Humberto Savigne came out Friday night with the kind of game plan that made it clear that the best defense is a good offense.
Humberto Savigne whiffs against Thomas Williams Jr. at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi on Friday. Williams rose from a first-round knockdown and stopped Savigne in the second round. (Eli Baylis/Premier Boxing Champions)
Turns out a great offense trumps a good one.
Thomas Williams Jr. (19-1, 13 KOs) struck the first blow in a wild first round at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, using a counter right hook that flattened Savigne (12-3, 9 KOs) about a minute into the 175-pound contest.
Humberto Savigne popped right back up, though, and was game to sit in the pocket and hammer away. It paid off later in the opening round when Savigne scored a knockdown of his own off a huge right hand. It was enough to swing things back in favor of Savigne, who took the round on all three judges' cards.
"I wasn't paying attention,” Williams said of the shot that dropped him. “I wasn't sticking to the game plan. I was trying to set something up, and I got caught with a right. I was very surprised. It woke me up. I said 'It's time to go to work now.'”
Clock in he did.
Williams welcomed Savigne to the second round with a right uppercut, followed by a left that clearly stunned Savigne. And that opened the floodgates.
Williams jumped up and unloaded a combination that ended with his opponent on his back. This time, Savigne wasn’t so quick to return to his feet. When he finally did, he was wobbling.
Smelling the kind of blood in the water normally reserved for Shark Week, Williams pounced on Savigne, who, instead of trying to cover up and sweat out the round, tried to punch his way back into the tilt.
But Williams proved to be too strong. He unleashed a 12-punch combination that saw most of the shots find Savigne’s chin. In fact, ringside stats had Williams good for 58 percent of his power punches.
Having seen Savigne absorb enough abuse, referee Keith Hughes jumped into the line of fire at the 1:48 mark—at great risk to his own personal health—and stopped the contest.
"I knew he was going to get cocky after he knocked me down, and of course I took advantage of it,” said Williams, who won for the second time following his first career defeat. "I will be back in the gym on Wednesday, ready to fight again."
For the full recap of Williams vs Savigne, including photos, videos and more, make sure to check out our fight page.
Perrella, Guerrero get their men
Bryant Perella (12-0, 11 KOs) said hello to Chaquib Fadli (13-6, 7 KOs) in the opening seconds of the first round, landing a blistering body shot—one that left the Frenchman wincing and referee Fred Steinwinder III counting, despite Fadli remaining on his feet (with assistance from the ropes). Perella didn’t waste any time finishing the job, using a sharp left that put Fadli away at the 1:30 mark of the first round for a TKO win—his 11th knockout in 12 fights.
Fernando Guerrero needed a bit more time for a knockout of his own, but he got there at 1:45 of the seventh behind a left uppercut that punished Daniel Souza-Santos all night. It was Guerrero’s first fight in seven months, after a scheduled match against Caleb Truax in September was called off.
