Sanchez stopped short of the distance for the first time
Dec. 10—Saturday night, Bruce Carrington did something 20 other professional boxers had failed to do — stop Albuquerque's Jason Sanchez short of the prescribed distance.
He did it in stunning fashion.
Carrington (10-0, six KOs) a prize Top Rank, Inc., featherweight prospect from Brooklyn, N.Y., defeated Sanchez by second-round TKO on a Top Rank card in Pembrook Pines, Fla.
Sanchez (16-5, nine KOs) was solidly in the fight for the bout's first 5 minutes, 30 seconds — trading fearlessly with Carrington and landing (and taking) some solid shots.
But with some 30 seconds left in the second round, Carrington landed a left hook that stunned Sanchez. Seconds later, a still dazed Sanchez went to the canvas after a Carrington right hand.
Just before the bell, with Sanchez trapped in a corner, Carrington blasted away from both sides. Sanchez was still on his feet as the bell sounded, but was sinking toward the canvas. Referee Juan Pabon Rivas ruled him unable to continue.
The official time of the stoppage was 2 minutes, 59 seconds of the second.
Sanchez and his father/trainer, Pepe Sanchez, argued that the Albuquerque fighter should have been given a chance to recover and come out for the third round. There were no complaints from the father, though, on Sunday.
"We lost and we'll learn from (our) mistakes," the elder Sanchez posted on Facebook. "... We lost the battle but not the war."
In his first 20 professional bouts, Jason Sanchez had been knocked down twice but never stopped. He went 12 rounds in June 2019 in an unsuccessful bid for the WBO featherweight title against then-champion Oscar Valdez, 12 more in a loss to British contender Zelfa Barrett last April.
