- 2 months ago
Kennedy McKinney challenges Luisito Espinosa for the WBC Featherweight Title on HBO Boxing After Dark
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00Larry, going back almost three years to the build-up to Kennedy McKinney against Marco Antonio Barrera,
00:07the tremendous war that launched the whole Boxing After Dark thing,
00:10we wondered then, we asked the question,
00:13is McKinney too old to be a serious contender for world supremacy?
00:17Is that a question we still ask?
00:19And we'll keep asking it until he gives us a yes.
00:23But that could be three years from now, or it could be tonight.
00:27But first, let's pause for a moment to recognize the big little giants from America
00:34who have entertained us and often thrilled us over the last decade.
00:40And here they are, Michael Carbohal, as well as McKinney, who came out of the 88 Olympics,
00:46Orlando Canizales, the longtime Bantamweight champion,
00:51Johnny Tapia, still going strong, Kevin Kelly and Junior Jones.
00:56It's really been a golden age for these little men in America.
01:01Right now, what Kennedy McKinney is looking for is an annuity.
01:05But three times this year, he was getting ready to fight, scheduled to fight Prince Ahmed.
01:12Each time the fight was postponed and finally canceled.
01:17What he's looking for, Jim, is a victory tonight, Kennedy McKinney,
01:22hoping that he can get that Brit twit cornered at last.
01:25And as we've mentioned many times, of course, every fighter who has world status
01:31at 122, 126, or 130 pounds is looking for a fight with Prince Nassim Ahmed.
01:36Both of these guys fall into that category.
01:39But the net result of what Larry told you, Roy Jones,
01:41is that Kennedy hasn't had a fight since December 19 of last year.
01:46Now, there's a feeling on the part of experts who've watched both fighters
01:49that Espinoza, through his career, is basically a counterpuncher.
01:52But Kennedy is a natural counterpuncher, though one, of course, with a big right hand.
01:57Kennedy told us that he thinks he has to attack Espinoza,
02:01has to make the fight in order to give himself a chance to win.
02:03You agree?
02:05Somewhat, I agree in a way, because by him attacking,
02:08he opens Espinoza up so that he can land his big right hand.
02:11But on the other hand, Espinoza is the big of the two fighters.
02:14Both of them moved up from the bantamweight division,
02:16but Espinoza has been a featherweight for some period of time now.
02:19So Espinoza probably is the bigger fighter.
02:21And I wouldn't really want to see Kennedy run into a big shot from Espinoza.
02:25All right.
02:26I don't think Kennedy wants to run into a big shot from Espinoza either.
02:28He said, the guy is a left hooker.
02:31My first job is to block his left hook.
02:34So tail of the tape, you can see they're both beyond the age of 30.
02:37Espinoza may be even beyond the age of 31.
02:40We're not entirely certain.
02:41Half-inch height advantage for McKinney.
02:43Very similar in reach.
02:45Weighed in at or within a pound of the 126-pound limit.
02:49Tonight, Espinoza weighs 138,
02:51and Kennedy-McKinney weighs 139,
02:53as we put the scales in their dressing rooms.
02:56Rules of the bout with Harold Letterman.
02:57Once again, the Luisito-Espinoza-Kennedy-McKinney fight
03:01is scheduled for 12 rounds
03:03using those unified rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions.
03:07There is no standing eight count,
03:08no three-knockdown rule.
03:10The referee or the doctor can stop the fight,
03:12and you cannot be saved by the bell in any round,
03:15including the 12th and final round.
03:17Jim.
03:18All right.
03:19Thank you, Harold.
03:20Kennedy-McKinney's career as a musician
03:22ended with a little snare drum playing in senior high school,
03:26but he has gone on by his own claim
03:29to become the greatest boxer in the history of Memphis, Tennessee.
03:33He loves Memphis, his hometown,
03:35and after a stint of living in Las Vegas,
03:37lives back in Memphis now,
03:38where he's starting a trucking business.
03:40He calls this the most important fight of his life.
03:46I'm sure he has said that on more than one occasion in the past,
03:49but it's a way of pumping himself up like a true professional,
03:53because at the end of this rainbow,
03:57it could be Prince Ahmed.
