Brandon Moore made some defensive mistakes Saturday, but he was otherwise effective while decisively defeating Robert Simms in their eight-round heavyweight bout.
Moore shut out Simms on all three scorecards and won a unanimous decision on the Efe Ajagba-Joe Goodall undercard at Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada. Judges Tim Cheatham, Max De Luca and David Sutherland scored their fight identically, 80-71 for Moore.
The 6-foot-6, 234¾-pound Moore dropped Simms late in the fourth round, but the resilient Simms got up and made it all the way until the final bell.
Moore, a former college basketball player from Lakeland, Florida, improved to 13-0 (8 KOs, 1 NC). Simms, of Saginaw, Michigan, slipped to 12-4-1 (3 KOs).
A fatigued Simms spit out his mouthpiece twice in the final round, but referee Robert Hoyle quickly made him put it back in and continue fighting. Moore managed his distance well during the final two rounds and outlanded Simms to maintain control of their fight.
Moore and Simms traded hard shots a few seconds before the sixth round ended.
A counter right by Simms landed on the inside with just over a minute to go in the sixth round. Moore caught Simms with a right to the side of his head a little more than a minute into the sixth round.
Simms came back to make the fifth round competitive after getting dropped and hurt a second time during the fourth round.
A chopping right hand by Moore knocked Simms to the canvas with 39 seconds remaining in the fourth round. Simms beat Hoyle’s count, but Moore hurt him again and wobbled him just before the fourth round ended.
A counter left hook from Moore knocked Simms off balance with under 10 seconds remaining in the third round.
Moore’s right hand connected with just under 50 seconds to go in the third round. Simms snuck in a right hand that got Moore’s attention with just over 1:20 on the clock in the third round.
Moore worked well off his jab throughout the second round. A counter left hook by Moore caught Simms with just over 1:20 to go in the opening round.
Earlier Saturday, two huge unbeaten heavyweights fought to a six-round majority draw Saturday in Stateline, Nevada.
Antonio Mireles took control in the second half of his fight against Skylar Lacy, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Lacy’s strong start. Judge Adelaide Byrd scored Lacy a 58-56 winner, but she was overruled by judges Tim Cheatham and Eric Cheek, who scored Lacy-Mireles a draw, 57-57.
The 6-foot-9, 268¾-pound Mireles, of Des Moines, Iowa, left the ring with the first blemish on his record (8-0-1, 7 KOs), as did the 6-foot-7, 252¾-pound Lacy (7-0-1, 5 KOs), an Indianapolis native.
A fatigued Lacy clinched throughout the sixth round, when Mireles tried to land to Lacy’s head and body. Lacy landed a couple of right hands up top in the final three minutes, but an aggressive Mireles landed more punches in that round and provided pressure until the final bell.
Mireles pressured Lacy during the fifth round, when Lacy tried to tie him up on numerous occasions. Lacy drilled Mireles with a straight right, though, with just under 20 seconds to go in the fifth round.
Mireles responded by wobbling Lacy with a left hand a little more than 10 seconds later.
Mireles rocked Lacy with a straight left with about 1:20 to go in the fourth round. Lacy looked like he was starting to tire in that third round.
Lacy landed two hard rights to Mireles’ body in the final 45 seconds of the third round.
A short, right hook by Mireles connected with about 1:15 on the clock in the third round. Lacy drilled Mireles with his right hand barely a minute into the third round.
Lacy’s right backed up Mireles with just over a minute to go in the second round. A right by Lacy landed a little more than 40 seconds into the second round.
Mireles’ right hook connected with just under 50 seconds to go in the opening round. Lacy landed a hard jab that backed up Mireles less than 30 seconds into the first round.
In the previous fight, Charlie Sheehy spent six rounds picking Jesus Vasquez Jr. apart and kept his perfect record intact.
The lightweight prospect from Brisbane, California shut out Vasquez on all three scorecards. Judges Glenn Feldman, Ricardo Ocasio and David Sutherland each scored Sheehy a 60-54 winner.
Sheehy improved to 8-0 (5 KOs). Vasquez (10-2, 2 KOs), of Englewood, Colorado, had his four-fight winning streak snapped.
Vasquez clearly needed a knockout in the sixth round to win, but Sheehy was the more accurate, effective fighter during the final three minutes.
A right uppercut by Sheehy caught Vasquez with just under 30 seconds on the clock in the fifth round. Sheehy’s right hand rocked Vasquez about 25 seconds into the fifth round.
Sheehy’s left uppercut made Vasquez retreat with just under 50 seconds to go in the fourth round, which Sheehy clearly won.
A hard right by Sheehy hurt Vasquez and made him hold Sheehy toward the end of the third round. Vasquez made the second round a little more competitive than the first round, but Sheehy still outlanded him and completely controlled the action.
Sheehy landed an array of power punches during the first round and dominated Vasquez in the opening three minutes.
In the bout before Sheehy’s knockout, Gabriel Garcia overcame a slow start to beat Joshua Montoya and remain unbeaten.
Garcia beat Montoya on all three scorecards and won their six-round junior lightweight bout by unanimous decision. Garcia (10-0, 6 KOs), of Antioch, California, won all six rounds according to judge Adelaide Byrd (60-54) and five of six rounds on the cards of Max De Luca and Chris Flores, who both scored Garcia a 59-55 winner.
Montoya, of Lubbock, Texas, fell to 6-4-2 (0 KOs).
Garcia blasted Montoya with a straight right that snapped his head back 40 seconds into the sixth round. He continued to control the final round and cruised to a convincing victory.
Garcia built on the momentum he established during the third round by landing numerous jabs and left hooks in the fourth round. Garcia landed several body shots before he drilled Montoya with a straight right up top and a left hook toward the end of the third round.
A punch by Montoya caused a small cut on Garcia’s right eyelid during the second round. Montoya got off to a strong start and out-landed Garcia for much of the first round.
In the first fight Saturday, Javier Martinez produced just the type of impressive victory that he needed in his first fight after settling for a draw in his prior appearance.
The southpaw from Milwaukee dropped Isaiah Wise three times in the first round and stopped him just 2:02 into their eight-round bout. Referee Robert Hoyle halted the action as soon as Philadelphia’s Wise went down for the third time.
A right hook by Martinez (9-0-1, 3 KOs) sent Wise to his gloves and knees only 30 seconds into their fight. Wise got up, but Martinez’s straight left knocked him to the seat of his trunks just 15 seconds later.
Wise (11-3-2, 6 KOs) tried to fight out of the trouble, but a right-left combination by Martinez knocked him to his side with exactly one minute remaining in the opening round and ended their fight.
Martinez, 28, fought for the first time since his eight-round split draw with Joeshon James (8-0-2, 5 KOs) on May 13 in Stockton, California. Wise, 31, was knocked out for the first time as a pro.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.