Bruce Carrington dominates Rene Palacios to retain featherweight title
WBC featherweight champion Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington made the first successful defense of his title against Rene Palacios, now 19-1-1 (10 KOs), via mostly uneventful unanimous 12-round unanimous decision.
The contest was chief support for Abdullah Mason-Albert Bell at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Coming off a split decision victory over Sulaiman Segawa in January, “Zurdo” Palacios was outboxed for large parts of the contest.
However, what transpired was a routine snoozer in which neither fighter pleased the fans as Carrington cruised to 18-0 (10 KOs).
Carrington hit the mat in the eighth, but it was ruled a slip by referee Harvey Dock. Unfazed, Carrington regained dominance, spearing Palacios with his faster hands.
To his credit, after being pecked for 10 rounds by Carrington’s jab, and to the sound of the crowd jeering, Palacios hurt Carrington to the body in Round 11 to create a sense of drama heading into the last.
Palacios didn’t do enough, however. The scores were 116-112, 17-11 and 118-110 in Carrington's favour..
“[Palacios] came here when a lot of people wouldn’t accept a fight with me,” said Carrington post-fight. “We went the full 12 rounds. There were a few rabbit punches here and there, but that’s part of the game. I finished like the champion I am. Body shots are part of the game, but I knew I had to go on and finish the fight.
"I want to unify. It’s time to get this featherweight division moving. I want to fight the best in the business."