Bailey Destroys Mora

By Boxing News - 01/19/2008 - Comments

bailey464633.jpgFormer World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Randall Bailey (36-6, 33 KOs) obliterated his over-matched opponent Anthony Mora (15-2, 10 KOs) in the 5th round last night to win the vacant WBC Latino light welterweight title at the Mallory Square, in Key West, Florida. Bailey, 33, who was coming off a dreadful 12-round split decision loss to Herman Ngoudjo in his last bout on July 8th, 2007, seemed to want to make an example out of the 30 year-old Mora, as every punch that Bailey threw looked to have knockout intentions on it.

Bailey knocked Mora down late in the 4th round with a big right hand, and then finished him off with another scorching right hand early in the 5th. After the second knockdown, Mora looked badly hurt, blood coming out of his mouth. To his credit, he quickly jumped to his feet want wanted to continue fighting, but his cornerman came in the ring and stopped the fight to prevent Mora from taking any more punishment. It was a good thing he did, because Bailey, who punches like an ox, was going to literally take Mora’s head off with another right if the action had continued for any longer.

In the opening rounds, Bailey, usually a well-rounded fighter, forgo using his jab completely, instead focusing exclusively on trying to take Mora out with a single right hand shot. Bailey has a reputation for being the hardest puncher in the junior welterweight division, and I suppose he didn’t want anyone to forget that fact, as he landed some tremendous shots in the first couple of rounds. However, Mora proved to be a smart fighter, for he often turned his head to the side just as Bailey’s right right hands came crashing into the side of his head, thus taking some of the steam of the punch. It helped a lot, but the damage from Bailey’s big punches were still having their effect, as Mora was throwing very little back in return.

In round three, Bailey missed a ton of right hands, chasing after Mora and throwing wild shots with both hands. Bailey looked really bad, like a fighter who’d lost his timing from inaction. Bailey’s usually a lot better than that, but he seemed to want to take out this easy guy as quickly as possibly and wasn’t thinking about technique.

In the fourth round, suddenly connected with a big right hand in that landed with a loud thud, stunning Mora. He quickly followed up with another equally big right hand, and then a left hook that sent Mora down. He was able to get up and finished off the round, as Bailey continued to miss wildly. Still, it was all Bailey at that point, for he was tagging Mora with shots that would drop a horse in the final seconds of the round.

In the 5th, Bailey came out much calmer, using his jab, and seeming to forget about trying for a knockout. However, shortly into the round, Bailey tagged Mora with a left jab, and then came behind it with a big hand that sent Mora crashing into the ropes where he then rebounded off of them and slid to the floor. As he lay there on the canvas, blood poured out of Mora’s open mouth, and he looked badly hurt. However, he somehow got to his feet and intended to continue fighting. His cornerman, realizing the predicament that Mora was in, came in the ring and motioned for the fight to be stopped.



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