Football
Associated Press 21y

Barrera's punch to the gut KO's Leyva

LAS VEGAS -- Miguel Barrera stopped Roberto Leyva with a straight right to the body at 1:07 of the third round to retain his IBF mini-flyweight championship Saturday night.

The fight was a rematch of an Aug. 9 bout in which Barrera took
the title from Leyva. But it was a one-sided match Saturday as
Barrera overwhelmed Leyva with a solid body attack.

"That's the way I like to fight,'' Barrera said. "I put pressure on all the time, and eventually they'll go down. I expected a lot tougher fight, but I'm glad it finished early.''

Shortly after the bell sounded to begin the fight, the 104-pound
Barrera, who's from Colombia, pinned his Mexican opponent to the
ropes, and Leyva couldn't find a way to keep Barrera off him.

Leyva never landed a punch of any consequence, and a shot to the stomach caused him to collapse in the center of the ring. Referee Tony Weeks counted him out as Leyva gasped for air.

"He hit me in the pit of my stomach, and I just couldn't breathe,'' he said. "It took about a minute for me to get my breath back. I'm fine now, but I couldn't get my breath there for a while.''

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