By Stephen Tobey SALEM, N.H. – Almost two years ago, heavyweight Alexis Santos suffered his first loss in a fight that he hoped would lead to bigger fights.
On Saturday, Santos avenged that loss, knocking out Daniel Martz of Clarksburg, West Virginia to win the vacant International Boxing Organization heavyweight title in the seventh round of a scheduled 10 at Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hampshire.
“I should have gotten the win almost two years ago, but it’s good to get revenge,” said Santos.
Santos, who lives in nearby Lawrence, Massachusetts, improved to 18-1 with 16 knockouts. He wore down Martz with his body attack and landed an overhand right, sending him to the canvas in the seventh. Referee Steve Smoger reached the count of 10 at 2:02.
“It was an accumulation of punches,” Santos said. “It was all the little body punches.”
Martz dropped to 14-4-1 (11).
In June of 2014, Martz won when Santos couldn’t answer the bell for the fourth round in a nationally televised bout in Boston. Santos could not continue in that fight because he sustained a knee injury.
“Two years ago, I was fighting with a torn ACL from the first round on,” Santos said. “Tonight, I trained for 10 rounds and I was ready to go 10.”
In Saturday’s in the fourth and fifth, finishing the fifth with an overhand right to the head.
Midway through the rematch, Santos controlled the action in the first two rounds, getting inside against the taller fighter, landing body shots, then going upstairs with right hands. In the third, Martz fought more effectively from the outside, using his jab.
Santos got inside more sixth, Santos landed a right hand just above the beltline that briefly buckled Martz’ knees.
“He started holding and running once he tasted my power,” Santos said.
In the co-feature, featherweight Orlando Del Valle of Bayamon, Puerto Rico stopped Josh Crespo of New Haven in the second round of a scheduled eight.
Del Valle (21-2, 17 KOs) dropped Crespo with a left hook. Crespo (6-3-3 2 KOs) got up, but stumbled back to the canvas before getting up again. Referee David Greenwood allowed the fight to continue but seconds later Crespo’s corner signaled to stop the fight. The time was 2:17.
Del Valle controlled the first round with a good body attack. Crespo was more aggressive early in the second round and landed some good body shots of his own before Del Valle picked up the pace.
Super middleweight Russell Lamour of Portland, Maine stopped Borngod Washington of Queens, New York in the third round of a scheduled six. Lamour dropped Washington with a left hook to the body, prompting referee Steve Smoger to stop the fight at 1:38.
Lamour improved to 13-2 6). Washington, who dislocated a shoulder in the second round, dropped to 7-18 (1). He caught Lamour with a wild right hand toward the end of the first, but Lamour quickly reversed the situation, landing a solid uppercut before the bell.
Lamour dropped Washington near the end of the second round, sending him to the mat with a left hook at the end of a sustained attack with Washington on the ropes.
Joseph “Chip” Perez of East Hartford, Connecticut stopped Paul DeSouza of Somerville, Massachusetts in the second round of a scheduled four at lightweight. Perez (12-3-2, 4 KO s) dropped DeSouza twice in the third round before Greenwood stopped the fight at 2:48. DeSouza is now 0-10.
Casey Kramlich of Portland, Maine picked up a stoppage victory against Jason Kelly of Dorceshter, Massachusetts in a scheduled four-round middleweight bout when Kelly’s corner stopped the fight at the end of the second. Kramlich (3-0-1, 1 KO) dropped Kelly with a body shot near the end of the second. Kelly dropped to 5-1 (3).
Debuting super middleweight Jaba Khositashvili of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia stopped Greg Thomas of Philadelphia in the first round of a scheduled four.
Khositashvili dropped Thomas (1-8) three times before Greenwood stopped the fight at 1:37.
