Floored early, WBO champ Hooker gets up and stops Saucedo

Defending his WBO junior welterweight title for the first time, Maurice Hooker got up from a knockdown to stop hometown hero Alex Saucedo Friday night in round seven at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The time was 1:37 seconds into round seven.

The fight got off to a rip roaring start as both boxers came out punching. Hooker, with a reach advantage of at least eight inches, moved and jabbed. Saucedo fired left hooks to the body. He needed to get inside to be effective. Hooker (25-0-3, 17 KOs) landed an uppercut and combination. Saucedo (28-1, 18 KOs) came back with a short right to the whiskers. Defense seemed like an afterthought.

Saucedo kept attacking in round two. A minute into the heat, an overhand right sent Hooker to the canvas. The champion got up quickly and glanced at Saucedo—who, after referee Mark Nelson waved him in, went to work. Hooker, from Dallas, TX., looked to be in control of his faculties. He proved in the last twenty seconds of the round by hurting Saucedo with a combination of blows to the head and body.

Advised by trainer Abel Sanchez to forget about the head and concentrate on the body, Saucedo did just that in round three. Hooker,29, moved to the left and stuck out his left. He followed with combinations. He did well in the last two minutes of the heat.  

Saucedo,24, stalked and rooked in round four, but it was Hooker who was landing the consistent shots. Saucedo came out with more intensity in round five. He forced Hooker into the ropes and let his punches go to the body and head. Hooker ducked a few, but also ate at least a half a dozen. None seemed to hurt him.  

The see-saw battle continued in round six. Hooker returned to his bread and butter, boxing. On the outside the fight was his. He landed two long right hands that stopped Saucedo in his tracks. He popped off jabs, and seconds later, more right hands. Saucedo had no answer. He went back to his corner with blood streaming from a cut over his left eye.

In round seven, Hooker found a gassed Saucedo with a combination to the chin. A follow-up right staggered him. Hooker connected with a wicked right hand that caused Saucedo to buckle and stumble into the ropes. Referee Nelson called the action a knockdown. Hooker, sensing the fight was about over, went after the wobbly.He unloaded punch after punch until Nelson waved the fight off.

“Me and my team, we had a good game plan,” said the victorious Hooker. “We stuck to it and we came out on top. I’ve gotta give thanks to God, to my boy, Alex, who was my friend before this fight, still my boy, and [trainer] Abel [Sanchez]. They had a good game plan, stuck to it. He’s a hell of a fighter.”

“I’m sorry,” said Saucedo to his fans. “I couldn’t see out of my left eye.”