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Victor Terrazas came to fight tonight, but maybe he shouldn't have. Terrazas was outgunned by Leo Santa Cruz, who threw 267 punches in two and a half rounds to stop the defending WBC super bantamweight titleholder by stoppage, busting up Terrazas' eye and putting him on the canvas twice.
Santa Cruz (25-0-1, 15 KO) was his usual punch machine self, obviously, and Terrazas (37-3-1, 21 KO) didn't back down from the fight, in part because, perhaps, he really had no choice but to stand and fight with a guy who just doesn't stop coming forward, throwing punches.
"He's a great fighter, a warrior," said Santa Cruz to Showtime's Jim Gray. "If the fight was going to get tough, it was in the later rounds. I had to finish him fast."
Terrazas' right eye was smashed in the second round, a mouse quickly swelling up and nearly closing his eye. In the third round, Santa Cruz continued to rain down punishment, and Terrazas hit the canvas at about 1:20 of the frame. Not long after, it was over, as Terrazas took a knee under major pressure, then told referee Dr. Lou Moret that he couldn't see out of his eye, which made the stoppage mandatory.
It was a hell of a performance from Santa Cruz, and if there were any doubts remaining going into tonight -- any at all -- at least some of them have to be set aside now. This was a good, quality fighter at 122, and Santa Cruz smashed him like he was Eric Morel or Victor Zaleta.
Our live coverage continues, with the Mares-Gonzalez main event up next.