Souleymane Cissokho (17-0, 9 KO’s) claimed the WBC Silver welterweight title, overcoming a strong start by Mexican, Isaias Lucero (16-2, 10 KO’s), to earn a hard fought unanimous decision.
Make no mistake, Lucero was in Monaco as the opponent but the Tijuana resident wasted little time in making his presence felt. He shook Cissokho with a right hand barely a minute into the fight and when the Frenchman landed a right uppercut of his own, Lucero answered instantly with another crisp left hook that song Cissokho.
Cissokho, 32, was making just his second appearance at welterweight having spent most of his career at junior middleweight and looked vulnerable to Lucero’s power. Things changed very quickly in the second. Cissokho really committed to the jab and then put a stunning right hand on the end of one. Lucero walked directly into the shot and went down heavily. The momentum changed instantly and Lucero suddenly looked the fighter under threat.
Battle lines were drawn. Damaged around the right eye, Lucero refused to take a step back and both fighters appeared dangerous and susceptible in equal measure. Cissokho would whip Lucero’s head back with his right hand while the Mexican’s shots would thud home. It was a high intensity action fight with both fighters best route to victory also making them vulnerable.
Things began to settle down in the fourth. Cissokho – just a little looser and more active – seemed comfortable to stay in front of Lucero whilst the Mexican began to give a little ground. Both fighters were looking for an opening for a potentially fight ending right hand.
Cissokho found his groove in the fifth, mixing in more movement and utilizing his better footwork. Lucero – now bleeding from the nose and cut over the left eye – struggled to find an answer for the speed and variety Cissokho was using.
If Cissokho was taken by surprise by Lucero early on, he appeared to have solved the problem by round six. Lucero had other ideas. Realizing he needed to change things, he managed to get his feet a couple of inches closer and pressed Cissokho in the seventh. Nothing particularly clean landed and he still walked into a couple of counter punches but Lucero at least managed to make Cissokho work much harder for his success.
Normal business was resumed in the eighth and ninth with Lucero attempting to walk down Cissokho but just being unable to sustain his attacks. Cissokho seemed to have drawn much of the Mexican’s sting and looked comfortable.
Lucero bravely pressed forward and landed his best punch for a number of rounds halfway through the tenth but, again, he was just unable to follow up effectively. Realizing that Lucero would carry a threat until the final bell, Cissokho was happy to coast to the end of the fight, jabbing, moving and keeping Lucero off balance.
The judges scored the fight 118-109, 118-109 and 117-110 in Cissokho’s favor.