On This Day in Boxing… June 29
1968.- At the Quisqueya Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Carlos Teo Cruz captured the WBC lightweight title by defeating the legendary Puerto Rican Carlos Ortiz via a 15-round split decision. With this emotional triumph in a toe-to-toe battle, Cruz made history by becoming the first world champion born in the Dominican Republic.
1969.- Cuban-born Mexican resident Jose “Mantequilla” Napoles scored a technical knockout victory over American Curtis Cokes at the start of the 10th round, successfully defending his WBC welterweight title at the Plaza de Toros Mexico in Mexico City. It was a mandatory rematch where Napoles delivered another boxing masterclass, punishing Cokes until his corner decided not to come out for the tenth stanza.
1996.- Undefeated Mexican Ricardo “Finito” Lopez defended his WBC strawweight title by spectacularly knocking out Thailand’s Kitti Chai Preecha in the third round at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. “El Finito” imposed his flawless technique from the opening bell, dropping the challenger in the second round before finishing him off in the next with a lethal combination.
2019.- At the NRG Arena in Houston, Texas, American Jermall Charlo defeated Brandon Adams via unanimous decision after 12 intense rounds. In this bout, which marked Charlo’s return in front of his hometown crowd, the champion comfortably dominated the judges’ scorecards to solidly retain the WBC world middleweight championship.
