No problem for Jose Pedraza as he dominates Mikkel LesPierre

Someone said this fight was a 50-50 tossup. Oh? Former two-time division Jose Pedraza(27-3, 13 KOs) knocked Mikkel LesPierre (22-2-1, 10 KOs) down twice and won every round Thursday night inside ‘The Bubble” at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, NV.

It was obvious from the get go that Pedraza was the shaper fighter. He strafed LesPierre with combinations and almost stopped his opponent in round three.

LesPierre, who came up short when he challenged then champion Maurice Hooker last year, hung in but had no sustainable answers. Pedraza put an exclamation point on his victory by flooring LesPierre in the final round. Pedraza needed this win badly, after dropping two of his last three.

“Mikkel was a tough opponent, but I stuck to my game plan. I wanted the knockout, but he stayed strong in there. I give him a lot of credit," Pedraza said. “I would like to fight any of the world champions, but we have to see what happens next. I proved I belong with the top guys in the 140-pound division.”

Tall and long Albert Bell (17-0, 5 KOs) remained undefeated by outboxing Mark Bernaldez (20-4, 14 KOs) over 10 rounds. Bell, who defeated Andy Vences last year, used movement and faster hands to befuddle Bernaldez. He used his jab effectively in every round. His combinations were on point. Bernaldez tried to make something happen, but couldn’t land anything solid.

Junior welterweight Elvis Rodriquez (7-0, 7 Kos) made quick work of Danny Murray, stopping the full-time cook in round one. Time was 2:13 seconds. A sharp right jab from Rodriquez might have broken the orbital bone in Murray’s right eye. He never saw the fight ending blow.

Kingsley Ibeh (5-1, 4 KOs), who fought a week ago, edged previously undefeated Patrick Mailata (4-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round heavyweight affair. Scores were 57-57, 58-56, 58-56.

Revenge is best served cold. And talented Robeisy Ramirez was icy. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Ramirez, who lost a shocking decision to Adan Gonzales last August, clobbered Gonzalez with hard lefts to win every round Thursday night. Featherweight Ramirez improves to 4-1, 3 KOs, while Gonzalez loses for the third time in nine fights.