Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 24, 1991 TAG: 9102240267
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS LENGTH: Medium
Whitaker won every round on the cards of two ringside judges and lost only one round on a third card in a lackluster fight that had the crowd booing both fighters in the late rounds.
Whitaker appeared to injure his left hand in the middle rounds and used it sparingly from then on. But he had built up such a commanding lead that the injury had no impact on the outcome.
Neither fighter hurt the other, and the only real spark came in the final round, when Whitaker pinned Jones in the corner and pounded him with combinations as the bell sounded.
"I think I hurt my hand on top of the head, but I still kept using it," said Whitaker, who had broken the same hand twice previously. "I think I fractured it."
The fight was overshadowed by the previous bout, which saw Greg Haugen upset Hector Camacho in a 12-round split decision to hand Camacho his first loss and win the World Boxing Organization version of the junior welterweight title.
Haugen, a 7-1 underdog, was aided by a bizarre 12th-round foul that occurred when he refused to touch gloves with Camacho to begin the final round, and Camacho hit him with a quick flurry of punches.
Haugen, won a 12-round split decision by the narrowest of margins, but would have had only a draw had referee Carlos Padilla not taken a point away from Camacho when he got into an altercation with Haugen as the 12th-round started.
Padilla deducted the point after Camacho threw a flurry of punches at Haugen after Haugen refused the referee's orders to touch gloves before beginning fighting in the final round.
An angry Padilla immediately deducted the point as a gleeful Haugen began jumping in around the ring in joy.
Judge Art Lurie scored the fight 114-113 for Haugen while judge Bill McConkey had the challenger winning 114-112. Judge Art Lurie had Camacho ahead 114-112.
The Associated Press had Haugen winning 114-113.
It was the first loss in the decade-long career of Camacho, a three-time champion who had won all 39 of his previous fights.
"I just have to come back now," said Camacho, of Osage Reservation, Fla. "I don't have much to say, you all saw the fight."
Haugen, a former lightweight champion, pressured Camacho continuously throughout the fight, but landed punches only sparingly and never seemed to hurt the champion.
Camacho also had trouble landing his punches, but scored the biggest exchange when he knocked Haugen down with a right hand late in the third round.
Haugen was up immediately as the bell sounded to end the round.
"It was a clean shot, but it didn't hurt me," Haugen said.
Much of the rest of the fight settled into a predictable pattern, with Haugen chasing after Camacho and Camacho using lateral movement and speed to land counters.
"He just wasn't moving well," Haugen said. "After the fourth round I thought he was getting tired."
by CNB