Hooker Overcomes Adversity In Entertaining Scrap
Fighting in enemy territory once again, Maurice Hooker expected the best from his opponent Alex Saucedo and felt that would only elevate his game.
In a fight with great action and drama from the beginning, the Missouri native would prevail with his record unblemished in a battle of unbeatens.
Maurice Hooker (25-0-3, 17 KOs) defeated Alex Saucedo (28-1, 18 KOs) by 7th-Round TKO on Friday night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena to defend his WBO junior welterweight title.
Hooker defended his title for the first time since winning it in a upset victory over England’s own Terry Flanagan, who he beat in Manchester back in June of this year.
Showing determination and the heart of a champion, the Missouri native left Oklahoma City with his title belt still around his waist vs a tough and highly touted foe.
Alex Saucedo, coming off an unforgettable war with Leonardo Zappavigna earlier this year, had war on his mind once again to start this one, but his opponent wouldn’t back down.
Both men came out swinging, with Hooker looking to send a message with hard right hand shots going backwards while Saucedo bulled forward with crushing shots to the head and body, none landing too cleanly.
Less than a minute into the second round, the hometown Saucedo would floor the champion with a overhand right to thrill the Oklahoma City crowd.
Saucedo’s right hand would continue to find the chin of Hooker, who spent much of the round trying to recover as he took punishment on the ropes and saw blood beginning to pour from his nose.
Hooker turned the tide, surprisingly, near the end of round two as he started turning up the pressure on the Mexican challenger, landing hard combinations on a fighter there to be hit.
In a groove, Hooker would weather the storm to put together strong rounds against the challenger. He would at times make Saucedo punch at his arms against the ropes as he brilliantly made Saucedo punch himself out.
In round seven he would hurt Saucedo with a hard right hand before using a barrage of punches to make Saucedo buckle near the ropes for a technical knockdown.
After the count, Saucedo would come under siege following an onslaught of punches from Hooker, and the fight would be stopped shortly thereafter.
Hooker, 29, is an impressive fighter when he gets things going. When he got them going following a knockdown in round two, he took over the fight.
That ability and mental toughness to accomplish what he would on the night as quickly as he did makes him a formidable and scary opponent for all suitors wanting a crack at his WBO title belt.
What’s next for Hooker? A possible unification bout with WBC titleholder Jose Ramirez, who is also under the Top Rank banner and was in attendance for Friday night’s fight.
What are your thoughts on tonight’s victory for Maurice Hooker? Leave your comments below!
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