04:001988 American Olympic team should have had at least four gold medal winners,
04:04but Roy Jones, as you know, was robbed.
04:07Still, three Americans won gold in Seoul.
04:09Kennedy-McKinney, Ray Mercer, and Andrew Maynard.
04:13A closer look at King Kennedy.
04:16There you see the former junior featherweight champion.
04:18That's 122 pounds.
04:21Been idle for almost a year while waiting for Ahmed.
04:24And gold medal in Seoul.
04:36Luisito Espinoza first carved out prominence in the sport as a bantamweight.
04:42Ruled as a bantamweight in the Far East for several years.
04:45Left the Philippines, fought out of Japan for a while.
04:48Then went back and fought in the Philippines.
04:50Now he has moved here to the United States
04:52because he says there is no longer any money for boxers
04:56in his native land of the Philippines.
04:59For him, it's negative money.
05:01He still hasn't collected a $130,000 purse
05:04for his next-to-last fight.
05:07The government was supposed to put up the money,
05:09but we've all heard of the Asian economic crisis.
05:13They didn't have $130,000.
05:18Closer look at Luisito Espinoza.
05:22There you see the former bantamweight champion.
05:25Seven defenses of his belt.
05:29And he once defended it in front of 300,000 fans in Manila.
05:37And now let's go to ring announcer Michael Buffer
05:39for the official introductions on this one.
05:41Ladies and gentlemen, from Fantasy Springs Casino here in Indio, California,
05:49this is the main event of the evening,
05:53brought to you by America Presents,
05:55in association with your undisputed, undefeated king of beers, Budweiser.
06:01This Bud's for you, along with Mirod Muhammad, M&M Sports, and main events.
06:06This is 12 rounds of boxing for the WBC Featherweight Championship of the World.
06:15Sanctioned by the California State Athletic Commission,
06:18Chairman Ernest H. Wiener, Vice Chairman,
06:22Dr. Tirso del Junco, Jr.,
06:25Executive Officer, Rob Lynch,
06:27positions at ringside, Dr. Paul Wallace,
06:30and Dr. Howard Baer.
06:32The timekeeper at the bell is Mike Milsap.
06:36This belt is also sanctioned by the World Boxing Council,
06:39President, Jose Suleiman,
06:41Supervisor at ringside for the WBC,
06:44Frank Quill.
06:45The three judges assigned scoring this belt
06:47on a 10-point must system will be
06:50Lou Filippo,
06:52Bob Logiste,
06:53and Terry O'Connor.
06:55And when the bell rings,
06:56your referee in charge of the action,
06:58working for the 113th time in a world title belt,
07:01Hall of Famer,
07:02Marty Dankin.
07:04And now,
07:05from Fantasy Springs Casino here in Indio,
07:08California,
07:10ladies and gentlemen,
07:12let's get ready to rumble!
07:21Introducing first,
07:23fighting out of the red corner,
07:25wearing red,
07:25trimmed with gold,
07:27he weighs 126 pounds.
07:29In 1988,
07:31he captured Olympic gold,
07:32and now, as a professional,
07:34his record stands at 33 victories,
07:3619 by knockout,
07:38with three losses and one draw.
07:41He comes to us from Memphis, Tennessee.
07:43Here is the challenger,
07:46former three-time world champion,
07:50Kennedy,
07:50the King McKinney!
08:00And across the ring,
08:01fighting out of the blue corner,
08:03wearing white,
08:04trimmed with blue and gold.
08:06He weighs 125 pounds,
08:08and brings a professional record of 43 victories,
08:1222 of those by knockout,
08:13with seven defeats.
08:14Tonight,
08:15he makes the seventh defense of his title.
08:19Ladies and gentlemen,
08:20from Manila,
08:21in the Philippines,
08:22presenting,
08:23the reigning and defending,
08:25WBC featherweight champion of the world,
08:29Luisito Espinosa!
08:39Everybody out,
08:40but one person.
08:41Everybody out,
08:42but one person.
08:44Everyone out,
08:44but one person.
08:48Okay.
08:50Turn around.
08:51Turn around.
08:52Okay?
08:52You know your responsibilities.
08:56I've told you what mine are.
08:57Let's both do our jobs.
