Home »

MONTREAL -- It took 12 rounds, but Joachim Alcine finally displayed the heart of a champ, the finish of a champ and, last but not least, the punching power and finesse of a champ.

Alcine, making the first defence of his World Boxing Association super-welterweight title, conserved his 154-pound belt with a technical knockout at 2:17 of the final round against Panamanian challenger Alfonso Mosquera on Friday night at the Bell Centre before 14,902 spectators.

Alcine, who captured the title last July with a unanimous decision against Travis Simms in Connecticut, improved to 30-0 with 19 KOs. Mosquera, rated 14th by the WBA, figured to put up little resistance but proved to be an able challenger while seeing his record slip to 19-6.

He was tougher than I expected," said Alcine, originally from Haiti but now living in Laval. "I didn't do much the first six ... eight rounds. I tried to hurt him when I should have hit my spot. I guess I wanted to please the crowd too much. Because of that, I didn't do what I should have."

Although Alcine carried a considerable height and reach advantage into the ring, he didn't exploit it often enough, displaying little foot movement and being trapped against the ropes too frequently. It was as though the body couldn't deliver what the mind was ordering.

Mosquera, meanwhile, crowded Alcine inside, preventing him from unleashing much of his arsenal. Mosquera also threw frequent combinations from every angle.

"I tried moving to his left side. That was the key. But I didn't find that until the last two rounds," said Alcine. "In the first or second rounds, if I had found that, this wouldn't have gone to the 12th round. I don't know if I was too anxious or I wasn't thinking. These things happen if you're too anxious.

"You want to make the people proud."

Although the bout appeared close and potentially hanging in the balance in the latter stages, Alcine was comfortably ahead on all three judges' scorecards - Americans Tom Shrek and Freddie Leddesma, along with Montreal's Pasquale Procopio - heading into the final round. All three had Alcine leading 108-101; Mosquera winning not more than two rounds.

"I'm sure I was winning the fight," Alcine said.

Both fighters were cautious in the opening round. Mosquera was aggressive and landed quick combinations in the second and third. He bobbed and weaved, making him a difficult target to hit. Mosquera snapped Alcine's head back in the third with a right.

Alcine started changing the tide in the fourth, emerging from the ropes suddenly to score with a combination. Mosquera appeared in trouble at the time. Alcine also started jabbing more effectively in the fifth.

Early in the sixth, Alcine scored with four consecutive left jabs. He was counter-punching well and scored with an overhand right. Mosquera complained of a low blow to buy time.

Mosquera was more aggressive the next three rounds as Alcine again slipped into his pattern of hanging against the ropes and showing little movement. Mosquera went down in the ninth, but it was ruled a slip.

Alcine started coming on again in the 10th, scoring against Mosquera, who was on the ropes. An overhand right by Alcine in the 11th was his best punch to that juncture.

Mosquera went down for the first time in the 12th from a combination against the ropes. He was dropped a second time from another combination. Alcine continued his assault until referee Mike Griffin intervened with Mosquera against the ropes and in serious jeopardy.

Alcine said he dislocated his right hand in the penultimate round. "But I didn't care about it in the last round," Alcine said. "I didn't want the people to go home without closing the show the way I wanted. I forgot about the hand. I'm a warrior."

In preliminary bouts, Jean Pascal retained his three North American super-middleweight titles against Brian Norman, while Adonis Stevenson captured the vacant Canadian super-middleweight crown against David Whittom. Both ended in unanimous 10-round decisions, although neither Norman or Whittom could have won the titles after both exceeded contracted weight. Both relinquished 20 per cent of their purses.

Source: Montreal Gazette

hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com