Machado defeats Corrales

By Boxing News - 10/22/2017 - Comments

Image: Machado defeats Corrales

By Jim Dower: In a surprise upset, undefeated #4 WBA Alberto Machado (19-0, 16 KOs) beat former WBA World super featherweight champion Jezreel Corrales (22-2, 8 KOs) by an 8th round knockout on Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort Carson in Verona, New York. Corrales vs. Machado was the main event on HBO Championship Boxing, and it supplied plenty of excitement from start to finish..

(Photo Credit: Matt Heasley – Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions)

Trailing going into the 8th round, the 27-year-old Machado stopped Corrales with a right-left combination that put him down. Corrales, 26, got back to his feet, but the referee Mark Nelson stopped the fight. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:18 of round 8.

Earlier in the fight, Corrales knocked Machado down in round 5. Machado was badly hurt, but he was able to get back to his feet and survive the onslaught to continue on.

Machado came back strong in the 6th round to hurt Corrales, 26, with a powerful right hook that he walked into. Before that, Corrales had been charging Machado repeatedly and nailing him with big shots and getting away with it. Corrales tried it one time too many and he paid for it by getting hurt in the 6th.

Corrales fought well in the 7th, working Machado over with combinations and doing well. In between the 7th and 8th, Machado’s trainer Freddie Roach told him to go back to using his right hook that he’d had a lot of success with earlier in the fight, and that’s what he did. In the 8th, Machado tagged Corrales with a right hook-left hand and put him down. Corrales made it easy on Machado by rushing blindly into the punches. Corrales hit the deck after taking the shots, and the fight was stopped.

”He hurt me a couple of times throughout the bout, but in the end my hands were powerful and we got that one punch we needed,” said Machado. ”We know the fight would be complicated, and that we would be dealing with a dangerous style.”

Machado won simply because he was able to take the big shots that most of the other guys that had fought Corrales hadn’t been able to take. Machado lasted long enough for him to get to Corrales’ chin with his own big power shots. Machado might not have been as powerful as Corrales, but he didn’t need to be.

Machado took Corrales’ power and made sure he hit him often enough to finally get him out of there in the 8th round. It was impressive that Machado could walk through so much withering fire to get the KO, because not too many fighters would have been able to take the big shots Corrales was throwing.

After the fight, Corrales said he wants a rematch with Machado so he can avenge his loss. It’s expected. HBO might be interested in paying to have Machado fight Corrales again due to the huge amount of boxing fans that enjoyed the fight.

”I want a rematch,” said Corrales. ”I know I was winning in the cards and that I gave a beautiful performance. One punch can take you out.”

I wouldn’t say that Corrales gave a beautiful performance. It was pleasing to the boxing fans, but it looked like a sloppy performance from Corrales.

If HBO is willing to come up with a lot of money for Corrales and Machado to face each other again on their network, then they should do it. If not, it might be in Machado’s beat interest to move on to bigger and better things in the 130lb division like a fight with Vasily Lomachenko.