Ra’eese Aleem made a strong statement on Saturday night.
The 122-pound contender put Victor Pasillas down four times before finally stopping him in the 11th round on the Angelo Leo-Stephen Fulton card at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
Aleem’s combination of unusual speed and ability – and ultimately his power – left the previously unbeaten Pasillas futilely groping to find solutions most of what was expected to be a competitive fight.
Aleem (18-0, 12 KOs) put Pasillas (17-1, 10 KOs) down in Rounds 2, 6, 9 and 11 and gradually broke him down with hard, accurate shots to both the head and body as the fight progressed.
Pasillas seemed to be trouble in Round 7, having taking more punishment than in any previous round. However, he survived and got in some of his best shots in the next few rounds even though he was well behind on the cards.
However, about 50 seconds into Round 11, Aleem landed a big right hand, followed by a left to the upper head to put Pasillas down a fourth time and hurt him badly. That was enough for referee Danny Schiavone to step in and stop the fight.
The official time of the stoppage was 1:00 into the round.
Aleem won the WBA “interim” title with the victory, which takes him another step closer to a world title shot. Murodjon Akhmadaliev is the WBA’s 122-pound beltholder.
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