Former heavyweight Alejandra Jimenez upset Franchon Crews-Dezurn in 168-lb title fight
Claressa who?
Women’s super middleweight titleholder Franchon Crews-Dezurn and former heavyweight contender Alejandra Jimenez turned in an hellacious 10-round tussle on the undercard of the Jaime Munguia vs. Gary O’Sullivan main event at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
In the end, it was Jimenez who left the ring crowned as the newest titleholder of the 168-pound division.
Two of the judges had it 98-92 and 97-93 for Jimenez, while one had it 97-93.
Jimenez (13-0-1, 10 knockouts) was a freight train all night, drowning out the Baltimore-based Crews-Dezurn (6-2, 2 KOs) with an unending onslaught of punches. Crews-Dezurn never fully seemed to adjust to the pace. She looked dejected in her corner at times, and in a somewhat comical moment heading into Round 10, Crews-Dezurn appeared to be more concerned about her weave, rather than the fight, much to the consternation of her trainer Barry Hunter.
Both fighters came out winging shots in the opening round and never looked back. Early on, in Round 2, it appeared that the much larger Jimenez might eventually stop Crews-Dezurn, after landing a slew of unanswered right hands.
But Crews-Dezurn was able to mount a comeback in Round 5, though Jimenez made sure to make her work for every second. Gassed and wobbly-legged, Crews-Dezurn was still able to land the occasional overhand right to stay in the fight. Still, it was Jimenez who was landing the cleaner punches and controlling the torrid pace of the fight. Perhaps she also wanted it more.
Certainly there was no other concern other than the fight at hand in Jimenez’s corner. The same can’t be said for Crews-Dezurn, who had to endure her trainer Hunter’s ire going into Round 10, after a second ripped the damaged weave from her head. “Do you want your hair or you want your belts?” Hunter yelled.
After the bout, an emotional Jimenez stated she wanted to face titleholder Claressa Shields at middleweight.
Also on the undercard, lightweight prospect Hector Tanajara Jr. turned in one his more complete performances to date in a 10-round decision over Mexican veteran Juan Carlos Burgos.
One judge had it 99-91, while two others had it 97-92, all for the San Antonio-based Tanajara Jr., who was fighting in his hometown for the first time in his career.
Tanajara, 23, began the fight working behind his jab, but midway he began mixing it up on the inside. In Round 6, Tanajara went on an offensive spree, delivering multiple unanswered left and rights to Burgos’ body.
But Burgos had his moments as well, getting in some nice body shots of his own, but he lacked a consistency in his attack to truly pose a threat.
Junior bantamweight Joshua Franco made short work of Jose Alejandro Burgos, snapping back Burgos’s head all night en route to a ninth-round stoppage.
Though Burgos fought at an aggressive pace — he was throwing nearly 100 punches per round — he routinely left his chin open by swinging so wildly. Franco took advantage of the openings by countering his foe pretty much at will.
Case in the point was in Round 7, when Franco (16-1-2, 8 KOs) connected on a right uppercut that had Burgos (17-3, 14 KOs) scatterbrained. In the pivotal Round 9, Franco found Burgos’ floating chin once more with a left hook, sending Franco into the ropes where Burgos unleashed a flurry. Rafael Ramos intervened, waving off the bout at 2:13.
There was a scare earlier in the night when junior welterweight prospect George Rincon (10-0, 7 KOs) collapsed after scoring a first-round knockout of Diego Vicente Perez (13-10-1, 11 KOs). Rincon reportedly suffered a seizure in his corner and was taken promptly to the hospital. Later in the night, DAZN broadcaster Claudia Trejos offered an encouraging update, clarifying that Rincon had simply fainted and that “there was no problem.”