09:01Luis Espinosa
09:02has been stopped
09:05three times in his career.
09:09Kennedy McKinney knows it.
09:11Can he do anything about it?
09:14That's why he wants to go forward
09:15and land that big right hand.
09:18Watch out for headbutts.
09:20Espinosa has won
09:21two of his last three
09:22by technical win.
09:24Headbutts have marred
09:25at least a half dozen
09:26Luisito Espinosa fights.
09:31Kennedy McKinney,
09:32for his part,
09:33would like to keep Espinosa at range
09:35where he can work behind his jab
09:37and try to set up
09:38his big right hand.
09:43Espinosa,
09:43relatively slow starter.
09:46Although there's a left hook
09:47that lands right away.
09:48Excuse me,
09:49Luisito,
09:49I didn't mean to offend you.
09:53Very smart, Boxer.
09:54Let's take a look
09:55at his opponent first.
09:56See what his opponent
09:57has to offer.
09:58Then he throws his shots.
10:03I think McKinney
10:04may be trying to
10:05set him up,
10:06trap him some way
10:07into throwing that
10:09left hook more often.
10:10He took that
10:10in a very calm way.
10:14It's his best punch,
10:16Espinosa.
10:16Locked by McKinney.
10:24That time,
10:25first one landed,
10:26this time McKinney
10:26had the right hand up
10:27to block it.
10:29Espinosa trying to get low
10:31and fire wide shots
10:33at the body.
10:34They try to throw the shots
10:35at the body
10:35to set up the head shots,
10:36like he just did
10:37with that left hook.
10:37Interesting matchup
10:44between a guy
10:45who wants to set up
10:45his right hand,
10:46McKinney,
10:47and a guy who wants
10:48to set up his left hook,
10:49Espinosa.
10:56Espinosa's landing
10:56the right hand too though.
10:58McKinney with the right
11:07hand of the body
11:08and the left of the body
11:09and he lands an uppercut
11:10but Espinosa counters
11:11and drives Kennedy back
11:13then turns around
11:14and pounds him
11:15against the ropes
11:16as Espinosa
11:17has stunned McKinney
11:18in the first round.
11:20And left hook
11:21hurt McKinney bad.
11:22Yeah.
11:24But he's
11:25weathering the storm
11:26pretty good.
11:27And now Kennedy
11:28has tasted
11:29Espinosa's power
11:30as we say.
11:31Yeah, but this is
11:32very smart by explanation.
11:33He's hard to go
11:33a barrage of punches
11:34at McKinney
11:35and he's back
11:35back and gathered himself
11:36once he saw
11:37that McKinney
11:37was back together.
11:39So Espinosa
11:40showing you
11:40his vast experience.
11:42He's been a pro
11:43for 14 years.
11:44First professional fight
11:46on his 17th birthday.
11:47Down goes McKinney
11:49as a right hand
11:50followed by a left hook.
11:53Landed on the tip.
11:54This has been
11:55more than a taste.
11:56Hey, come on over here.
11:57This has been a buffet.
12:01McKinney bleeding
12:01from the mouth.
12:05Espinosa left hook,
12:06left hook
12:07trying to finish
12:08McKinney
12:08in the final seconds
12:09of round one.
12:10Now the right hand lands.
12:14And a slow start
12:15in Kennedy McKinney
12:16trying to fight back
12:18as round one
12:20comes to a close.
12:25All those big punches
12:26are results
12:26of those big body shots.
12:27here we can look.
12:28Here we can look.
12:30Take a look at the knockdowns.
12:33Big right hand is what sent McKinney
12:35off balance.
12:35A soft tap of the left.
12:37finished the job
12:53that the right had started.
12:57looking for the left.
12:58Looking for the left.
13:00Caught the right.
13:01We talked about the 343 days off.
13:02McKinney look rusty to you
13:03in the first round, Roy.
13:04Not necessarily rusty but the big body shots
13:05that Luis C. Espinosa was throwing
13:06made Kennedy forget about his head.
13:08And he set him up for the body shot
13:09and threw a head shot.
13:10So big round for Espinosa to start.
13:11Landing 36 of 80 punches.
13:12He's going to take a look.
13:13Knew it up.
