By Lyle Fitzsimmons

SUNRISE, Fla. – Mexican lightweight Antonio DeMarco earned a shot at WBC champion Edwin Valero with a sudden ninth-round stoppage of tough Benin veteran Anges Adjaho, on the undercard of the Joseph Agbeko-Vic Darchinyan bantamweight title bout at the BankAtlantic Center.

DeMarco landed a straight left hand that sent Adjaho reeling across the ring, and, as Adjaho began to drop to his knees to elude further punishment, DeMarco landed another left hand to the back of his head that sent him face-down for the 10 count from referee Tellis Assemenios.

DeMarco improved to 21-1-1 with 15 knockouts, while Adjaho dropped to 25-2.

Adjaho and his cornermen protested the result and claimed a foul should have been called, but video replays seemed to indicate that neither of Adjaho’s knees has reached the canvas when DeMarco landed the final shot.

The official time was 2:59 of the ninth.

“He hit me after I took a knee. He hit me in the back of the head. Watch the replay,” Adjaho said. “He hit me with a good shot and he cut me over my eye. I decided to take a knee to gather my thoughts. I thought I was winning the fight.”

Assemenios held his ground in spite of the complaints from the Adjaho camp.

“He got hit in the face and tried to complain,” the referee said. “He grazed the top of his head when he was dropping to his knee. The punch was before the knee went down and I was correct in my call.” 

Adjaho led on two cards, 77-75 (Alex Levin) and 78-74 (Michael Pernick), at the time of the stoppage, while judge Mike Ross had it 76-76.

BoxingScene.com had DeMarco up, 77-75, at the time of the stoppage.

DeMarco entered the bout ranked as Valero’s No. 1 challenger, while Adjaho was No. 2.

The sudden end curtailed the action in a bout that started with three rounds of rampant passivity. The fourth presented the first thing approaching meaningful “action,” with DeMarco beginning to score well with a long right jab and follow-up left hands to the body.

He initiated an exchange that saw Adjaho retreat to the ropes and draw the first smattering of applause from an anxious crowd, which had been periodically chanting “UFC” in derision.

The momentum continued in the fifth, with DeMarco again scoring well with long lefts following range-finding right jabs. Adjaho did show life, however, emerging from close quarters at one instance with five straight quick looping rights as the two men spun toward the ropes.

A countering overhand left that followed Adjaho’s miss with a straight right was the best punch of the sixth, with DeMarco again driving his foe back toward the ropes to cover up. No further shots landed flush, however, and the Benin-born resident of Geneva, N.Y. was able to survive the round with no issue.

Adjaho rediscovered his countering accuracy in the seventh, sweeping DeMarco with pinpoint left hooks as he charged in and sticking him with solid jabs as well. The best punch of the round, though, a straight left from DeMarco, came in the final seconds before the bell.

The fight’s best round had come in the eighth, highlighted early by an Adjaho right hand that started a flurry later ended by a gritty DeMarco, who went from body to head and seemed to land the more impactful punches.

Adjaho looked tired in the round’s later half and was noticeably breathing with his mouth open.