Miguel Berchelt evidently is ruined.
The former junior lightweight titleholder, who lost his belt by a brutal 10th-round knockout against Oscar Valdez 13 months ago, was stopped by Jeremiah Nakathila after six in a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout Saturday in Las Vegas.
Berchelt’s performance would suggest that he hasn’t recovered emotionally from the setback against Valdez, which snapped a winning streak at 17.
The 30-year-old Mexican, with new trainer Jorge Capetillo in his corner, was skittish from the opening bell. It was if the once-feared warrior was afraid to get knocked out again, which apparently was why he fought defensively most of the fight.
Even so, he was unable to avoid to bomb after bomb delivered by his Namibian opponent, who stung Berchelt many times with his potent right hand.
Things got so bad that Berchelt went down from left jab in Round 3, an indication that his legs weren’t sturdy.
Then, in Round 4, Berchelt found some life. He took risks he didn’t take earlier in the fight and began to land some power punches and give himself a chance to turn things around.
He might even have won an entertaining Round 5, in which the fighters traded punches toe to toe.
However, any momentum he had built dissipated into the rafters of the arena at the new Resorts World Las Vegas, as Nakathila knocked Berchelt’s mouthpiece out of his mouth with a big right and continued to pound him.
That was enough for the ringside physician, who suggested after the round that referee Russell Mora end the fight. He did so, giving Berchelt (38-3, 34 KOs) a second consecutive setback that raises questions about his future.
He said he’ll be back.
“I’m going to get up, I’m going to rise from this,” he said. “The great champions are not the ones who fall. The great champions are those who rise, and I will go home, spend time with my family, visit with them, get some rest, and I am going to come back stronger than ever.”
Meanwhile, Nakathila (23-2, 19 KOs), only two fights removed from an embarrassing shutout loss against Shakur Stevenson, was ecstatic.
“From the first round, my corner told me to take my time,” he said. “I know what I have. I knew it would be difficult for him to reach the 10th round. It wasn’t so easy, but I made it look easy. He didn’t really bother me, the way he swung. I just got back to my game plan, and I capitalized.
“… “Luckily [he couldn’t continue]. I was going to knock him out or put him to sleep in a bad way. Luckily, he saw it coming and decided he couldn’t come back.”
