Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. turned in what has to be regarded as the best performance of his career on Saturday night, pounding out a well-earned unanimous decision over John Duddy in their 12-round middleweight eliminator at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. (photos by Rafael Soto)
Former three-division champion Marco Antonio Barrera made his return to the ring after a 15-month absence, overcoming a slow start to wear down and surge past Adailiton De Jesus en route to a unanimous decision. Scores were 100-90, 98-92 and 99-91.
In his toughest test to date, light middleweight Omar Henry (10-0, 8 KOs), of Houston, TX, defeated Hilario Lopez (12-10 8 KOs), of Nampa, Idaho, by Unanimous Decision with all judges’ scores of 40-34. Henry was credited with a knockdown in 1st round when a push followed a punch. Henry scored a legit knockdown early in 4th going for the knockout stoppage, but ended up going the distance for only the second time in his young career.
Sensational amateur standout light welterweight Jose Benavidez (7-0, 6 KOs), from Phoenix, AZ, dramatically stopped Josh Beeman (4-7-3, 2 KOs), of Providence, RI, by KO with a body shot at 1:20 in 1st round.
Tomas Villa (23-7-4, 14 KOs) outworked Salvador Sanchez II (19-4-2, 9 KOs) over eight rounds to win a unanimous decision in a featherweight contest. The scores were 77-75, 79-73 and 78-74.
