TEMECULA, CA - Former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer was behind significantly on all the judges scorecards when he scored a one-punch knockout over former cruiserweight champion Vassiliy Jirov at the Pechanga Resort and Casino.
Moorer, taken to a hospital for a shoulder injury after the fight, dropped Jirov with a left hand to the side of the head in the ninth round. Jirov rose quickly to his feet and as a result stumbled around the ring.
"It was a straight left hand," said Moorer.
Suspecting the Siberian may be out on his feet, experienced referee Pat Russell asked Jirov to take a step towards him, and when he noticed Jirov was off balance, he immediately stopped the fight with 12 seconds left in the round.
"I thought I was winning the fight, but he hit me with a punch I didn't see," Jirov said. "I have no argument with the ref's decision to stop the fight."
The only other knockdown came when Moorer voluntarily took a knee in the third round when the fighters' bumped heads. The clash caused a cut on the top of Jirov's head.
The three judges had Jirov winning; 78-72, 79-71 and 77-73 at the time of the stoppage.
Moorer, a former WBA, IBF and WBO champion, improves to 47-4-1 (37 KOs). Jirov, a former IBF cruiserweight champion, drops to 33-3 (29 KOs).
Mayweather's coming back
In other news, two-time world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. will return to the ring January 22 when he faces Henry Bruseles of Puerto Rico in a 140-pound elimination fight at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida.
The undefeated Mayweather will be fighting for the second time at junior welterweight (140 lbs.) limit after winning titles at junior lightweight (130 lbs.) and lightweight (135 lbs).
Mayweather, 31-0 (21 KOs) made eight successful defenses of his WBC 130-lb. title before winning the WBC lightweight title over Jose Luis Castillo in 2002. He moved up to 140 lbs. for his last fight, beating DeMarcus 'Chop Chop' Corley on May 22 via an impressive unanimous decision.
Bruseles, 21-2-1 (14 KOs) last fight was a technical draw against Ener Julio.
Phil Banerjee
Contributing Editor
Information from other publications and wire services was used in the compilation of this report.
