Prefight
The "super" champion in recess (at least that's what they announced him as), Travis Simms, enters first accompanied by Luis Collazo, who holds a victory at welterweight over Rivera. Simms looks focused and ready. The champion, Jose Antonio Rivera, enters next looking calm and relaxed.Â
Round 1Rivera comes out pawing with the jab. Quick left hand lands for Simms. Both men being cautious and pawing with their jabs. Simms fires a 1-2 that's partially blocked. Both men circling. Simms lands a left to the body. Rivera firing the jab, but hitting nothing but air as Simms keeps his distance. Not much action...crowd getting a bit restless. Wooooooo...hard 1-2 lands for Simms that snaps Rivera's head back. Another left....woooo....another...and another lands for Simms. Rivera just eats them and comes forward. A break in the action as Simms throws Rivera to the floor. Another left hand lands for Simms. Rivera misses over the top with a slow right hand. Round to Simms.
Rivera 9 Simms 10
Round 2
Simms comes out pawing with his jab now. Both men circling. Another left hand lands for Simms. Hard left to the body and a 1-2 up top lands for Simms. Rivera misses with a right. WOOOOOOOOOO....huge 1-2 lands for Simms. Rivera is bleeding. Simms looking to close the show. Landing a lot of leather. Rivera is down. He takes the count. Simms switches to orthodox. Left hook lands for Simms. Blood streaming from the nose of Rivera. Another left hand lands up top for Simms. Simms switches back to southpaw. Another left hand lands for Simms as Rivera just follows him in a circle. Hard left to the body lands for Simms. Big round for Simms.
Rivera 17 Simms 20
Round 3Rivera comes out pressing. Simms keeps him at bay by firing the jab. Simms lands a left to the body. Another left hand rocks Rivera...and another. Rivera fires a 1-2 but misses. Simms lands a quick left to the body. Simms doing a good job of using the ring. Jab and a left hand lands for Simms. Rivera coming forward, but very cautiously. Another left hand lands for Simms. 1-2 from Simms has Rivera covering up. And a left hand from Simms to punctuate the round. All Simms as Rivera just looks confused with the movement.
Rivera 16 Simms 30
Round 4Simms keeping his distance. Rivera just following cautiously. Rivera lands a jab now. Hard left lands for Simms though. Another left hand snaps Rivera's head back. 1-2 lands for Simms. Hard left hook lands for Simms. Another left lands. Woooo...nice left hook to the body lands for Simms. This almost looks unfair. Jab lands for Simms...left hand lands....left and right to the body land for Simms. Just about everything landing for simms. Oh wait...Rivera lands a right to the body now. Woooooo...two lefts snap Rivera's head back again. 1-2 up top lands for Simms. Another nice left upstairs to end the round. Round to Simms who's making it look easy.
Rivera 15 Simms 40
Round 5
"Hit anything you can hit" was the advice given to Rivera before coming out for Round 5. Let's see if he listens. Quick 1-2 lands for Simms to start the round. Wow...hard straight left stops Rivera in his tracks. Simms poppin the jab in Rivera's face as he continues to circle. Another straight left lands for Simms. Rivera misses with an uppercut. Both men clinching now. Rivera misses with a wild left. Rivera lands a right now. Then he catches Simms pulling back with a left hook. Simms continues to fire the straight left as he circles. Short hook lands on the inside for Simms. Another straight left and Simms spins him around. Round to Simms.
Rivera 14 Simms 50
Round 6Simms continues to use the ring effectively. Rivera lands probably his best punch of the night, but gets countered again by a left. Simms pops the jab and then snaps Rivera's head back with another left. Rivera cutting the distance down a bit, but Simms continues to counter and get out of the way. Hit and run...hit and run. 1-2 lands for Simms. Rivera lands a right. Simms slips a few punches and then lands a nice three punch combo. Rivera lands a right that Simms didn't like. Uh oh...Rivera lands another right and Simms holds on. Short left lands for Rivera at the end of the round. Round to Simms, but Rivera is turning up the heat and getting closer.
Rivera 13 Simms 60
Round 7
Simms looked a little fatigued in that corner. Simms paws witht the jab. Rivera misses with a right, but trying to shorten the distance and make it ugly. Right hand lands for Rivera. Simms potshots with the jab. Rivera lands a jab. Simms counters with a left. 1-2 lands for Simms. Another hard left lands for Simms. Rivera touching simms now with his jab. Wooooo..nice uppercut snaps Rivera's head back. Left to the body lands for Simms. Short right lands for Rivera. Another right lands for Rivera as he catches Simms pulling back. Jab lands for Rivera. Simms doing a lot of holding now. 1-2 lands for Simms. Rivera lands a jab. Nice four punch combo lands for Simms at the end of the round that starts the blood flowing down Rivera's face again. Close round, but Simms steals it at the end.
Rivera 12 Simms 70
Round 8
Simms continues to circle. Rivera coming forward behind his jab. Action slowing down a bit now. Two nice left hands to the body land for Simms. Hard straight right down the middle lands up top for Simms. Rivera lands some shots to the arms of Simms. Simms taking a break now. Rivera sneaks a right up the middle. Another right hand lands for Rivera up the middle. Simms lands a left to the body. Rivera lands a right. Simms potshots with another left down the middle. Two lefts and a right from Simms snap Rivera's head back again at the end of the round. Round to Simms.
Rivera 11 Simms 80
Round 9
Fatigue setting in a bit for both men. Another straight left down the middle lands for Simms. Rivera misses with a right hand. Simms continues to circle. Rivera lands a right. Simms pops him with his jab and circles away. Nice defense from Simms as he causes Rivera to miss. WOOOOOO...big left hand from Simms rocks Rivera and he stumbles backward. He's down again. Rivera is up at eight, but he doesn't look good. Simms coming in to close the show. Landing a lot. Left hook. Right. That's it. The ref stops it.
The winner...AND STILL "SUPER" CHAMPION....Simms TKO9