by Cliff Rold
Middleweight hopeful Hugo Centeno took a big step forward just two fights after losing his undefeated mark. In victory, he got to pass the lesson along to someone else.
The 26-year old Centeno (26-1, 14 KO), 158 ¾, of Oxnard, California, needed only a single left hook to end the night for a no longer undefeated 23-year old Immanuwel Aleem (17-1-1, 10 KO), 158 ¾, of Richmond, Virginia. The referee was Gerald Ritter.
After two rounds where Centeno’s length and height seemed to be giving him a slight edge, the end came suddenly. Centeno landed a left jab to the body and seemed to be preparing another as Aleem came forward. Instead, the shot exploded up as a left hook and Aleem never saw it coming. Aleem’s head bounced violently off the floor and Ritter could have counted to twenty, waving it off at 2:27 of round three.
Centeno entered the bout rated twelfth by the WBC at middleweight while Aleem had been rated seventh. Centeno should be expected to rise in short order.
The televised opener came in the lightweight division.
21-year old Austin Dulay (11-0, 8 KO), 132 ¾, of Nashville, Tennessee, dominated from bell to bell and scored a knockdown en route to a third round stoppage of 28-year old Carlos Padilla (16-6-1, 10 KO), 131 ¼, of Barranquilla, Colombia. The knockdown came in round three, Dulay battering Padilla along the ropes and forcing him to his knees. Padilla made it to the bell but his corner opted not to let him go out for round four.
The referee was Gary Ritter.
The card was televised in the US on Fox Sports 1 as part of the Premiere Boxing Champions series.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
