Antillon Stops Pacquiao

In a fight that perhaps signals the end of one of the Pacquiao brothers, super featherweight contender Urbano Antillon (22-0, 15 KOs) KO’d Bobby Pacquiao (28-14-3, 13 KOs) with a big left hook to the midsection in the 1st round last night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao, 27, was unable to make it up from the knockdown and was counted out immediately by referee Joe Cortez at 2:49 of the round. Credit goes to Pacquiao for taking on Antillon, 25, a righter ranked #2 in the WBC super featherweight class.

Antillon was after Pacquiao from the opening bell, stalking him and landing mostly body shots whenever he came in range. Pacquiao, a powerful southpaw, however, kept a steady jab in his face and fired off occasional body shots. Just when it looked as if Pacquiao had made it out of the first round without much trouble, he was nailed with several hard punches while up against the ropes late in the round. Pacquiao quickly moved away, but took a big body shot and right uppercut to the head as he was sliding away, causing him to stumble slightly in the process.

The win sets Antillon up for a future shot against the WBC super featherweight champion, currently held by Juan Manuel Marquez. As for Pacquiao, his career takes a big hit with this latest win, which plants him in the journeyman category. At 27, he’s still young enough to rebuild and perhaps correct his problems, but it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to do this sufficiently to become a factor in the super feather weight division.