American Raymond Ford, 24, left it incredibly late to win his first world title, leaving just seven seconds remaining of the 12th round before stopping Otabek Kholmatov, 25, in dramatic fashion to win the WBA featherweight title.
Both previously undefeated, Ford was behind on two of the judges’ scorecards before his late heroics and needed a knockout needed in the last round to win the fight.
Kholmatov was hurt by a lead southpaw right uppercut in the last 30 seconds before Ford jumped on the Kazakhstani with a final onslaught.
Ford threw everything in his arsenal at Kholmatov and landed a selection of hurtful shots. Referee Charlie Fitch waved off the contest as Kholmatov was rocked to the ropes unable to defend himself.
The win improves Ford’s record to 15-0-1 (8 KOs) whereas Kholmatov first defeat takes him to 12-1 (11 KOs)
Hard hitting Kholmatov started the fight much busier, with the fellow southpaw landing good jabs to set up strong left hands as he got the better of Ford in the opening four rounds.
The Kazakhstani was landing quality shots, looking to target both head and body. Kholmatov landed a hard looping left hand in the third that forced Ford to hold.
Ford upped his work rate in the fifth round becoming the aggressor pushing Kholmatov back with jabs of his own. He started putting combinations together and landing the better shots at short range.
Both fighters were landing back and forth in the sixth and seventh rounds, neither of them allowing the pace to drop. The pair were happy to trade and were looking to land energy sapping body shots at close quarters.
Ford Starting to Up the Pace
The American landed a ramrod jab in the eighth that staggered Kholmatov and followed with a sharp left hand, but the Kazakhstani immediately fired back with his own combination in a captivating round.
After a close ninth round, Kholmatov looked to have found a second wind in the tenth but was rocked as the round was coming to an end when Ford landed a hard right hook that snapped his head back.
Kholmatov came forward again in the eleventh and was landing shots as Ford was pushed back against the ropes, this caused a big cut to open underneath his left eye.
Neither took a step back in the final round as the pair went toe-to-toe. It looked like we were going to the judge’s scorecard after a remarkable fight until Ford stepped on the gas and stopped Kholmatov.
After landing a hard right uppercut, Kholmatov was bundled to ground which was no knockdown. Ford came racing from the neutral corner chasing a hurt Kholmatov around the ring.
The crowd erupted as the referee waived off the fight with Kholmatov unable to defend himself. Ford dropped to canvas full of emotion as he celebrated his late dramatics.
After the Fight
After the fight Ford was asked about leaving it so late and replied: “I had to, he was weakening. The rounds were too close, so I decided to bring that dog out that my coaches were telling about.”
He revealed his plans to move up a weight category next: “I didn’t really have the energy and the legs in me to be the sharp boxer I know I can be.
“That was due to a tough weight cut, so honestly this may be my last fight at 126 pounds, and if we’re going to go up, we’ll call out the world champions up there.”
Undercard
On the undercard Mexican Luis Alberto Lopez, 30, stopped Japan’s Reiya Abe, 30, in the eighth round to defend his IBF featherweight world title.
In Lopez’s third defence of his title, he put on a fine performance as he dominated Abe. The Mexican was aggressive from the opening bell and out worked Abe throughout.
Getting backed up early in the fight, Abe was unable to avoid the hard shots Lopez was throwing as the Mexican chased him around the ring.
Late in the second round, Abe’s right eye had already taken a lot of damage and was beginning to close. At the end of the third the ring side doctor had to look at the damaged eye, but the fight continued.
Lopez continued to be the aggressor throughout the fight, almost running after Abe at times, landing hurtful right hands when he found himself in range, damaging Abe's eye further.
The champion threw a flurry of unanswered punches in the eighth round and the fight was waved off by the referee to prevent Abe from taking any more damage.
Lopez improved his record to 30-2 (17 KOs) after the contest and has stated his intention of a unification fight next. Abe’s first time fighting out of Japan takes his record to 25-4 (10 KOs).
Prospect Brian Norman Jr, 23, retained his WBO International welterweight title as he had his fight with Janelson Figueroa Bocachica, 25, ruled as a no contest.
The fight had to be stopped in the third round due to multiple cuts suffered by Bocachica in the early rounds.
Norman Jr was dropped for the first time in his professional career in the opening round. The fight was interesting until the stoppage, with Norman composing himself after the knockdown.