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Sanders TKO over Iva Weston
« on: February 04, 2006, 01:31:41 PM »
Sanders keeps title with TKO
by MIKE BRUDENELL (Detroit Free Press)

Welterweight bout ends in 3rd round

February 4, 2006

Mary Jo Sanders retained her WBC welterweight championship with a stunning third-round TKO over Iva Weston of Trinidad and Tobago on Friday in an evening of shrimp, oysters and champagne in downtown Detroit.

Fighting live on ESPN2, Sanders, daughter of former Lions tight end Charlie Sanders, finished 20-year-old Weston (10-4, 1 KO) with a vicious series of head and body shots. Referee Frank Garza stopped the bout at 1:54 of the third round, with Weston appearing to have a broken nose from a barrage of punches to the face.

Hundreds of invited guests, many destined for the Super Bowl on Sunday, cheered on Sanders (20-0, 6 KOs), including former world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.

Sanders, 32, started the first round tentatively but found her range in the second, landing crisp combinations and almost ending Weston's night.

In the third, Sanders had Weston hanging on for survival before delivering a left hook, and then a flurry of rights and lefts ended the fight.

"We never try for KOs, but you always want them," Sanders said after the bout.

"I definitely wanted a good showing on ESPN, before the city of Detroit and during Super Bowl week."

Sanders said she was happy with the performance, despite a slow beginning.

"You have to be ready for anything in the first round, so I was a bit too careful," she said. "But we kept the combinations coming in the second."

Sanders said she was pleased with her body punches, which she said were not in her arsenal when she began fighting seriously three years ago.

"I was a headhunter then," said Sanders. "My trainer/manager Jimmy Mallo had to break me of that. Now we work on going to the body, breaking it down, every training session."

The fight, held at the International Banquet and Convention Center in Greektown -- within sight of Ford Field -- was scheduled for 10 rounds.

Charlie Sanders, looking fit enough to play, waved his lucky sweater at his daughter before the bout began.

An emotional Charlie Sanders hugged his daughter after she exited the ring, tears in his eyes.

Veteran trainer and ESPN fight color analyst Teddy Atlas, who worked the bout, said he thought a network fight in Detroit during Super Bowl week was good for boxing and football.

"It's nice to be here," said Atlas, who once trained former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

"There is electricity in the air, and it's a great idea for ESPN to have 'Friday Night Fights' in Detroit along with the biggest football game."

Atlas said he likes Seattle over Pittsburgh on Sunday.

"Seattle doesn't look like an underdog to me," said Atlas.

In a torrid co-main event, Koba Gogoladze scored a majority decision over Antonio Davis to win the NABO junior-lightweight championship.


 

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