Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington dominated Rene Palacios over twelve rounds and won by unanimous decision.
WBC featherweight world champion Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington successfully defended his world title for the first time last night. In the co-main event of the card featuring Abdullah Mason vs. Albert Bell at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, he defeated Rene Palacios by unanimous decision.
Carrington (18-0, 10 KOs) had secured the vacant WBC title in January with a ninth-round technical knockout against Carlos Castro. For Palacios (19-1-1, 10 KOs), it was his first professional loss, coming in the first world title fight of his career. The three judges scored the fight 118–110, 117–111, and 116–112 in favor of the defending champion.
For long stretches, the bout was uneventful. Carrington controlled the action with his precise jab and dictated the pace of the fight. It wasn’t until Palacios landed a body shot that the champion found himself briefly in trouble in the final rounds. Nevertheless, this remained the challenger’s only noteworthy success over the entire twelve rounds.
“A lot of people didn’t want to take a fight against me,” Carrington said after the victory. “We went the full twelve rounds. There were a few rabbit punches here and there, but that’s part of boxing. I finished the fight like a champion. Body shots are part of the business, but I knew I had to keep going and see the fight through to the end.”
“I want to unify the titles. It’s time for the featherweight division to get moving again. I want to face the best boxers in the world.”