00:05Introducing first, fighting out of the red corner, wearing the white trunks with blue letters.
00:11He weighs an even 174 pounds from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
00:17As a professional, 18 victories, 17 by KO, only 4 to piece.
00:24Introducing the challenger, Mario Melo!
00:30And fighting out of the blue corner, wearing the crunk gold trunks with red letters.
00:38Also weighing an even 174 pounds from the Motor City, Detroit, Michigan.
00:45Undefeated with a record of 19-0, all 19 KO's.
00:50Ladies and gentlemen, the undefeated WBO light heavyweight champion of the world, Michael Mola!
01:08I've got your instructions in the bag. Any questions at this time?
01:12You come to see, he's fighting out of the referee.
01:15Protects himself at all times.
01:17Shake hands, come out boxing.
01:18The referee, Joe O'Neill, certainly has things in perspective.
01:28As we are getting set for the WBO light heavyweight championship, Mario Melo getting final instructions.
01:35Trainer Hector Rodriguez, and Michael Mora, the champion with the resident guru of the world-renowned crunk gym in Detroit, Emmanuel Stewart in his corner.
01:49And we're set to go, round one.
01:51It is scheduled for 12.
01:54Mora wearing the familiar gold trunks of the crunk team.
01:57Mario Melo wearing the all-white.
02:00And Melo comes out bombing.
02:01That's all he knows how to do is bomb.
02:03He's not a boxer.
02:04He's not a classic boxer.
02:05He admits it.
02:06All he can do is bang, and he's got a big left hand and no right hand.
02:09That from the mouth of Tito Lectore, his manager.
02:12So watch for a big left hand.
02:14Both southpaws, Moore works the body well, effective with both hands.
02:19In fact, he's got a couple of cannons.
02:23Throws all punches almost effortlessly, and really puts the punches together.
02:28He can do it from inside and out.
02:30Both these guys are left-handers, as you can see, so that's sort of neutralized.
02:34Oh, nice right hand from Moore's buckling the legs already of Mario Melo.
02:38They haven't even broken a sweat yet.
02:47That was a crisp right hand.
02:55Melo is 18-4, 17 knockouts.
02:58He's been knocked out twice.
03:01The left hand is now doing the damage.
03:05Michael Moore's left hand is shocked and prepared.
03:08As soon as he jabs, he triggers off that left hand, and it is finding the range.
03:14Difficult for an opponent to go a whole 12 rounds against Moore.
03:19Stewart would like to see this fight go within five with a dramatic finish.
03:24Stewart would like to see the first round with a dramatic finish.
03:27And then get on to the other fight.
03:29And that goes back on here in the first round.
03:33Four, five, six, seven.
03:36He's not getting up.
03:37He just put up one piece.
03:39He's kicking.
03:40Nine.
03:40And he is not getting up.
03:42It's over.
03:43Riding around in pain.
03:46Joe O'Neill instructing Melo to stay down.
03:50And in one round, Michael Moore retains his title.
03:54When you're in with a banger like Moore, I'm sorry.
03:59When you're in with a banger like Michael Moore and you begin to get hit, clear shots with
04:03the left hand.
04:03Clear shots.
04:04You can't take that to the floor.
04:05He had no idea how to block it.
04:07And of course, with no defense and clear shots coming in, he figured to go early.
04:12Maybe not as early as the first, but certainly he was going to go soon.
04:15Pennsylvania, what's happening?
04:17Well, he has now knocked out eight opponents in the first round.
04:21That's 20 and 0, 20 KOs.
04:23Getting a little geography lesson there from Michael Moore on his hometown.
04:26Yes, he's right.
04:2720 and 0 with 20 KOs.
04:29Mello is to his feet.
04:35Now he'll take a seat.
04:39Where to get it?
04:40In the solar plexus, he just couldn't seem to catch his breath.
04:43I didn't see a strong body shot, but he was getting hit.
04:47Clear shots with the left hand.
04:49That's enough to knock anybody out.
04:51Moore can really bang, as his record indicates, 20 knockouts, 20 wins.
