BIRMINGHAM, England: Amir Khan got up from a second-round knockdown and stopped Michael Gomez in the fifth Saturday, successfully defending his Commonwealth lightweight title for a fourth time.
Khan knocked down Gomez twice, first in the opening round and again early in the fifth, before a huge right hand forced the former British super featherweight champion against the ropes for a final flurry — when referee John Keane stepped in to halt the fight 2:32 into round.
The victory kept the Olympic silver medalist unbeaten in 18 bouts as a pro and bolstered his stated desire for a title opportunity against WBO champion Nate Campbell next year.
Gomez lost for the fourth time in his last seven fights, and dropped him to 35-9 on his 31st birthday.
Khan tagged Gomez with a sharp left jab in the opening round and followed with a torrent of punches, finally dropping him with a big right.
After surviving the round, Gomez raced out for the second, and — having stormed through Khan’s sharp blows — hit Khan’s jaw with a left hook which briefly dropped him.
However, Khan quickly regrouped and again used his left to put Gomez back in trouble. Despite developing a cut around his left eye, Gomez plowed forward in search of another knockdown.
The two exchanged left hooks to close a furious second round, and into the third, Khan continued to connect with his right as Gomez repeatedly moved forward with his head down to regain the initiative.
Khan landed several hard punches in the fourth that hurt Gomez but couldn’t knock him off his feet, and Gomez recovered sufficiently to respond with blows of his own. Khan dropped Gomez early in the fifth with a left to the body, but once more Gomez got to his feet to land a straight left that caught Khan, but without much force.
A jolting right midway through the fifth knocked Gomez back against the ropes one last time, and as Khan repeatedly battered him with both hands, Keane wisely decided to end the bout.
Berto wins WBC crown
In Memphis, Tennesee: American Andre Berto claimed the WBC’s welterweight title with a technical knockout of Mexican Miguel ‘Mikki’ Rodriguez on Saturday, seizing the crown only four years and 22 fights into his professional career. Berto stopped Rodriguez in the seventh round to capture the vacant title in his first attempt at a major belt.
Berto knocked Rodriguez down twice in the seventh before the referee stopped the bout with 47 second left as Berto continually rocked Rodriguez with right hands. The bout became a battle for the belt after former champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired earlier this month, setting the stage for Berto and Rodriguez, the top contenders, to fight for the championship. “When this fight was first signed, it was just supposed to be an eliminator,” Berto said. “Now that Floyd has retired, I’m very happy to be at the top of the WBC.”
Berto entered the fight undefeated in 21 previous bouts, 18 of them by knockout. Rodriguez had lost only twice in 31 fights, with 23 knockouts along the way.
Rodriguez traded punches with Berto in the early rounds, occasionally landing a good right hand. The bout featured spirited exchanges after the early feeling out period. Berto came out aggressive in the early stages of the rounds, but Rodriguez held his own through the first half of the scheduled 12-rounder.
“Mikki Rodriguez is a great opponent, a hard puncher and a tough opponent,” Berto said. “From start to finish, it was a tough fight, but I finally caught him in the end with my quickness.” Berto connected on 63 percent of his power punches, compared to 28 for Rodriguez. In the seventh round, Berto landed 24 punches to only four for Rodriguez before the fight was stopped.
In that deciding seventh round, the first damage was done by a right uppercut that connected with Rodriguez’s chin and sent him to the canvas. That took the bounce out of Rodriguez, and two chopping rights did further damage with just over a minute left in the round. A series of five shots from Berto ended the bout.
On the undercard, Chris Arreola defeated Chazz Witherspoon took the WBC’s regional Americas heavyweight title via a disqualification.
Arreola pounded American compatriot Witherspoon in the third round, the last knockdown coming after a trio of left hands to the head. Witherspoon stumbled to his feet as the bell rang, but a member of Witherspoon’s corner entered the ring before the end of the mandatory eight-count, causing the disqualification.
