PRINCE SLUGS HIS KNOCKOUT WITH BAD BRUISES

Reported by: Patrick Ryan

 This showdown between Prince Naseem Hamed and Augie Sanchez was no fight….it was a slug fest. It wasn’t a pleasant fight as both fighters continually bleed and slipped due to hard punchers.

 Prince came out with his usual fire display and rap music in the background, leaving Augie and the crowd waiting anxiously for Prince to enter the ring.

 Sanchez’s swiftness forced confident Prince to start with his guard half down.  Neither fighters received any big blows in the first found.  In the second round however, Augie had Naseem down with a two right-hand jabs to the chin.  Prince got up strait away and continued to keep his guard down while he was hurt.  From that point onwards, the fight became a slug fest.  Augie Sanchez was starting to get the better of the Prince, but he also got his fair share of big hits. 

Hamed’s strong punches caused Augie to frequently slip, but none were counted as knockdowns.  Prince illegally held onto the ropes to stop a knockdown and was not penalised.  However, his dirty tactics did not go unpunished when he lost one point for hitting Augie who was down after slipping.  At the beginning of round four, both fighters were equally bruised and hurt.  With only thirty seconds before the bell, Prince landed a right hook middleweight hardness punch that made Augie see stars.  Prince followed the punch strait after with a left hook and another right.  The fight was stopped immediately with the referee not even giving Augie a count.

  Special medical attention was instantly delivered to the very severely hurt Augie Sanchez who laid in the ring motionless.  He was soon taken out of the ring in a stretcher, accompanied with an oxygen mask.  Before the official seconds were announced, Michael Buffer announced Augie’s was awake and breathing fine.  The official seconds for the knockdown were 2:30 of round four.  Prince retains his WBO Featherweight Title belt. 

 Other fights of the day included the under card match with Antonio Diaz and Micky Ward (10 round junior welterweights match) proved to be a very entertaining fight.  Diaz took a small margined unanimous decision.  The other undercard fight saw Agapito Sanchez win with a unanimous decision over a taller Juan Carlos Remirez. (10 round Featherweight match).