04:56Why he was writhing around kicking, I didn't see a body punch.
04:58That hurt him.
04:59Let's take a look at it and see if we can see what exactly put him out.
05:04Big swing by Mello that misses.
05:06He's wide open.
05:07You see no defense.
05:08That's an uppercut.
05:09That's a straight shot.
05:12Now comes the left here.
05:14Two, two, three.
05:15Boom.
05:16That's one.
05:17Still no punch to the side.
05:21And that one's wrong.
05:21See, I didn't see anything there that would cause him to writhe around and kick.
05:24There's nothing there.
05:25I mean, a slight punch to the side, which wouldn't make you kick around like a solar plexus punch
05:32or something really strong.
05:33Unless he broke a rib or something on one of those shots.
05:36Well, there was only one shot there.
05:38Let's take a look at it from another angle and see exactly what it was.
05:41Yeah, it was a pretty good body shot.
05:43It might have hurt his ribs.
05:45It just didn't seem like it was hard enough to do with that kind of damage.
05:48The shot on the jaw actually dropped him.
05:50That was enough.
05:56Michael Buffer has the official word.
06:00Ladies and gentlemen, referee Joe O'Neal reaches the count of ten at one minute, 52 seconds of the very first round.
06:08The winner by knockout victory, his record now, 20-0, 20 KOs, and still WBAA light heavyweight champion of the world, Michael Moore.
06:25There you have it.
06:27Michael Moore.
06:28He defends his title for the eighth time with a first-round knockout of Mario Mello.
06:37The heat is Johnny Vardaro.
06:41So we're awaiting the main event here at the Mark G. Eddis Arena,
06:46named in memory of the first president of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort,
06:50good friend of Showtime as well, who died tragically in a helicopter crash last year.
06:55Let's go back now and take a look at the Michael Moore-Mario Mello fight just moments ago,
07:07which ended in the first round via the knockout route in favor of Michael Moore.
07:13Here is round one.
07:14They're both left-handers, and you see the power that Mello brings at the very beginning.
07:24He can't hit anything with it.
07:25He's not hitting anything but arms in the back of the head,
07:28and so therefore he wasn't taking Moore out of his game plan,
07:32which was to jab very effectively and try to land that straight left lead.
07:37Mello is very boastful, as most fighters are, but he was more a matter-of-fact.
07:48He had predicted an early knockout in his favor,
07:52but it was the other way around, and Mora just overwhelmed Mello.
07:56And that was the first really authentic good left-hand that just crunched him,
08:00and from there on out, it was just a matter of time.
08:02His legs buckled.
08:03You know, he comes off of eight straight knockouts, this Mello,
08:06and, of course, he thought, well, this is going to be another one of those things
08:09where it's going to be him or me.
08:10He was right.
08:11It was him or me, but it was him that left.
08:14And Mora was coming off a ninth-round knockout over Marcellus Allen
08:17here at Atlantic City back on February the 3rd.
08:22You really didn't get to see enough of Mora to appreciate the development,
08:27and if he keeps getting these early knockouts,
08:29when's he going to develop his style?
08:30When's he going to learn?
08:31That's one of the problems with a guy that's a big banger.
08:33Sooner or later, you've got to go 10 rounds and see what it feels like, 12 rounds,
08:37and that's when you decide whether you want to be a champion bad enough.
08:43How do you think Michael Mora might do against a Virgil Hill?
08:47Oh, that would be a very interesting fight.
08:49Oh, oh, no so far.
08:50And down went Mello.
08:53Four, five.
08:54Mora thought he broke not one, but two ribs.
08:57Seven, eight.
08:57I don't know if he broke any ribs, but certainly from the way he's riding,
09:00it certainly wasn't in any comfort.
09:02He got hit in the ribs.
09:03I didn't see it that hard until the replay,
09:04and then, of course, you did see a very effective punch right at the floating rib,
09:08the kind that does hurt.
09:091.52 of the first round.
09:13Michael Mora knocking out his eighth opponent in the first round of action.
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