Boxing: Lindenmuth loses by TKO; Moreu Jr. wins big

Bosque Farms’ Katherine Lindenmuth, game to the last but near-defenseless in the face of Brook Sibrian’s relentless assault, lost by seventh-round TKO on a professional boxing card Saturday in San Jacinto, California.

Earlier in the evening in Nashville, Tenn., Albuquerque’s Yoruba Moreu Jr. made a smashing pro debut — flooring Ndira Spearman seven times en route to a victory by second-round TKO.

In San Jacinto, Lindenmuth (7-5, three knockouts) found herself in with a more polished boxer and a more powerful puncher in Sibrian (8-2, four KOs).

Lindenmuth, who weighed in on Friday at 104.2 pounds, was her typical aggressive self and landed her share of blows. But she progressively ate more and more leather from Sibrian. The Coachella, California boxer proved to be a more destructive puncher than Kim Clavel, a former world champion in a heavier weight class, with whom Lindenmuth had gone 10 hard rounds in losing by unanimous decision in May 2024 in Montreal.

Saturday, for the first time, Lindenmuth was stopped short of the prescribed distance — eight rounds in this case. Referee Ray Armendariz stepped in to halt the entertaining but one-sided contest at 53 seconds of the seventh.

In Nashville, Moreu might have set a modern pro boxing record with his seven knockdowns in less than five minutes of boxing.

Contrary to the belief of many, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ uniform rules for boxing do not include a three-knockdown rule.

Thus, when the hapless Spearman (1-17) got to his feet after knockdown No. 4 in the first round, the onslaught continued. After knockdown No. 5, Spearman got up again. More of the same.

The end finally came at the 1:45 mark in the second after a short Moreu right hook dropped Spearman for a seventh time.

Moreu, a southpaw (as is Spearman, not that it mattered) made particularly good use of his right hook but was effective with both hands and did punishing work to the body as well as to the head.

In the ring afterward, Moreu, 20, said he felt his timing was a bit off in his first pro fight using eight-ounce gloves rather than the more padded gloves he wore during his long and successful amateur career. But, he added, “I loved how it felt. I can’t wait to get going again.”

Moreu weighed in on Friday at 121 pounds, Spearman at 121.8.