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Junior Witter completed the first defence of his WBC light welterweight title in effective rather than outstanding style last night when he stopped Arturo Morua, saying afterwards that he will fight Ricky Hatton “as soon as he wants”.
At a buzzing Alexandra Palace, Witter pounced mid-way though round nine with a vicious combination which effectively finished Morua. Following a standing eight count, referee Timothy Adams surprisingly allowed the bout to continue. Sensing victory Witter attacked immediately, throwing combinations that Morua could not defend and Adams this time did not hesitate to stop the fight two minutes into the round.
Witter, now 35-1-2 (20), had started slowly and appeared troubled by Morua’s highly unexpected counter-punching tactics. “We were expecting him to come forward,” said Witter. “He was a smart man. He tried to confuse me.”
Witter’s trainer, Dominic Ingle, was noticeable in the champion’s corner at the end of rounds one and two as he indicated rather than talked tactics with the 32 year old Bradford resident.
On my scorecard, the honours were shared in the first round with both fighters’ seeming a little uncertain of the other. The pattern of the fight began in the second round with Witter stalking the 28 year-old Mexican and landed two good left hooks as his opponent principally concentrated on keeping out of the way.
“He knew what was coming,” said Witter, referring to his switch-hitting boxing style, “but didn’t know how to deal with it. Seeing it and feeling it is a completely different thing. You can’t get out of the way. He knew what was coming.”
While Witter was undoubtedly ahead for the next three rounds as he continued stalking his opponent, he was more effective than impressive until catching Morua with a rollicking left just on the bell.
Morua surprisingly looked to be gaining a little ground in the sixth and may well have tied the round. Whatever momentum he had, though, was lost in the following stanza when the force of a grazing left caused him to slip to the canvas.
Witter continued to stalk his opponent in the eighth – catching him with a solid uppercut and then again with good shots to the body and another uppercut. However, he continued to frustrate by failing to follow up effectively after landing a big shot, smothering much of his work.
In round nine, though, he finally broke through Morua’s resistance, landing a series of rights and lefts that sent him staggering into the ropes. The Mexican challenger was unable to recover from the pulverizing assault, and after being given a standing eight-count, was stopped on his feet. There were no complaints from his corner.
“I was just being patient,” Witter explained. “I was being patient and coming forward when I wanted. I wanted to make sure everything was going smoothly. When I realised I had him I thought, that’s it, let’s get it done with.”
“The ref should have stopped it straight away. I felt very good tonight, the power and authority was there all the way through.”
Witter’s next bout is likely to be a mandatory title defence but he has sent out a clear message to Ricky Hatton; anywhere, anytime.
“I am as far from Hatton as he wants it to be. It’s there if he wants it.
“I am the best light-welterweight in the world.”
