Errol Spence Jr gave the home folks the knockout that he figured they wanted. There just was not much of the show that he had hoped would go with it.
Spence stopped Carlos Ocampo to retain his IBF welterweight title, dropping the Mexican challenger with a right hand to the body as the first round was ending on Saturday.
Fighting at the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility after growing up in the suburbs as a fan, Spence improved to 24-0 with his 11th straight knockout and 21st overall.
Photo: AFP
The crowd might have been left wanting more, as Cowboys owner Jerry Jones jokingly said after winking at the camera while celebrating with Spence in the ring.
“He can fight again tonight if someone wants to step up and fight him,” Jones said.
Ocampo crumpled to the canvas after taking the body shot. He tried to get up, but went down to his knees and was counted out in the battle of unbeaten fighters.
“I was a little disappointed,” Spence said. “I wanted to give the crowd their money’s worth. I wanted him to sustain a bit and give him some punishment, but the body shot got him and I dropped him.”
Spence’s victory came a week after Terence Crawford took the WBO crown from Jeff Horn, who had beaten Manny Pacquiao a year earlier, but Spence’s focus is on the expected August fight between Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter for the WBC title.
In the previous fight, WBA super bantamweight champion Danny Roman won a unanimous decision over Moises Flores. Roman would have retained the belt regardless of the outcome because Flores did not make weight.
“I went for the body because we knew he was so drained from cutting weight,” Roman said.
A 10-round junior welterweight fight between Javier Fortuna and Adrian Granados ended in a no-decision after Fortuna appeared to hit his head while falling backward out of the ring during the fourth round. Fortuna was placed in a neck brace and taken away on a stretcher.
The 28-year-old Fortuna went to a hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion.
“I didn’t push him,” Granados said. “I think he was looking for an excuse on his way out. We were both battling, but I knew he could feel I was getting stronger. Let’s do the rematch.”
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