Carolina Duer demolishes Aline Scaranello in seven to grab IBF interim title
By Diego Morilla
QUILMES, Argentina – Making a statement in her quest to become a three-time titlist, former WBO super flyweight and bantamweight champ Carolina Duer improved her mark to 19-3-1 (6KO) with a progressive demolition in seven rounds over Brazil’s Aline Scaranello (10-5, 8 KO) on Friday night, punctuated by a highlight-reel knockdown in the seventh round that will certainly encourage Duer to take on bigger and better challenges in the near future.
In her second fight since her return to action after a 16-month maternity leave, Duer picked a tough challenger for a bout in which an inconsequential interim title was at stake. Honoring the take-no-prisoners approach that defines every confrontation between Brazil and Argentina, Scaranello stormed out of the gates to take the first round in decisive fashion, burying the momentarily beleaguered Duer under a barrage of punches and giving a terrific account of her toughness in spite of her modest talents.
Soon enough, Duer jumped right into the action, slowly growing into the fight and making use of her better mobility and her superior boxing skills. After a disputed second round in which she barely managed to win the scorecards with a few well-timed combinations, Duer managed the rest of the bout with authority and resolution, scoring accurately and repeatedly against the rugged Brazilian challenger.
Scaranello made it her business to let Duer know that she could take any punishment Duer may have been able to muster, and from the fifth round on that’s all Scaranello did: stand in front of Duer acting tough and walk through solid left hooks and crosses as if nothing could ever affect her.
The realization that Scaranello was wrong in her appreciation of her own toughness came towards the end of the seventh round in the form of a thundering left hook that landed on the right side of her face with the force of a ramming log. Scaranello fell backwards to the canvas and that marked the beginning of the end for her, as only a few seconds later her corner tossed in the towel to request a technical stoppage, which the referee granted just as the bell was about the be rang to mark the end of the episode.
Previously, an interesting clash of unbeaten young fighters had former WSB participant and decorated amateur Junior Zarate (4-0, 2 KO) scoring a decisive win over Matias Monserrat (6-1-1, 2 KO) but not without suffering a scary knockdown in the sixth and final scheduled round of the bout. Zarate led comfortably with his superior boxing skills against the unrefined and wild-swinging Monserrat, who landed a Hail Mary left uppercut as the fight was coming to a close, sending Zarate to the canvas in demolishing fashion. Zarate got up to finish the job and grabbed a unanimous decision to keep his professional unbeaten streak alive.