Joshua Pagan won a bloody lightweight battle over Maliek Montgomery on Thursday in Puerto Rico.
Pagan, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, earned a ninth-round technical knockout over Montgomery, of Macon, Georgia, in the main event at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan. The time of stoppage was 2 minutes, 44 seconds.
The first round saw Montgomery press forward as Pagan remained composed, with neither fighter having a great deal of success. In Round 2, Montgomery, targeting the body, forced Pagan to the ropes. By the end of the frame, Montgomery had a cut over his left eye. The DAZN broadcast stated that the cut was ruled to have been caused by a punch.
With blood leaking down his face, Montgomery continued to press forward. Pagan began to be more evasive while targeting Montgomery’s body – and the cut. In the fourth round, after back-and-forth action, the ringside physician was called in to check on Montgomery’s cut, as the blood continued to flow. The doctor was summoned again to start the fifth round.
Pagan then had his best round in the fifth, winning it with his movement and his jab, and the optics of the fight seemed to favor him. Pagan’s body was covered in blood – his opponent’s blood – as Montgomery’s cut continued to yield a steady stream.
At the end of the round, Montgomery finished strong, seemingly finding a second wind. He appeared to daze Pagan in the final seconds of the round, but Pagan responded in the following round by going again to Montgomery’s body. Montgomery relentlessly pressed forward.
To start the eighth, Montgomery was presented to the ringside physician again. He was allowed to continue despite the gruesome cut. Pagan continued to fight with discipline, as Montgomery looked to get inside. Pagan held Montgomery at bay in the ninth round, then struck a decisive blow – a right uppercut – drawing more blood from Montgomery’s face. At that point, the referee called off the fight, likely because of Montgomery’s cut as much as the punches Pagan was landing.
Pagan, 25, advanced to 14-0 (5 KOs), while the 30-year-old Montgomery dropped his second fight in a row, falling to 20-2 (18 KOs).
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
