Juan Urango vs Randall Bailey

Juan Urango retained the International Boxing Federation junior-welterweight championship after recovering from a severe sixth-round knockdown to stop Randall Bailey in the eleventh round at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, on August 28, 2009. Bailey was floored three times during the champion’s recovery and, with his left eye badly swollen and his strength exhausted, was withdrawn by trainer John David Jackson at 1 minute 51 seconds of the eleventh.

Urango, a 28-year-old Colombian southpaw, entered with 21 victories, two defeats and one draw. He was beginning his second reign as IBF champion, having regained the vacant title by outpointing Herman Ngoudjo seven months earlier. A move to welterweight in May had brought a wide points defeat by WBC champion Andre Berto, after which Urango returned to 140 pounds for his first defence. Bailey, 34, had won 39 of 45 contests and carried one of the division’s most dangerous right hands, accounting for 35 opponents inside the distance. Urango weighed 139 pounds and Bailey 140.

The opening round established the contest’s opposing methods. Urango advanced behind a high guard, pawing with the right jab and looking to bring his heavy left hand into play. Bailey moved around the perimeter and sought room for the straight right. Both men went to the floor from slips, but neither suffered a legitimate knockdown. Urango increased his activity in the second, pressing Bailey towards the ropes and working when he reached close quarters. Bailey remained patient, preferring to wait for a clear opening rather than compete with the champion’s output.

The action became more effective in the third. Urango had success inside, particularly when directing his left hand towards the body, while Bailey used the jab chiefly to obstruct the champion’s vision before driving the right behind it. Urango continued to reduce the distance in the fourth and concentrated heavily upon Bailey’s midsection. Referee Tommy Kimmons warned him for straying low. Bailey circled during the fifth, occasionally stopping to release the right, but Urango maintained the pressure and continued investing in body punches. The challenger’s economy kept him competitive, although it also allowed Urango to collect rounds through greater activity.

The contest changed suddenly in the sixth. Near the first minute, Bailey distracted Urango with the jab and delivered a tremendous straight right to the head. Urango fell heavily onto his back and suffered a cut beneath his right eye from the punch. It was the first recorded knockdown of his professional career. The champion appeared badly shaken and did not regain his feet until the count of nine, but Bailey failed to finish him. His attack remained too dependent upon the right hand, and Urango understood exactly what was coming once the challenger attempted to repeat it. Later in the round, Urango caught Bailey off balance and forced his left glove against the canvas, but Kimmons did not see the contact and no knockdown was awarded.

Swelling developed beneath Urango’s damaged right eye in the seventh, yet his legs had recovered, and he resumed his advance. Bailey continued looking for another decisive right but supplied too little with his left to disguise it. Urango was therefore able to keep his guard prepared for the principal danger while working steadily downstairs. By the eighth, Bailey’s movement had slowed. Urango landed a clean right to the chin and began pressing with greater authority as the challenger found it increasingly difficult to create the distance required for his right cross.

Urango completed the reversal in the ninth. Approximately 45 seconds into the round, he struck Bailey with a heavy left hand to the head and sent him flat onto his back. Bailey remained down until the count of nine and rose with unsteady legs. Urango drove him to the ropes and landed two more lefts before Bailey could escape. A second knockdown followed later in the round when another left caught the challenger while he was poorly balanced. Bailey again rose, but his legs had not recovered when the bell brought temporary relief.

The body attack which Urango had maintained from the opening rounds produced another knockdown in the tenth. A right hook to the ribs folded Bailey and sent him flailing to the floor. He regained his feet at eight but was now fighting chiefly to survive. His left eye was closing, his movement had deteriorated and the right hand which had nearly ended the contest four rounds earlier no longer possessed the same speed or preparation. Urango continued to follow him with both hands but did not abandon his guard in careless pursuit of the finish.

Bailey twice went down from slips during the eleventh and had to be instructed by Kimmons to rise. Neither fall was scored as a knockdown, but they demonstrated how little strength remained in the challenger’s legs. After the second incident, Jackson climbed onto the apron and called for the contest to be stopped. Kimmons accepted the retirement with 1 minute 9 seconds remaining in the round. Bailey had not been placed on the canvas by the final sequence, but his physical condition left no sensible reason for the fight to continue.

At the time of the stoppage, Urango led on all three official cards. Alex Levin had him ahead 96–90, while James Ged O’Connor and Rocky Young each scored it 95–91. The champion improved his record to 22 victories, two defeats and one draw, with 17 wins inside the distance. Bailey fell to 39–7. His right hand had brought him within seconds of winning another world championship, but his limited variation and declining stamina allowed Urango to recover. The champion’s victory rested upon the soundest qualities in his boxing: persistent pressure, a disciplined body attack and the ability to remain composed after absorbing the hardest punch his opponent could deliver. World title.

Randall Bailey was one of those fighters who could be losing every minute and still finish matters with one right hand. He nearly did exactly that in the sixth, dropping Juan Urango heavily and cutting him beneath the eye. Most fighters would not have recovered from a shot like that.

What impressed me was Urango’s discipline afterwards. He did not panic or charge recklessly at Bailey. He kept the guard tight, continued attacking the body and waited for the older man’s legs to slow. Bailey’s problem was that everybody knew what he wanted to throw. His right hand was exceptional, but there was too little jab, hook or uppercut to disguise it.

Once Urango dropped him twice in the ninth, the contest was finished in everything but name. Another body-shot knockdown followed in the tenth before Bailey’s corner stopped it in the eleventh. Urango was limited, but he was strong, brave and properly conditioned. That night, those qualities were enough.