Cano Gets TD Win Over Madyev

By Marc Livitz: Former super lightweight world champion Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano earned a hard fought, bloody technical decision win over Ruslan Madyev at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on Thursday evening as the buildup to the rematch between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady ‘“GGG” Golovkin was officially set in motion.

Cano (31-7-1, 21 KO’s) was the more active of the two as the opening bell sounded. He held his guard high and snapped his jab straight at Madyev (12-1, 5 KO’s), though his tendency to succumb to cuts reared its head before the round ended. He was once again cut, this time above his left eye. Ruslan was able to slow the pace a bit in the second and free up his punches on the inside. The following found shifted between Cano’s high output and Madyev’s well-timed counter shots, especially the handful of rights he landed directly on the now bloody cut above Pablo’s eye.

As the fourth began, referee Russell Mora indicated that a headbutt was the cause of it and not a punch. Cano kept the action in the center of the ring in the fourth. Several body shots and uppercuts found their target. Round five commenced and Pablo continued to throw the lion’s share of punches. His high output levels continued and Madyev stepped in and out of periods of befuddlement. Still, he’d answer when he could, most notably just before the bell sounded. Cano’s mouthpiece came flying out and yet another cut opened up.

The ringside doctor examined the area above his left eye and determined that the bout could not continue due to the large gash on Pablo’s forehead. Though all angles and replays showed the bout-stopping cut was caused by a clash of heads which was only further exacerbated by a hard right, referee Russell Mora felt the bout should be ruled a technical knockout and a matter of the scorecards.

Luckily for Pablo Cesar Cano, minds changed and more than four rounds had been completed, so the bout would go to the scorecards. Tim Cheatham, Dave Moretti and the infamous Adalaide Byrd all turned in scores of 49-46 to award the technical decision victory to Pablo Cesar Cano.