LIVERPOOL, England – Andrew Cain secured a shot at Takuma Inoue’s WBC bantamweight title with a thrilling ninth round finish of Alejandro Jair Gonzalez in Liverpool, England.
Cain, now 15-1 (13 KOs), had said that he was fighting for his life in the build up, and that he was willing to do everything to ensure the Mexican left his home city without a title shot. And the Liverpudlian had to go through hell in order to get Gonzalez, 19-7-3 (11 KOs), out of there. Midway through the seventh Cain found himself in a world of trouble; the local hero was down twice and badly hurt by the Mexican’s relentless body attacks but was saved by the bell during the second count.
Cain, quite unexpectedly, then rallied back in the eighth to finish proceeding with a fabulous flurry.
The contest started with Cain, 29, starting in typical fashion: Aggressively pressing the action on the frontfoot. It looked as though it was only a matter of time before the hard-hitting Cain would have his foe on the ground as he belted home his left hook late in the opener. Cain seemed to be a level above his Mexican opponent but as the rounds ticked by Gonzalez, 26, started to come back. The fourth was when the tide really started to turn as Gonzalez, growing in confidence, started to press forward and, although only throwing single shots, he was landing often.
The Mexican started to target the body and found success, bringing a wince from Cain in the fifth, but the favorite returned fire with a right hand that clipped the chin of Gonzalez. The contest started to swing back in Cain's favor in the seventh; a right hand burst through the guard of Gonzalez and pushed him back to the ropes.
Gonzalez then switched things up in the eighth and forced Cain to the ropes. The Liverpudlian seemed happy to do so at first, landing a beautifully timed right hand with his back to the ropes, but as the round went on it seemed as though he was struggling. Gonzalez was repeatedly targeting the body and eventually Cain sunk to the canvas in agony. It looked as though he may stay down but with the crowd roaring him on, Cain rose to his feet. He didn't stay on them for long, however.
Gonzalez threw the kitchen sink at Cain, who couldn’t keep the Mexican off, and he again sunk to his knees. He seemed finished again but Cain somehow found something from somewhere to climb up from the canvas. As the referee’s count reached 'eight' the bell sounded, much to the relief of Cain who returned to his corner in agony.
The ninth began and it seemed like it was curtains for Cain as Gonzalez again pushed the pace. But as the underdog came in to land a jab, Cain countered with a left that sent Gonzalez tumbling down. The Mexican climbed up, but Cain could smell blood, and sensed that this was his moment. A right hand sent Gonzalez flying into the corner and Cain piled on the pressure. Gonzalez slumped to the floor after a brutal attack to his head and body, but again returned to his feet. The Mexican walked to the neutral corner but had his back to the referee whose reached '10' and Gonzalez was still not facing him. The subsequent intervention was objected to but it was fair.
Featherweight prodigy Hassan Ishaq, 22, picked up another stoppage with a third finish of Leonardo Baez. The now 3-0 (3 KOs) Ishaq had little respect for his Argentinian opponent and planted a left hook early in the opener. It wasn’t long before Baez, now 5-17, was on the floor, midway through Round 2 a left hand to the body – that was probably below the belt – sent Baez to the canvas. The Argentinian did well to survive the round but was dropped again in the third by a left hand upstairs. Baez took his time getting up and referee John Latham took the opportunity to stop the contest at 1-39 of Round 3.
Beforehand, Brad Strand, now 14-2 (5 KOs), opened the show with a third round stoppage of Ruben Lezama Gonzalez. The 28-year-old Liverpudlian took it straight to Gonzalez, who had been drafted in on short notice after original opponent Alireza Ghadiri withdrew with an injury, and it was quickly clear that it was going to be a short night’s work for Strand. Gonzalez seemed to know it, too, and in the third decided to roll the dice in an attempt to hurt Strand. It didn’t work and Gonzalez walked onto a sharp right hand, followed by a left to the body that winded the Mexican. Gonzalez retreated to the ropes and Strand poured on the pressure. The towel came in from Gonzalez’s corner, but referee Mark Lyson failed to see it. After several attempts from the corner to stop the fight Lyson eventually spotted the towel and waved the contest off at 1-24 of Round 3. The 20-year-old Gonzalez fell to 12-7 (11 KOs) with the loss.
