February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Jay Mwamba
Junior welterweight "Irish" Mickey Ward ended a nine-month hiatus with a one-punch KO of Californian Steve Quinonez in the first round of their scheduled 10-round non-title contest at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn., last Friday.
The 35-year-old veteran from Lowell, Mass., connected with a paralyzing left hook to the body with 14 seconds remaining in the round to improve to 36-10 (27 KOs). The victory came in Ward’s record 25th appearance on ESPN and improved his pro ledger to 36-10 with 27 KOs.
"I knew I’d caught him with a good shot, but I honestly didn’t expect it to end that early," Ward said.
"He went down like he was shot," referee Steve Smoger said. "It was the classic shot to the solar plexus. [Quinonez] was paralyzed. I wanted to give him every opportunity, so I gave him a count, but he wasn’t getting up."
Quinonez (23-6-1), who goes by the moniker "The Mongoose," had been given a good account of himself before he was stunned. He was actually dictating the pace and beating the notoriously slow-starting Ward to the punch when he got caught.
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Quinonez turned away from his opponent after the shot had landed, then, in a delayed reaction, sank to the canvas, where he lay doubled over in pain while the ref counted.
Under the unified rules in effect last Friday night, a fighter could not be saved by the bell and Smoger officially counted Quinonez out at 3:03 of the first round.
Ward had landed a similar punch 14 months ago in stopping the previously unbeaten Shea "The Shamrock Express" Neary and capturing the fringe World Boxing Union light welterweight crown in London. He had
fought just once since, dropping a 10-round decision to Antonio Diaz at Foxwoods last August.
"I’m back. I’m ready for anyone," said Ward, who was left mulling retirement after the loss to Diaz.
"Coming in on paper, this was supposed to be a really tough fight because this kid has fought some good fighters and he’s clever.
"He’s not the strongest fighter, but he’s very clever and a good fighter."
On his immediate future, Ward said: "I’m supposed to be fighting in July. I have to stay more busy than I have in the past. As you get holder [you] have to stay more busy. I can’t take [many] layoffs."
And what’s the one big fight out there for him? "The big money fight. That’s all."
"It’s great to win a title, I won a title, but you can’t do nothing without
money. It’s just the name of the game," he added.