13:14Now the right is the right side.
13:15And that's the job that the right had started.
13:16Looking for the left.
13:17Caught the right.
13:18We talked about the 343 days off.
13:19McKinney look rusty to you
13:20in the first round, Roy.
13:21Not necessarily rusty
13:23but the big body shots
13:24that Luis C. Espinosa was throwing
13:25made Kennedy forget
13:27about his hand.
13:28And he set him up
13:29for the body shot
13:30and threw a hand shot.
13:31So big round for Espinosa to start.
13:3336 of 80 punches, 35 of those 36. Power shots. Those numbers come from CompuBox. Another
13:40left hook. And McKinney's going to have to get something going here or risk being flooded
13:46early by the power shots of Espinosa. And right there, you saw how well Espinosa took
13:50Kennedy's right hand. It's because Espinosa's been a featherweight for a long time now.
13:57And Kennedy moving up in weight. Oh, and that right hand has frozen McKinney.
14:03And this is over. Over. A blistering right cross by Luisito Espinosa. And Kennedy
14:11McKinney was a sitting duck along the ropes. He took two or three more shots before
14:16Denkin got there to stop it. You remember about six or seven minutes ago, Jim, I said,
14:24you may be asking if he's too old three years from now or tonight. And your answer?
14:30It was tonight.
14:35A sudden, stunning second round knockout of Kennedy McKinney by Luisito Espinosa. And
14:42Roy, what a textbook job of setting up power shots to the head with hard punches to the
14:47body. Yeah, that's what he started out doing. He started out doing the winging body shots
14:51first to make Kennedy let him get close enough to land those big head shots.
15:03You know, McKinney has always visualized fights and been very good at thinking about what might
15:10happen in a fight with an opponent. And he kept visualizing the left hand of Espinosa. And he was
15:18just wide open for the right. It was the right hand that got him. No question. Which is why you never
15:22go into a fight looking for one punch to beat you. Always go ready for anything.
15:26And McKinney was so cut and dried in his fighter meeting with us yesterday. He had a very clear
15:34and categorical picture of what he thought was going to happen in the fight. It was very convincing
15:38the way he described it to us. But Larry makes exactly the right point. Because as McKinney tried
15:43to protect against the left hook, Espinosa blasted him out of there with right hands.
15:50So now the speculation turns to Luisito Espinosa versus Prince Nassim Ahmed. Big fight, good fight.
15:58You can't imagine that the Prince's people are going to be desperately anxious to go ahead and make the
16:02fight off what they saw here. But if they do, give them credit for bravery and mark the date on your calendar.
16:08And now let's go to Michael Buffer for the official particulars.
16:16Ladies and gentlemen, referee Marty Dankin waves off the count of ten following the knockdown
16:21and calls a halt of this bout at 47 seconds of round number two. The winner and still WBC
16:30featherweight champion of the world, Luisito Espinosa.
16:46So Espinosa, having moved here to the United States, now living in San Francisco in search of bigger
16:54and better economic opportunity toward the toward what would appear to be the end of his boxing career
16:59coming up in the near future. But a big performance tonight sets up some possible
17:05major paydays in the future for the 126 pounder. Final punch stat numbers from CompuBox. And you can see
17:11that Kennedy McKinney never really got started in the fight, landing only nine of 61. Luisito Espinosa
17:17blowing him away. 50 of 105 punches landed. The overwhelming majority of them, in fact,
17:22almost all of them power shots. He connected at a 48 percent rate. And when you do that with right
17:29crosses and left hooks, you're going to knock your man out. That's what happened. Now let's go by,
17:33or let's go with Larry Merchant and our interpreter, Ramon De Los Santos, as they talk to Espinosa.
17:40All right. Thank you very much, Jim. Congratulations, Luis, who is now kissing his
17:45bride, who is also his business manager and negotiates all of his contracts and did a very
17:51good job outside of the ring, as you did inside of the ring tonight.
17:54Thank you very much. Thank you very much for promoting.
