Moncriffe stopped in first round

Veteran middleweight boxer Devon Moncriffe, suffered a shock first-round technical knockout defeat in Canada on October 21 at the hands of a brash young boxer, Ricardo Salas, on the under-card of a six-fight card at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

Promoted by Tyson Buxton, who has developed a good relationship with the Jamaican boxing fraternity through the Wray and Nephew Contender series, the card produced a lot of excitement, and most people in the audience were surprised at the ease with which the 18-year old Salas destroyed Moncriffe.

Salas went into the fight, which was scheduled for six rounds, with a 5-0 record, and four knockout victories to his credit, while Moncriffe boasted a 12-7-1 record, including four knockouts. Moncriffe's first setback was that he turned up at the weigh-in overweight. The bout was slated to be a junior middleweight contest, but he weighed in as a middleweight and had to shed several pounds.

Young Salas is known to be a fast starter, and as the bell sounded, he raced across the ring and attacked a startled Moncriffe. The Jamaican did not react quickly enough to his opponent's aggression and was soon on the canvas. He took the mandatory eight count, and in a flash, Salas was attacking him once more and he went down again.

Moncriffe said his opponent surprised him.

"He came out fast and aggressive and caught me off guard. He really shocked me," the Jamaican admitted. He tried to rally but the damage had been done and when he was floored a third time, the referee called a halt.