Bradley breaks down Rios in 9!
WBO welterweight world champion Timothy Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) defended his title by breaking down Brandon Rios (33-3-1, 24 KOs) en route to a ninth round TKO on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. While Rios stalked and tried to cut off the ring, it was Bradley who boxed well and was able to connect combinations during exchanges. The end would come after a series of body shots, punctuated by a glancing uppercut. Rios would crumble under the attack but managed to beat the count. A follow up flurry ended it moments later when Rios’ simply had nothing left to give and again hit the canvas. Referee Tony Weeks waved it off without a count.
In the co-feature Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1, 2 KOs) put in a dominate performance, stopping Romulo Koasicha (25-5, 15 KOs) inside ten rounds and successfully defended his WBO featherweight strap. Lomanchenko pressed the action and outworked the Mexican fighter throughout and in the tenth, a body shot put Koasicha on the canvas. Referee Robert Byrd would reach the count of ten with Koasicha still on the canvas. Official time was :35 of the tenth.
On the undercard,
Unbeaten middleweight Ryota Murata (8-0, 5 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over Gunnar Jackson (21-7-3, 8 KOs). Murata, of Tokyo Japan controlled the action and pressed the pace throughout the fight and earned scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93.
Featherweight Miguel Marriaga (21-1, 18 KOs) earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over a tough Guillermo Avila (14-4, 11 KOs) after eight rounds. While Avila put up a valiant effort, It was Marriaga who seemed to get the better of the exchanges.
Super lightweight Michael Reed (17-0, 10 KOs) remained unbeaten after stopping Rondal Hubbert (10-4-1, 6 KOs) in the seventh round of a scheduled eight. A series of unanswered shots had referee Kenny Bayless stepping in and putting a halt to the action at the 1:09 mark of the seventh.
Undefeated welterweight Egidijus Kavaliauskas (10-0, 8 KOs) opened up the action with a first round KO victory over Jake Giuriceo (17-5-1, 4 KOs). A combination sent Giuriceo to the canvas and though he was able to make it to his feet, the ref would not allow him to continue.