Baldomir shocks Judah to claim WBC crown
January 8, 2006
By David Gonzalez SportsTicker Contributing Writer
NEW YORK (Ticker) - With the biggest payday of his career in sight, Zab Judah showed himself to be a bad businessman.
Judah saw a big-money fight disappear Saturday night when he lost his undisputed welterweight crown by dropping a unanimous decision to unknown Carlos Baldomir of Argentina at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
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Fighting in front of a hometown crowd of 4,735, Judah survived a shaky seventh round but was unable to hold off the relentless attack of Baldomir as he lost all three of his titles.
With the victory, Baldomir (42-9-6) only captured the WBC welterweight title as he did not pay the sanction fees to the WBA and IBF. He won by scores of 115-113, 115-112 and 114-113.
"This is beautiful. I told you this would be a Cinderella story," Baldomir said through and interpreter. "I am the new Cinderalla man. I thought I did enough to win, but I was worried when I heard the decision."
Perhaps the only one worried now is Judah (34-3), whose career took an unexpected turn.
Judah saw a proposed April date with undefeated three-time division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.(35-0, 24 KOs) pass by with the shocking loss.
Despite owning a journeyman record and limited boxing skills, Baldomir kept constant pressure on Judah throughout the fight. Judah opened up a little, but heard a chorus of boos from the crowd late in fourth and sixth rounds. He still led on all three of the judges' scorecards at that point.
In the seventh, Baldomir landed a right hand, which wobbled the legs of Judah. The upset-minded Argentine stayed offensive as Judah ran and held Baldomir to survive until the end of the round.
"The right hand I connected with opened the victory," Baldomir said. "I want Mayweather next."
Judah, whose nose was bloodied by the ninth, began to assert himself again, but Baldomir's forward attack won the 11th and 12th rounds to secure the victory.
"He is a very strong guy, a game guy," Judah said. "He is fighting for the opportunity of his life. I got hit but weathered the storm."
On the undercard, O'Neil Bell unified the cruiserweight crown for the second time in the division's history with a shocking 10th-round stoppage of Jean-Marc Mormeck.
Bell (26-1-1, 24 KOs) joins future Hall-of-Famer Evander Holyfield, who unified the division in the late 1980s before moving to the heavyweight division, as the only two boxers to consolidate the cruiserweight class.
In the co-feature of the loaded card, Mormeck (31-3) came out strong from the opening bell with a relentless offensive attack over the first six rounds, but Bell finally broke through in the seventh and hurt the Frenchman.
Mormeck, who came into the fight owning the WBA and WBC titles, showed signs of slowing down and Bell seized the fight for good in the 10th.
"He didn't hurt me," Bell said. "I can't take anything away from him. He has a lot of power and was a great champion."
Bell stunned his opponent in the final minute, knocking out Mormeck's mouthpiece before finally dropping him to the canvas with a barrage of punches. Referee Wayne Kelly began to count but waved off the fight with 10 seconds left in the round.
"I was able to sustain his best shots, which broke his spirits," said Bell, who came into the fight owning the IBF belt.
"I am a bit disappointed because I lost my belts," Mormeck said through an interpreter. "I don't know what changed things but I realized he was a great champion and winning the fight."
Mormeck lost for the first time in 29 fights.
Earlier in the evening, Ulises Solis of Mexico captured the IBF 108-pound junior flyweight title with a hard-fought unanimous decision over American Will Grigsby.
Despite suffering cuts over both eyes in the third round, Solis (20-1-1) kept constant pressure en route to capturing the victory. The judges had him winning by scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.
A native of Minnesota, Grigsby lost the IBF junior flyweight title for the second time and fell to 18-3-1.
January 8, 2006
By David Gonzalez SportsTicker Contributing Writer
NEW YORK (Ticker) - With the biggest payday of his career in sight, Zab Judah showed himself to be a bad businessman.
Judah saw a big-money fight disappear Saturday night when he lost his undisputed welterweight crown by dropping a unanimous decision to unknown Carlos Baldomir of Argentina at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
ADVERTISEMENT
Fighting in front of a hometown crowd of 4,735, Judah survived a shaky seventh round but was unable to hold off the relentless attack of Baldomir as he lost all three of his titles.
With the victory, Baldomir (42-9-6) only captured the WBC welterweight title as he did not pay the sanction fees to the WBA and IBF. He won by scores of 115-113, 115-112 and 114-113.
"This is beautiful. I told you this would be a Cinderella story," Baldomir said through and interpreter. "I am the new Cinderalla man. I thought I did enough to win, but I was worried when I heard the decision."
Perhaps the only one worried now is Judah (34-3), whose career took an unexpected turn.
Judah saw a proposed April date with undefeated three-time division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.(35-0, 24 KOs) pass by with the shocking loss.
Despite owning a journeyman record and limited boxing skills, Baldomir kept constant pressure on Judah throughout the fight. Judah opened up a little, but heard a chorus of boos from the crowd late in fourth and sixth rounds. He still led on all three of the judges' scorecards at that point.
In the seventh, Baldomir landed a right hand, which wobbled the legs of Judah. The upset-minded Argentine stayed offensive as Judah ran and held Baldomir to survive until the end of the round.
"The right hand I connected with opened the victory," Baldomir said. "I want Mayweather next."
Judah, whose nose was bloodied by the ninth, began to assert himself again, but Baldomir's forward attack won the 11th and 12th rounds to secure the victory.
"He is a very strong guy, a game guy," Judah said. "He is fighting for the opportunity of his life. I got hit but weathered the storm."
On the undercard, O'Neil Bell unified the cruiserweight crown for the second time in the division's history with a shocking 10th-round stoppage of Jean-Marc Mormeck.
Bell (26-1-1, 24 KOs) joins future Hall-of-Famer Evander Holyfield, who unified the division in the late 1980s before moving to the heavyweight division, as the only two boxers to consolidate the cruiserweight class.
In the co-feature of the loaded card, Mormeck (31-3) came out strong from the opening bell with a relentless offensive attack over the first six rounds, but Bell finally broke through in the seventh and hurt the Frenchman.
Mormeck, who came into the fight owning the WBA and WBC titles, showed signs of slowing down and Bell seized the fight for good in the 10th.
"He didn't hurt me," Bell said. "I can't take anything away from him. He has a lot of power and was a great champion."
Bell stunned his opponent in the final minute, knocking out Mormeck's mouthpiece before finally dropping him to the canvas with a barrage of punches. Referee Wayne Kelly began to count but waved off the fight with 10 seconds left in the round.
"I was able to sustain his best shots, which broke his spirits," said Bell, who came into the fight owning the IBF belt.
"I am a bit disappointed because I lost my belts," Mormeck said through an interpreter. "I don't know what changed things but I realized he was a great champion and winning the fight."
Mormeck lost for the first time in 29 fights.
Earlier in the evening, Ulises Solis of Mexico captured the IBF 108-pound junior flyweight title with a hard-fought unanimous decision over American Will Grigsby.
Despite suffering cuts over both eyes in the third round, Solis (20-1-1) kept constant pressure en route to capturing the victory. The judges had him winning by scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.
A native of Minnesota, Grigsby lost the IBF junior flyweight title for the second time and fell to 18-3-1.
