After five consecutive losses, Belinda “Brown Sugar” Laracuente made a comeback last night, defeating Anne Marie Saccurato at the Westchester County Center in a six-round crowd pleaser. Saccurato, the hometown hero, put up a good fight, but it was not enough to defeat the more experienced and technically sound Laracuente, who won by split decision.
Laracuente, a crafty and skillful boxer, was light on her feet and moving beautifully, counterpunching the more straight forward and powerful Saccurato. In the most aesthetically pleasing bout of the night, Saccurato constantly pressured and barraged Laracuente with convincing combinations, at the same time walking into Laracuente’s more timed flurries. Laracuente, a master of fighting while backing up, had no problem connecting with and countering the more aggressive Saccurato.
In the first round both fighters came out strong and established their styles, Laracuente cutting angles and dancing circles like a sly cat while Saccurato relentlessly advanced and forced Laracuente to trade punches. Saccurato won the first and second round by a small margin. By the third round, Saccurato developed a habit for walking into Laracuete’s sneaky left hook. She was relieved win the bell rang to end the third as Laracuente was letting her hands go. After that, Saccurato kept up the pressure but had lost her edge. She lost the later rounds as she forced Laracuente to open up in a series of intricate exchanges on the inside that had the crowd on its feet as the two passionate fighters went at it, never really letting up in a very competitive bout.
“My game plan was to box in and out, and I have a new trainer,” said Laracuente, who is scheduled to fight Emiko Raika in Tokyo, Japan on October 10. Laracuente is currently ranked #9 in the Super Featherweight division.
Laracuente, best known for a bout in 2000 when she lost to Christy Martin in a controversial decision, seemed to have lost her edge after that. She expressed her desire to come back last night by defeating the talented Saccurato. Laracuente said she was torn between retirement and future title shots. “I am too old to do this,” said the twenty-six year old boxer. “But it is my nature to box.”
Saccurato, who brought a large fan base to the County Center, was disappointed by the results. “I don’t feel I used all my abilities too well,” said Saccurato. “It is back to the drawing board where I hope to fine tune a few things and hopefully there will be a rematch.”
In the show's main event, Joan Guzman, who vacated the WBO 122-pound title with no guarantee of another title shot, made sure he will get a crack at a featherweight belt. Guzman, Boxingtalk's #3 junior featherweight, won a unanimous decision over Thai import Terdsak Jandaeng in a WBO featherweight title elimination bout Friday night at the Westchester County Center. Guzman scored the fight's only knockdown in the fifth round. He is now the mandatory contender to face Scott Harrison of Scotland, who is preceived as an easy mark after he got a hometown draw against Victor Polo two fights ago. Jandaeng, Boxingtalk's #28 featherweight, suffered his first pro loss. source for Guzman result: Associated Press
