12-21-2019, 08:19 AM
OMAHA, Neb. -- Terence "Bud" Crawford stopped Yuriorkis Gamboa in the ninth round Saturday night to successfully defend his WBO lightweight belt in a match of unbeatens. Crawford wobbled Gamboa with a left and knocked him down with another left earlier in the ninth, then connected with a right to the chin at the 2:53 mark, prompting referee Gino Rodriguez to call the fight. As Rodriguez waved his arms, Crawford ran to a neutral corner and jumped on the shoulders of co-manager Brian McIntyre. "I hurt him plenty of times," Crawford said, "so when I hurt him the last time, I was looking to finish." The 26-year-old Crawford (24-0, 17 knockouts) was fighting in his hometown for the first time as a professional, and more than 10,000 showed up at the CenturyLink Center, many of them chanting "Craw-ford! Craw-ford!" throughout. "I imagined everybody screaming, supporting me," Crawford said. "It was everything I thought it was going to be." It was his first title defence since his 12-round unanimous decision over Ricky Burns in Glasgow, Scotland, in March. He said he plans to move up to junior welterweight after this fight. The 32-year-old Cuban-born Gamboa (23-1, 16 knockouts), a 2004 Olympic champion, was fighting for the first time in a year. Crawford took control in the middle rounds. In the fifth, Crawford knocked down Gamboa with a left to the side of his head. Crawford staggered him just before the bell with a flurry of shots, bringing the crowd to its feet. The 5-foot-5 Gamboa, with a 5-inch reach disadvantage, had trouble working inside against Crawford. When Crawford moved in, Gamboa used his superior speed to duck under him. Crawford landed a right to Gamboas cheek in the second round. As the fighters went into a clinch, Gamboa put a couple quick rights to the back of Crawfords head, drawing a warning from the referee. Gamboa landed a couple stinging shots in the third, but that he never was able to hurt Crawford. "He caught me with a good shot in the ninth, at the beginning," Crawford said. "It got my attention and buzzed me a little." Omaha hadnt been site for a world championship fight since 1972, when Joe Frazier successfully defended his heavyweight title against Ron Stander, who was in the crowd Saturday night. In the co-main event, WBO No. 1-ranked middleweight Matt Korobov remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision over Jose Uzcatequi for that organizations intercontinental title. Korobov (24-0) landed a hard left to the previously unbeaten Uzcatequis nose in the first round, knocked him down twice in the fifth and put him on his knees with a body blow in the ninth. The 23-year-old Uzcatequi (22-1), who had stopped his previous five opponents, was in his first professional fight outside Mexico. 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Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees.TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays wont have their usual closer available for the start of the regular season. Casey Janssen was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday due to a strain in his left abdominal area and lower back. Fellow right-hander Sergio Santos will take over the closers role while Janssen is out of the lineup. Janssen, 4-1 with 34 saves and a 2.56 earned-run average last year, was limited at spring training because of shoulder soreness. But on Friday, he felt some minor discomfort in his lower back while warming up during a pre-season game against the New York Mets in Montreal. An MRI exam revealed a mild strain, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Sunday on a conference call. "We dont expect him to be out too long," Anthopoulos said. "There was a scenario where we could have just waited maybe five or six days and try to get him back going. But we want to just have this thing resolved and not nag at him." The move was retroactive to Saturday. Janssen, 32, allowed one earned run and four hits in three innings over three pre-season appearances. Hes expected to thrrow on flat ground to keep his arm in shape before trying to pitch from a mound.dddddddddddd The Blue Jays also recalled catcher Erik Kratz from triple-A Buffalo on Sunday, a day ahead of Torontos season opener at Tampa Bay. Kratz hit .400 in spring training and had been sent to minor-league camp earlier in the week after losing the backup job to Josh Thole. Santos, 30, made 29 appearances for the Blue Jays last season. He was 1-1 with one save and a 1.75 ERA. Also Sunday, former reliever Dustin McGowan pitched a simulated game and Anthopoulos said it appears hell be ready to start Friday against the New York Yankees. "Hes done so well," Anthopoulos said. "We dont expect any changes at all. So far, so good. He felt good, felt strong, and we expect him to be good to go for Opening Day in Toronto." McGowan, 32, was named to the starting rotation earlier in the week. The right-hander made his debut with the Blue Jays in 2005 but has battled injuries throughout his career. McGowan had a 2.45 ERA in 25 appearances last season and did not record a decision or a save. ' ' '