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Spadafora retains IBF title
Kevin Gorman can be reached via e-mail or 412-320-7812.
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With blood dripping down his right cheek from a cut under his eye, Spadafora rallied in the middle and late rounds to score a unanimous decision over Denmark’s Dennis Holbaek to claim the International Boxing Council title in a 12-round lightweight title unification bout Saturday night at Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming Resort’s The Harv in Chester, W.Va.
The fight, Spadafora’s first on pay-per-view by InDemand cable and DirecTV satellite, was scored 117-111 by judges Larry Doggett of Virginia and Gary Wolfe of West Virginia and 118-110 by Debra Barnes of New Jersey.
Spadafora (36-0), a McKees Rocks native making his seventh IBF title defense, entered the ring to Eminem’s “One shot” and wearing a black Steelers jersey with McKeesport native Mike Logan’s No. 31. Spadafora wore black trunks with gold trim, an Iron City patch and a new twist — the name of his infant daughter “Giana” on the waistband.
Both fighters stood 5-foot-91/2, but Holbaek (43-2), the IBC champ, appeared more muscular and used his power advantage to get inside on Spadafora. The fight was slow to develop until the second round, when Holbaek landed a straight right in the final minute to stun his opponent.
Spadafora’s slick defensive style escaped him early, as he failed to use his left jab when Holbaek charged forward. As a result, Spadafora couldn’t avoid a flurry of body blows followed by a sharp right uppercut. He could only duck and clutch Holbaek’s midsection.
A welt showed on the left side of Spadafora’s forehead — the same spot Angel Manfredy left a lump with a headbutt in a March 9 title defense — and Spadafora flinched when his cornermen treated it. They finished the fourth with an exchange at the bell that left Spadafora glaring at Holbaek.
It must have inspired Spadafora, because in the fourth round he started using his left jab more efficiently. He couldn’t stop Holbaek, who charged and opened a cut on Spadafora’s right cheekbone. Holbaek landed a right hook that temporarily stunned Spadafora with about 10 seconds left in the round, but he survived until the bell.
It was in the eighth that Spadafora started landing combinations of his own. He worked Holbaek’s body with left-right-left shots at the midsection. When Holbaek covered up, Spadafora then used a straight right jab to the face. The crowd became inspired and Spadafora fed off it.
At that point, the bout was even. But Spadafora took control in the ninth, working the body while circling Holbaek and landing several hooks to the face. Spadafora’s confidence grew in the ninth and 10th, when he picked his spots and slipped Holbaek’s charges with quick head and should movements.
Holbaek grew desperate as the fight went into the 11th, but by then, Spadafora was back to his old self. He had more bounce in his step and used his long reach to keep Holbaek at bay.
In the final round, Spadafora withstood Holbaek’s barrage of punches, as Holbaek knew he needed to knock out the IBF champion and hometown favorite, Holbaek attacked from the outside but Spadafora simply circled and countered with straight right jabs until the final bell.
