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IBF light welter champ Juan Urango retained his belt while light heavy contender Tarvoris Cloud outpointed former champ Clinton Woods to capture the vacant IBF belt last night at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL.
After a slow start, southpaw Urango, 22-2-1 (17), got down to business after getting nailed by a full-blooded right hand from challenger and former WBO titlist Randall Bailey, 39-7 (35), the biggest puncher in the division, in the sixth frame.
Urango was floored heavily but beat the count and went straight after Bailey for the remainder of the bout.
The champion burrowed his way into close quarters and went to work, absorbing some of Bailey’s heavy artillery on the way in, until he hit the bulls eye in the ninth, downing the challenger with a sharp counter left.
Bailey regained his feet but was canvassed again during Urango’s follow up assault. Bailey beat the count again but by the 11th, all Urango’s tenderizing earlier came into force as the challenger was finished off by a body shot at 1:51 of the round.
In a clash for the vacant IBF light heavyweight title, ex-champ Clinton Woods kept younger rival Tarvoris Cloud at bay for the first half of the bout but could not keep up for the remainder of the contest.
Ten years younger than Woods at 27, Cloud’s hot pace had it’s intended effect during the last six rounds as Woods’ early lead, built upon excellent countering shots, evaporated.
Under relentless pressure, Woods relied on long experience to fight back sporadically but Cloud simply had too much quickness and stamina, producing a 116-112 result on all three cards.
Cloud becomes the new IBF light heavyweight champion, seeing his record to 20-0 (18), while Woods drops to 42-5-1 (24).