18:11Uh, you've thanked your promoter, you've done your job, but you did a better job for that four minutes
18:19during the fight. Did you, did you feel that you were just stronger than him and is that the reason you
18:27came out so aggressively? I felt it and it's right on the first punch. I knew right away,
18:41I'm going to get this guy. He was looking for your left hook, which has always seemed to have been your
18:47best punch. Was he just wide open for those right hands? Uh, inahanap niya, inaabangan niya
18:53yung left hook mo, uh, hindi dumating yung left hook mo, puro right ang umabot.
18:57Kasi yung pag ano ang target mo talaga, rikos talaga. Pero lepok, lepok kapinaabangan niya.
19:02I see. Okay. Uh, he fakes with his left hook, but he is actually power punch is the right hand.
19:08Uh, what does he see in the future for himself? Uh, anong nakikita mo sa susunod ng mga laban mo?
19:17Uh, sa timo hanap, naging unapproval. Na-approved pa. Oh, okay. Uh, he's gonna improve some more
19:23in the next fight. Does he think that he will get a fight with Prince Hamed? Uh, palaging ba makakalabo mo si
19:32Prince Hamed. Uh, sa timo pag kalaam pagaradan. I think I have to study about that. I have to
19:38study him pretty good. Thank you very much. Congratulations again, Luis. Uh, thank you very
19:44much to America Faceta and Lucet and to all the class here at the States. Thank you to all the
19:50market. We'll see you again. Jim? All right. Thanks, Larry. Got to teach Luis Sito to thank
19:56HBO when he does that. So suppose we can make it, uh, Prince Nassim Hamed against this guy,
20:02Luis Sito Espinoza. What do you think, Roy? Woo. What a fight that would be. Uh, you don't
20:07have to pay to get in. No, I don't. I'm very, uh, grateful for that. Uh, I think the problem
20:11would be, can the Prince deal with somebody who's patient enough to not go for all his antics,
20:17for all the things that he do to throw people off? This guy has been around for a little while.
20:21This guy's not gonna go for that stuff. He's gonna be right there waiting to counter when he does
20:25catch the Prince off guard. So that would be a very interesting fight if the Prince is willing to take
20:31the chance. Let's hope. It would be quite a war to see. All right. Well, we'll have a final word on
20:37what... Oh, wait a minute. Larry's standing by with Kennedy McKinney. My fault. Larry? Jim, thank you.
20:43Kennedy? Yes. Was he just too big and strong for you? I think so. I think that was the key. He was,
20:48uh, he was, he was a lot stronger than I anticipated. He was a lot stronger than I anticipated.
20:53You generally visualize fights, and in visualizing this fight, you kept thinking of the left hook and how you
20:58were gonna bait him into something so that you could land the right hand. But it was his right
21:03hand that did the damage. No, not... To be honest with you, it was the left hook that did the damage.
21:07He, uh, he had an exceptionally good left hook. I thought I had worked on trying to get away from
21:13that left hook, but I was wrong. I don't take anything away from the kid. He's just a tad bit bigger. I
21:17mean, this is my first fight at featherweight, and I lost. But, you know, I'll be back at 22. I'm just not a
21:23featherweight. I'm not a full-blown featherweight. And, uh, I can't take anything away from Lucito.
21:28He fought a good fight. He did what he had to do to win. All right, let's take a look at the knockdowns
21:32and see what happened here in round one. Describe what you see.
21:39That was just a big looping right hand, it seemed, Kennedy. Well, in, in, in my training, on the
21:44takes, I watched him. He didn't throw a right hand at all. He threw a pretty decent left hook. And that was
21:49my thing was to try to make sure don't hit him with the hook. Don't hit me with the hook. But,
21:54hey, I just got kind of careless. And I didn't, I over, I over, underestimated his power in the,
22:00in the previous fight. And I'm a feather, I'm a junior featherweight. I'm not a fully blown featherweight.
22:03I take nothing away from Lucito. It was a good fight. But he's a featherweight and I'm a junior featherweight.
22:09Thank you very much. You're a senior with us. Hey, listen, I'd like to thank and say hi to
22:13everybody in Memphis, Tennessee. And I'm sorry I didn't win this one. But you better believe my mom,
22:17my, my mom, my grandfather, everybody back home, my old coach Bevo, to the mayor, HBO, to everybody.
