Violent Dirrell knockout highlights Canelo-Plant undercard
Anthony Dirrell is still here.
Winless in his last two fights, the former 168-pound titlist came to Las Vegas needing a win to revitalize his career. And he got it in a major way, stopping Marcos Hernandez with a devastating right uppercut in the fourth round. Dirrell’s win highlighted the Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant undercard on Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
After Dirrell won the first round, Hernandez came back strong and had success on the inside, landing body shots and racking up points. But Dirrell knew the opening was there, and in the fourth round he landed a perfect uppercut that folded Hernandez almost instantly.
Flat on his back, Hernandez managed to get to his feet, but he was on unsteady legs and referee Celestino Ruiz stopped the fight at 22 seconds of the round.
Dirrell immediately celebrated with a perfect backflip in the center of the ring. The Flint, Michigan, native lost his World Boxing Council super middleweight belt to David Benavidez in 2019, then rebounded with a disappointing draw against Kyrone Davis in February.
After the fight, he called for a matchup with the winner of the main event, although it’s unlikely he’ll get it.
Other fights
— Former WBC super bantamweight titlist Rey Vargas earned a unanimous decision win over Leonardo Baez in his first fight since 2019.
Vargas easily outpointed Leonardo Baez, controlling the distance with his jab. Baez tried to get on the inside, but he could never quite chart a way toward Vargas and didn’t have much success.
It was Vargas’ first fight at featherweight after he vacated his 122-pound title to move up a weight class. Though it wasn’t an eye-catching performance by any stretch, the undefeated Vargas is now a contender in the featherweight division.
— Elvis Rodriguez kicked off the main card with an impressive knockout win over Juan Pablo Romero.
In his first fight since being released by his former promoter Top Rank, Rodriguez (12-1-1, 11 knockouts) started by getting pushed against the ropes while Romero (14-1, 9 KOs) scored points by attacking the body. But the action heated up in the fourth round, when Rodriguez landed a combination that hurt Romero and forced him to take a knee.
He came out firing in the fifth, but Rodriguez landed a straight left hand that sat Romero down near the edge of the ring. He looked straight at the referee but didn’t attempt to stand up as the count reached ten at two minutes, 59 seconds of the round.
Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.
