Spence vs. Porter prelim results: Benavidez wins bloody battle

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

Get full results of the Spence vs. Porter prelims here, including David Benavidez defeating Anthony Dirrell in a bloody fight.

Boxing’s big event of the week is the Errol Spence, Jr. vs. Shawn Porter PPV. Before the main event, here’s a look at the results and highlights from the three fight PPV undercard:

David Benavidez def. Anthony Dirrell, TKO (Round 9, 1:39)

For the first 5 rounds, Anthony Dirrell vs. David Benavidez was a largely back and forth fight, with neither man really asserting his dominance. In round 6, Benavidez landed a punch that opened up a serious cut on the right eyelid of Dirrell and that cut defined the remainder of the fight. A more confident and deliberate Benavidez dominated in the 7th, while Dirrell, knowing he was potentially on borrowed time came out swinging and aggressive in the 8th. By the end of round 8, Benavidez was back in charge, really going after the eye. Round 9 was a vicious attack from Benavidez, working the body and pushing Dirrell around the ring until the corner stopped the fight. With the win, Benavidez reclaims the WBC Super Middleweight title that he was stripped of last year.

Mario Barrios def. Batyr Akhmedov, UD (114-112, 115-111, 116-111)

Mario Barrios and Batyr Akhmedov both came into this fight undefeated, and both men came to win, but in the end, Barrios is the one who keeps his perfect record. Barrios started strong, and with a 4th round knockdown he looked on his way to a somewhat easy win. But even before the 4th was over, Akhmedov had made his comeback, and he kept it going as the fight progressed, controlling the second half of the fight by walking Barrios down and landing good combinations. He looked to be on the cusp for victory, then in the final 30 seconds, fell victim to a perfect right hand down the pipe from Barrios, with Akhmedov again hitting the mat. He made it back up to see the final bell, but the two knockdowns were too much for him to overcome on the scorecards.

Josesito Lopez def. John Molina, TKO (Round 8, 0:39)

Josesito Lopez came out firing for this one. Within the first 30 seconds of the fight, Lopez had the historically tough Molina on the mat. Molina made it to his feet, but was dropped again by a nasty liver shot at the end of the round. He just barely made it to his feet and was clearly wobbled, and honestly, the fight should have been over right there, but the referee allowed it to continue. As the fight progressed, Molina managed to slow the pace down in order to stop the onslaught, but he remained outboxed throughout. In the 7th, Lopez put him down again, and at the end of the round it looked like the fight would be stopped, but Molina was allowed back out there for round 8. Quickly, Lopez unloaded, and the referee finally had seen enough and called it off.