Alberto Machado’s Comeback Shock
On October 21, 2017, Alberto Machado recovered from a knockdown and stopped Jezreel Corrales in round eight to win the WBA super-featherweight championship. Two successful defenses followed, but Andrew Cancio knocked Machado out in February and June 2019, ending his title reign and winning their two-fight series.
A comeback win for a title
Machado entered the October 2017 fight with Corrales undefeated and ranked among the leading super-featherweights. The bout’s title status shifted at the weigh-in: Corrales missed the 130-pound limit and was stripped, leaving Machado eligible to win the WBA’s regular championship. Corrales still made the fight dangerous. He dropped Machado early, but the Puerto Rican recovered and stopped him in the eighth round in Verona, New York.
Machado carried the belt through two defenses in 2018. He outpointed Ghana’s Rafael Mensah over 12 rounds, then needed only one round to stop Yuandale Evans. The wins showed two sides of his game: patience over distance when a durable challenger made him work, and the sharp finishing power that had earned him his nickname.
Cancio turned the story around
In February 2019, Cancio absorbed Machado’s early attack and rallied to stop the champion in the fourth round. Machado got an immediate rematch four months later. This time Cancio finished him in the third. The second defeat settled the rivalry and left Machado without the title he had won against Corrales.
Together, the Corrales and Cancio bouts tell more than a simple rise-and-fall story: Machado fought through an early knockdown to become champion, defended with both craft and force, then met an opponent who found a way to change the fight twice.
The Rematches That Ended Machado’s Reign
On February 9, 2019, Cancio weathered a first-round knockdown before stopping Machado in the fourth round at Fantasy Springs in Indio, California. Their June 21 rematch ended even sooner: Cancio knocked out Machado in the third round. The two results confirmed Cancio’s success against a former champion whose reach and early aggression had not been enough to withstand his sustained attacks.
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Sources
- WBA: Corrales misses weight
- WBA Machado stops Corrales to win
- Los Angeles Times: Cancio wins the 2019 rematch
Article Tags
Alberto Machado, Jezreel Corrales, Andrew Cancio, WBA, Super Featherweight Boxing
