BAYAMON, PUERTO RICO — Moises Fuentes spoiled a returning Ivan Calderon’s bid to recapture the WBO minimumweight with an emphatic fifth round TKO at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez.
Calderon showed very good footwork and upper body movement in the opening rounds to avoid Fuentes’ hooks and counter with straight lefts. Fuentes never got discouraged and continued stalking and throwing hard to the body in close.
Calderon began to slow by the fourth, allowing Fuentes to score with right hooks to the head and body. On the ropes, Fuentes added heavy left hooks to dominate the round’s last minute.
The assault signaled the end; Fuentes trapped Calderon early and dropped him to his knees with a series of hooks downstairs. Fuentes repeated the attack for two more knockdowns to force a stoppage.
The bout was Calderon’s first in nearly a year after winning a split decision over Felipe Rivas last October 29. Last night’s TKO win was Fuentes’ second successful title defense.
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With the knockout losses to Giovanni Segura in 2010 and 2011, Calderon could argue that it was a combination of age and styles, that a tall pressure guy like Segura with heavy hands would always have been a problem for him. He can’t say that about Moises Fuentes, a fighter the “Iron Boy” would have definitely outboxed in his prime. At 37 years old, his legs and body could only show glimpses of the old Calderon for three rounds.
Ivan Calderon was a top Pound4Pound fighter for years and is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He has nothing to be ashamed of. Let’s hope he realizes that and hangs up the gloves.
