Highlights
–Despite being outweighed by 35 pounds, the 6-foot-1 Amir Mansour furiously attacked the 6-foot-7 Dominic Breazeale from the opening bell, twice rocking him with second-round left crosses.
–Mansour floored Breazeale with a booming third-round right hook to the head, but the taller man got to his feet, weathered a follow-up flurry and delivered a late, head-swiveling right uppercut just prior to the bell.
–After losing the first three rounds on all three cards, Breazeale finally mounted a sustained attack in the fourth and hurt Mansour badly in the fifth with a left-uppercut, right-hand combination. Sitting in his corner after the fifth, Mansour complained that he couldn’t close his mouth and retired on his stool, giving Breazeale a fifth-round stoppage win.
Dominic Breazeale had vowed “fireworks from the opening bell, punch for punch, round for round” in advance of Saturday’s 10-round heavyweight clash with southpaw Amir Mansour at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The 2012 U.S. Olympian’s prognostication came true—just not in the manner he expected. Despite significant advantages in height, reach and age, the 30-year-old Breazeale was outhustled and repeatedly rocked over the first two rounds by the 43-year-old Mansour.
Then in the third round, Breazeale was floored by a booming right hook to the head, and it looked like the 6-foot-7 boxer was destined for his first defeat.
But Breazeale finally picked things up in the fourth and rallied over the final minute of the fifth, matching Mansour blow for blow and badly hurting his 6-foot-1 opponent with a jarring left-uppercut, right-hand combination.
That two-punch assault appeared to damage Mansour’s jaw, and as the sixth round was about to begin, Mansour complained to his cornerman that he couldn’t close his mouth. When he refused to answer the bell for the sixth, referee Raul Caiz Sr. waved off the bout.
The injury to Mansour (22-2-1, 16 KOs) saved Breazeale (17-0, 15 KOs), as he trailed 48-46, 48-46 and 49-45 at the time of the stoppage. Despite his eight-inch reach advantage, Breazeale was outlanded in overall punches, 73-69.
Dominic Breazeale lands a big right hand during his win over Amir Mansour in Los Angeles. (Suzanne Teresa/Premier Boxing Champions)