22:23I, I mean, I, I thank you all. But like I said, I'll be back. This is my very first, uh, loss as a,
22:29of the knockout loss. And Jim, I will be back. Larry, I mean, not Jim, Larry. Sorry. All right,
22:35Kennedy. Thank you very much. Thank you. Jim. Thank you, Larry. Thank you, Kennedy. We'll have a final
22:40word on what happened in these two explosive bouts in just a moment. Let's look ahead to some upcoming
22:44programs now, right here on HBO. Somewhere in deep space.
22:51This was very, very hard to come by. A secret government project. Whatever you got going on
22:57here ain't exactly approved by Carver. And a legend from the past. Mel and Ripley died trying to wipe
23:03this species out. Create an unholy union. Doing good. You're a thing, a construct. They grew you in a lab.
23:11Where is it? Is it on the ship? I mean, my baby. Sigourney Weaver. I can feel it.
23:21I can hear it moving. When I'm arriving. She's not human.
23:28Alien Resurrection. Premiere Saturday, December 5th on HBO.
23:32He was a hero. He was a champion. He was even the greatest to the greatest. But was there a dark
23:41side? A man that no one really knew? In December, Sports of the 20th Century takes a riveting look at
23:48the bright lights and dark shadows of one of boxing's most celebrated stars, Sugar Ray Robinson.
23:55He was an American original, a genius at his art form. And there was a tragic dark side as there
24:03are to almost all geniuses. Sugar Ray Robinson, the bright lights and dark shadows of a champion.
24:10Premieres Tuesday, December 8th on HBO.
24:14Also in December, HBO Sports presents two consecutive weeks of World Championship
24:18boxing. Beginning December 12th, the anticipated rematch between Ivan Robinson and Arturo Gatti
24:23and Yuri Boy Campos defending his junior middleweight crown against rising star Fernando Vargas.
24:28And then one week later on the 19th, a heavyweight matchup between David Tua and Hasim Rahman,
24:33along with a super featherweight championship bout between title holder Floyd Mayweather Jr.
24:38and Angel Manfredi. And Tonde turned HBO for the show The Pros Watch inside the NFL.
24:43As hosts Lynn Dawson, Nick Bonacani, Chris Collinsworth and Jerry Glanville take a complete
24:47look back and the first look ahead at all the action throughout the NFL. It premieres Thursdays
24:51at 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time. Tonight in Indio in the California desert at 140 pounds,
24:58Hasta Zoo of Australia, originally from Russia, went down twice in the first round against Cuban
25:04Diavelis Hurtado and then came back to dominate Hurtado over the ensuing rounds en route to a fifth
25:09round technical knockout. He'll fight Miguel Angel Gonzalez in the spring.
25:15And then after Sue's conquest of Hurtado, Kennedy McKinney entered the ring looking to make a mark
25:20at 126 against Luisito Espinoza, but a fast starting Espinoza knocked McKinney down in the first round
25:27and then blew him away in the second round. Big right hands setting up the surprisingly easy technical
25:35knockout for Luisito Espinoza. Coming up immediately following tonight's coverage of Boxing After Dark,
25:40stay tuned for HBO Comedy Half Hour, Dave Chappelle, followed by The Chris Rock Show. Terrific
25:45edition of that show. So now for Larry Merchant, Roy Jones and Harold Lederman. I'm Jim Lampley
25:50saying so long from the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
25:55The executive producer of HBO Sports is Ross Greenberg. Tonight's telecast, Boxing After Dark,
26:03was produced by Rick Bernstein and directed by Mark Payton. The associate producers were Thomas
26:07Oedelfeld and Max Siegel, assistant to the producer. The busiest woman in sports TV, Lisa Bennett and
26:14Matt Boland. Production manager was Mark Hayden and the technical supervisor, Bob Hunter.
26:19The
26:30show
26:33the show
26:37the show
26:39the show
26:41the show
26:49This has been a presentation of HBO Sports,
27:09the network of champions.
27:11All great performances demand an encore.
27:21Arturo Gutti and Ivan Robinson.
27:24They trade, and they trade, and they trade again.
27:27Now the stage is set for revenge.
27:29Oh, what drama!
27:30Robinson Gutti 2 Plus Campus vs Vargas.
27:33Live, Saturday, December 12th on HBO.
Comments