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One of Boxing’s best lighter weight fighters was in action last night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO, as Adrien Broner retained his WBO super feather crown in a show of force against challenger Eloy Perez.
After an uneventful first round, Broner stepped it up in the second and began to put the pressure on his challenger, keeping the California resident at a distance with a Floyd Mayweather-like defensive posture and sweeping punches.
Perez was unable to get an offense going as he was kept busy trying to protect himself against the very fast hands of the champion. When Perez did try to attack Broner, he was met with effective counters that came from unexpected angles.
The third frame featured more of the same as Perez struggled to find any kind of rhythm in the face of a superior skilled opponent.
By the fourth, Perez tried to break Broner’s control of the fight but aside from landing a few shots on the inside, he was unsuccessful. Broner’s confidence grew to the point that he even engaged in a bit of showboating before nailing Perez with a flush right hand in the corner that dropped the challenger.
Perez attempted to get up but only managed to pitch headlong back to the canvas several times before ending up in the opposite corner where the fight was called off by referee Genaro Rodriguez at 2:24 of the fourth.
It was first title defense by Broner, who remains undefeated at 23-0 (19), while Perez, 23-1-2 (7), goes down to defeat for the first time.
In a ten rounder on the bill, local icon and ex-WBC/IBF light welter ruler Devon Alexander, 23-1 (13), moved up to welterweight to take on former WBA light welter titlist Marcos Rene Maidana.
Body-punching specialist Maidana was expected to use pressure in an attempt to break down the southpaw Alexander and the Argentine did not disappoint, getting to the St. Louis man in the third with success, cutting Alexander above the eye.
But Alexander gained the upper hand by the fifth, outboxing the South American and landing clean combinations to offset the hard single shots scored by Maidana.
The sixth saw Maidana enjoy a breakthrough on the inside only to get shaken up by hard counters from Alexander, who would remain in control for the remaining rounds to post a 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91 unanimous decision.
