By Jake Donovan
Even on his best day, Ben Tackie rarely threw more than one punch at a time as he relied on his natural punching power. The 42-year old former contender stayed true to form, serving as target practice for Ramon Alvarez, who scored a 4th round knockout in the main event Saturday evening in Mexico City, Mexico.
Tackie came in as a very late replacement for Jorge Paez Jr., who was forced to withdraw after suffering a hand injury during his final week of preparation. Alvarez didn't seem to care who he was fighting, just as long as someone was in the opposite corner.
The older brother of famed former super welterweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez received a standing ovation prior to fight night suggesting he was a star in the making. Perhaps it had everything to do with his familiar last name, but Alvarez was motivated by the attention and cheers in applying non-stop pressure.
Of course, it was easy for the 29-year old to throw at will when nothing was coming back in return. Tackie proved an all too willing target as Alvarez scored with body shots and combinations.
Tackie enjoyed brief moments of success on the occasion he remembered to throw his jab. It wasn't often enough, and certainly not at fight's end. Alvarez went in for the kill, prompting the veteran from Ghana to shut down altogether, leaving the referee no choice but to stop the contest.
The offiicial time was 1:52 of round four.
Alvarez advances to 22-4-1 (14KOs) with the win, his first since a 7th round stoppage of Vivian Harris last November. In between then came a four-round No-Contest versus Richard Gutierrez in July, a fight that was pre-empted when an accidental headbutt left Gutierrez with a severe cut inside his mouth.
Tackie (30-13-1, 18KOs) returns to the sidelines, losing in his first fight since last March, in which he actually won by knockout. It was his lone victory since 2006, having lost six straight prior to that point. The attempted comeback proved pointless for the 42-year old, who suffers the first stoppage loss of his career.
UNDERCARD
Martin Tecuapetla made the most of an unexpected situation, moving up to the co-feature slot and scoring a 3rd round knockout of Ronald Ramos in a bout that was condensed from two previously scheduled fights on the card.
The matchup came about after former strawweight champion Francisco Rodriguez Jr. was a same-day scratch from the show. In came Tecuapetla, who was pulled from his undercard bout with Edgar Garcia to face the visiting flyweight from Colombia.
It mattered little as Tecuapetla (13-6-3, 10KOs) had his way in the brief affair, eventually putting away Ramos (37-15-4, 15KOs) with a left hook in round three.
With enough time to kill on the undercard, Raul Hinojosa and Miguel Angel Bautista were able to receive an upgrade to televised swing bout. Bautista seemed to appreciate the momnet just a little bit more, outworking to Hinojosa for an eight-round split decision in their lightweight battle.
All bouts aired live on TV Azteca in Mexico and beIN Sport Español in the United States.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene
