Oquendo stops Etienne in eighth round
By John Reid
LAS VEGAS -- It wasn't expected to end like this. Not Clifford Etienne, the rising heavyweight champion, watching somebody else get his hands raised for a victory against him.
All the plans were contingent on winning. This was his Showtime debut. The $1 million, three-fight deal stipulated that Etienne had to win his first three fights for the network to extend its option for two additional fights.
But Etienne, who is from Baton Rouge, sputtered badly against Fres Oquendo on Friday night. Etienne got knocked down seven times before the bout was stopped 1:37 into the eighth round at the Texas Station Gambling Hall.
The end came after Etienne got blasted with a body-punch combination, and his trainer, J.C. Davis, signaled to referee Jay Nady to stop the fight.
"I was surprised how durable he was," said Etienne, who was taken to a Las Vegas hospital for observation. "I knew he could move, but I didn't think he was that slippery."
It was Etienne's first defeat in 20 fights. Before Friday, Etienne had been knocked down only once -- by James Jones in Biloxi, Miss., last year. Etienne eventually won by a technical knockout in the second round.
But Oquendo knocked Etienne down three times in the first round.
"I think I hurt him with the very first punch that sent him down," Oquendo said. "He never hurt me. No one thought I had a chance. But I was always confident."
Oquendo's first knockdown came from a chopping right that landed on the back of Etienne's head, near his ear.
"I came in with my head down, and he caught me," Etienne said. "I was never hurt. I got back up."
But Etienne went down twice again from rights before the round ended. And in the second round, Etienne made a repeated mistake. He lunged at Oquendo, trying to get inside. Oquendo landed a stinging right, and Etienne went down for the fourth time. The fifth knockdown came in the third, when Etienne got caught again with a right to the head.
Etienne threw punches with his feet not set. Throughout the bout, Etienne was on the defensive. When he was trying to mount an attack, he kept his gloves too low.
Oquendo found the bull's-eye and kept landing strikes to Etienne's head. Etienne went down for the sixth time with less than a minute remaining in the seventh round.
"He got hit," trainer Don Turner said. "He just didn't fight like he normally does. It's a mystery to me."
In 21/2 years, Etienne (19-1) had successfully gone from unranked prospect to heavyweight contender. He was fourth in the World Boxing Council rankings, and in two of his past four fights he had beaten undefeated boxers.
Oquendo entered undefeated, too, at 19-0. Unlike past opponents, Oquendo was able to get around Etienne and keep the fight at the center of the ring. Oquendo was quick and effective. He jabbed and moved away.
Oquendo took advantage of his quickness to glide away when Etienne came inside. Oquendo maneuvered around Etienne as none of the past 19 opponents could.
Etienne, though, stepped up the attack after the fourth round. Perhaps he knew a knockout was needed.
Etienne was visibly shaken, and so was his management team of promoter Leslie Bonano, agent Eddie Sapir and Etienne's father, Clifford Sr.
Bonano wanted to get Etienne a title shot by next year. There were tentative plans for his next fight to be in New Orleans or at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.
Now, Etienne's team must go to Plan B. It will have to put Etienne in more tuneup bouts before he is ready to face more established opponents.
When the new rankings are released next month, Etienne is expected to drop. Oquendo was not ranked among the top 10 in either the WBC, World Boxing Council or International Boxing Federation.
In the main event, David Tua, fighting for the first time since he lost a challenge to heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, knocked down Danell Nicholson in the fifth round, then knocked him out 34 seconds into the sixth. |
