Lenar Perez Stops Thabiso Mchunu in Eight as Unbeaten Cuban Survives Scare in Montreal

Lenar Perez got the result he wanted in Montreal, but Thabiso Mchunu certainly made him work for it.

The unbeaten Cuban was dropped midway through the fight before turning things around and stopping the experienced South African in the eighth round at the Casino de Montréal on Thursday night. Perez moved to 17-0 and retained his WBA Continental Americas cruiserweight title, while Mchunu slipped to 25-9.

It was a good night generally for the unbeaten fighters on the Eye of the Tiger card. Jhon Orobio produced another stoppage, Moreno Fendero won the local super-middleweight battle with Stephane Fondjo, and Wyatt Sanford needed only two rounds to get his latest victory.

Lenar Perez Stops Thabiso Mchunu in Round Eight

Lenar Perez (17-0-0) stopped Thabiso Mchunu (25-9-0) in the eighth round, but the bare result doesn’t really tell the story of the fight.

Perez controlled much of the early going. The WBA scoring analysis shows all three judges giving him each of the opening four rounds. Then Mchunu reminded everyone why an experienced old hand can still be dangerous.

A right hook from Mchunu put Perez on the canvas in the fifth. It was the first real crisis of the night for the Cuban and suddenly this wasn’t looking quite so straightforward. Perez recovered, though, and was back in control in the sixth and seventh, which all three judges also scored in his favour. The WBA’s theoretical score after seven was 69-64 for Perez.

The finish arrived in round eight. Perez dropped Mchunu with a right hand and, although the South African beat the count, he was clearly hurt. Perez went after him, Mchunu wasn’t returning fire and the referee stepped between them to end the contest.

For Perez, this was probably more useful than another completely one-sided win. He got dropped, had to recover against a veteran who knew what he was doing, and then found the finish himself. At 17-0, that’s a decent night’s work.

Jhon Orobio Stops Antonio Moran in Four

Jhon Orobio (19-0-0) kept his perfect record intact with a fourth-round TKO victory over Antonio Moran (31-9-1).

Orobio came into the contest at 18-0 with 16 stoppages and once again didn’t require the judges. Moran had vastly more professional experience, but that wasn’t enough to halt Orobio’s rise as the Montreal-based Colombian collected win number 19.

Moreno Fendero Decisions Stephane Fondjo

Moreno Fendero (16-0-0) was taken the distance by Stephane Fondjo (15-3-1), but there wasn’t much disagreement from the judges about who had won.

Fendero took a unanimous decision by scores of 99-90, 99-90 and 97-92, preserving his unbeaten record and claiming the local bragging rights in their super-middleweight meeting.

It was the one fight on the seven-bout card that required the scorecards.

Wyatt Sanford Stops Costin Ion

Wyatt Sanford (8-0-0) made short work of Costin Ion (11-6-2), stopping him in the second round of their lightweight contest.

Sanford entered the night with just seven professional fights behind him but didn’t need many rounds to add number eight, with the contest officially ending by TKO.

Rest of the Montreal Undercard

Keven Beausejour (4-0-0) produced the quickest finish of the night, knocking out Leonel Silva Salas (1-1-0) in the opening round of their light-heavyweight bout. Beausejour remains perfect through four professional fights.

Nickenson Denis (2-0-0) recorded a second-round TKO over Jaheem Estwick (1-3-0). Denis is now two wins from two as a professional, with both victories coming inside the distance.

Victor Tremblay (4-0-0) also maintained his unbeaten start, stopping Kesny Joseph (1-2-0) in the third round of their contest.

Six stoppages from seven fights made it a pretty brisk night in Montreal. Perez leaves with his unbeaten record and regional belt intact, although perhaps the most interesting part of his night was that Mchunu managed to put him down. Perez answered that question properly — he got back up and finished the fight himself three rounds later.