winner by TKO

It only took Robert Da Luz (9-5, 8 KOs) one round to vanquish his opponent Juan Carlos Santiago (8-9-4, 2 KOs), who was clearly outclassed in their featherweight duel.

Midway through the opening round, Da Luz badly hurt his foe with a right hand and Santiago had to hang on to avoid falling to the floor. Da Luz created the necessary distance then hit Santiago with a left that sent his foe up in the air and down to the canvas.

Referee Jay Nady waved off the bout at 2:47 of the first round declaring Da Luz the the winner by TKO victory.

Comic relief with Cooper walkout bout

The lone cruiserweight battle of the night showcased the local favorite, undefeated Dewey “Black Kobra” Cooper (15-0-2, 10 KOs), who was scheduled for a six-round showcase bout stacked in his favor over Salah “the Body Snatcher” Zabian (6-7, 4 KOs).

Cooper a popular Las Vegas local whose biggest success has come in the famed K-1 circuit, took much longer than expected to dismiss the obviously outgunned, outclassed and outmatched Zabian, who is not one to fit the physical description of a professional athlete.

However, much to the surprise of those present, mainly those who have seen him fight previously, Zabian managed to not only survive but also win the first round, landing a number of jab straight right combinations. While Zabian failed to land an attempted “Superman” punch, he managed to shake off two hard shots to his soft body by the stronger Cooper.

Even after losing the second round by most ringside observers, Cooper failed to effectively press the action, allowing himself to be tagged with right hands by the slower Zabian. A tired Zabian danced around the ring, attempting to avoid Cooper’s inaccurate strikes throughout the third.

With a good-sized mouse beginning to grow under his right eye and now breathing very heavily, Zabian hardly threw a punch during the fourth round. Instead he chose to taunt the frustrated Cooper by sticking out his tongue and slapping his belly. Cooper grew more impatient as Zabian made a mockery of the sweet science, bringing everyone present to a sizable laugh when, in the middle of the round, he leaned back into Cooper’s corner, put his arms up on the ropes, and blew a kiss to an attractive ringside observer while taking a quick breather.

Completely out of class and gas, Zabian still managed to catch the pursuing Cooper between the ropes after tripling up on his left jab and then landing a straight right hand. Shortly after ,while Zabian leaned on the ropes with his hands down, Cooper finally accomplished what he should have done three rounds earlier, landing a monster shot that sent Zabian’s mouthpiece into the second row.

Impaired but not out, Zabian endured two more big shots from Cooper until the referee stepped in and gave Zabian a standing eight count. After being allowed to continue Zabian was caught with a hard left uppercut to the body, prompting him to turn and grab his midsection as the bout was stopped, making Cooper the winner by TKO at 2:13 of round four. (Victor Perea)

Bonus photos