By Rick Reeno
MGM Grand, Las Vegas - For the World Boxing Council Continental Americas super lightweight championship, Amir Imam (16-0, 14KOs) scored four knockdowns and stopped Fidel Maldonado (19-3, 16KOs) in the fifth round.
Maldonado was taking the fight to Imam and it was a real close fight until the final ten seconds of the second round - when Imam landed a huge right hand to send Maldonado down and he was lucky it came so late in the round because he was badly hurt upon rising.
At the start of the third, Maldonado recovered and got revenge by scoring a knockdown of his own with a big right hand. They were trading punches later in the round and Imam dropped him hard with a counter. A follow-up barrage sent Maldonado down for a third time in the fight and he barely escaped the round.
They were trading in the fourth and fifth, with Imam getting the better counter shots in. During the final ten seconds of the fifth, another Imam counter hook sent Maldonado down, for the fourth time in the fight and this time referee Robert Byrd waved things off.
