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Barrera Bests Peden, Unifies; Johnson suffers brain injury
SUN September 18 - Marco Antonio Barrera easily outpointed Australian Robbie Peden to claim the WBC and IBF super featherweight belts with a 12-round unanimous decision at the MGM Grand.
Barrera's convicting victory, one night after Independence Day in his native Mexico, was marred by the news that Leavander Johnson, who lost his IBF lightweight title to Jesus Chavez on the undercard, was rushed to a local hospital to undergo surgery because of hematoma on his brain.
Chavez (42-3) battered Johnson throughout the night before referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight 38 seconds into the 11th round. Johnson was able to leave the ring under his own power but collapsed in his dressing room afterward.
The 35-year-old Johnson, who won the title with a seventh-round TKO of Stefano Zoff in June, fell to 34-5-2 after the one-sided loss to Chavez, a former WBC super featherweight champ who landed more than 400 punches in contrast to just 148 for Johnson.
Former undisputed light middleweight champion Shane Mosley was also victorious on the card, scoring a 10-round unanimous decision over overmatched Mexican Jose Luis Cruz.
Barrera, who captured the WBC crown with a decision over Erik Morales last November, put on a clinic against IBF champ Peden. The 31-year-old won by scores of 119-109, 118-108 and 118-108 despite being cut by a head butt in the fourth round and having a point deducted in the 10th for a low blow.
Barrera, who improved to 61-4, ended the bout by landing a flurry of punches in the 12th round which nearly sent Peden to the canvas.
Peden, now 25-3, was making his first defense since winning the IBF crown over Nate Campbell in February.
In his second bout since returning to the welterweight class he once dominated, Mosley (41-4) wasn't overly sharp but was also never severely tested by Cruz (32-1-2), who was dealt his first professional loss. Judges scored the bout 98-92, 97-93, 96-93.
Mosley dropped back down in weight after losing twice to Winky Wright in the light middleweight ranks.
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