With limited defense, but enough offense for a half dozen fights combined, Flores and Cusolito landed punches with bad intentions at will?
Complaints about the quality of Premier Boxing Champions fights have finally been muted?and not a moment too soon.
Tuesday night at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in a PBC fight televised live on Fox Sports 1, Moises Flores (24-0, 17 KOs), from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, successfully defended his interim WBA World super bantamweight title by stopping #8 ranked Luis Cusolito (21-2, 19 KOs), from Zarate, Buenos Aires, Argentina, at 0:57 of the 12th and final round.
It was an incredible fight, a give-and-take all-out war.
Fighting out of the blue corner in green trunks trimmed in red and white, Flores kept his unbeaten streak alive, but it wasn?t easy, it didn?t come without a fight.
Cusolito, fighting out of the red corner in light blue trunks with silver trim, not only came to Bethlehem to fight, he also came to win.
The fighters traded punches and traded rounds with wild abandon. After the fifth round, Cusolito?s cornerman told him, ?Heart of a champion, heart of a champion.? Truer words were never spoken, but those words applied to Flores as well.
After six rounds of heart pounding, blistering action, it was three rounds apiece.
With limited defense, but with enough offense for a half dozen fights combined, Flores and Cusolito continued to go at it, landing punches with bad intentions almost at will.
Going into the 12th and final round, it was anyone?s fight. Flores had been slowly but surely breaking his man down, but Cusolito, if he was going out, it was going to be on his shield.
Referee Benjy Esteves Jr. saved him the trouble. Flores, who is one tough hombre, tapped into his reserves and was landing bombs as the fight was drawing to a close. He nailed Cusolito with several devastating punches, enough devastating punches for the ref to step in and wave it off.
After the fight, the bruised and battered but victorious WBA champion said, ?You could see he didn?t want any more. Right now at this very moment I?m going to relax, take a vacation, and enjoy my family. But Leo Santa Cruz?I want that fight. I?ll move up in weight to 126, because I know it would be a great fight.?
Flores deserves a vacation. He earned it the hard way.
After he has rested and spent time with his family, then we can talk about Leo Santa Cruz.
