Mike McCallum piled up points early and withstood a furious finish by Irish Steve Collins to retain the World Boxing Association middleweight championship with a 12-round unanimous decision in Boston.
McCallum improved his record to 37-1 with his first successful defense of the title he won in London with a decision over Herol Graham last May. But he was unable to add Collins, a 3-1 underdog, to his string of 31 knockout victims.Collins, a Dublin electrician now living in the Boston area, surprised everyone with his endurance and ability in the nationally televised bout.
McCallum, a former junior middleweight champion, weighed 159, while Collins was at the 160-pound limit.
Nicasio Drake of Panama had McCallum ahead 118-110, while Lynne Carter of New Jersey and Charles Williams of Canada had it 117-111.
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At Atlantic City, N.J., Pernell Whitaker retained his IBF and WBC lightweight titles Saturday night, using a steady attack of left hooks to pound out a unanimous 12-round decision over a game Freddie Pendleton.
Whitaker, a southpaw, established his left hook early in the fight and never abandoned it as his primary means of attack.
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Also at Atlantic City, N.J., Michael Moorer bloodied Marcellus Allen's mouth and nose in the ninth round, stopping his challenger and retaining his World Boxing Organization (WBO) light heavyweight title Saturday night.
The 22-year-old Moorer now is 19-0 with 19 knockouts, although this one took him longer than any of the others.