Monty Meza Clay scored a sixth round tko win over Pasqual “tiger” Rouse last night in an exciting featherweight bout at the Southpointe Iceoplex in Canonsburg, Pa. Rouse started out fast as both fighters looked to mix it up from the opening bell. It appeared the tiger’s fight plan was to get off first in an effort to neutralize the constant pressure that Meza-Clay applies, and for a short while it was successful.Rouse landed straight right leads several times, while Meza-Clay was content to attack the body of Rouse. The first round ended with two hard rights from Rouse to the head of Meza-Clay..
The second round saw Meza-Clay step up the pressure and quicken the pace as he opened the round with a barrage of punches. Constantly pressing the action, Meza-Clay began landing his trademark left hook, both to the body and head of Rouse. Rouse had difficulty handling the pace of the fight and began the third round swinging for the fences with every punch, sensing he would not be able to handle ten rounds being fought in this manner. He managed to back up Meza-Clay several times in the early stages of the round, but Meza-Clay was able to swing the momentum back in his favor by landing crisp body punches and short uppercuts.
Feeling the heat from the heavy pressure being applied, Rouse began backing up and using his jab more to try and change the flow of the fight. This strategy was unsuccessful as Meza-Clay walked right thru the jabs and dominated the fifth round with an impressive body attack. The power shots began slowing down Rouse as his offense was reduced to taking potshots during the few times Meza-Clay stopped punching.
At this point Rouse was absorbing a lot of punishment and Meza-Clay began the sixth round by snapping back the head of Rouse with hard right hands. Following up with a complete arsenal of punches, Meza-Clay landed a clean left hook to the Rouse’s head; wobbling him in the center of the ring. Immediately Meza -Clay was all over Rouse, backing him into the corner where he scored with about eight unanswered punches and Rouse dropped to the canvas and the referee didn’t even bother to count, waving off the fight at 1:53 of the sixth round. It was an impressive and entertaining win for Meza-Clay, who is threatening to crack the top ten in most of the super featherweight governing bodies. He now moves to 26-1 with 17 knockouts.
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