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Rumblin’ in Rosarito: Moreu Jr., Grachev win
Published
Modified
In Rosarito, Mexico, Albuquerque boxers Yoruba Moreu Jr. and Leonid Grachev won their bouts Saturday night on a pro card at the Auditorio Ernesto Rufo.
First, Moreu scored his second impressive stoppage in as many bouts at the outset of his pro career, defeating Mexico’s Bernardo Solis by third-round KO in a super bantamweight (122-pound) bout scheduled for four rounds.
Later, Grachev defeated Mexico’s Isaac Jesús Juárez by unanimous decision in a four-round heavyweight bout.
Solis (2-2, no KOs) clearly presented more of a challenge for Moreu (2-0, two KOs) than did the Albuquerque southpaw’s first opponent, Ndira Spearman (1-17). But after a relatively even first round, Moreu appeared to hurt or stun Solis with everything he landed in the second.
Late in the second, Moreu dropped Solis with a body shot. Solis, of Ensenada, down the road from Rosarito in Baja California, got up at the count of eight and survived the round.
In the third, Moreu floored Solis with a punch in the area of the solar plexus. Whether Solis couldn’t get to his feet or opted not to, he was counted out.
Grachev (6-0-2, two KOs), literally a head taller than Juárez (1-3-1), had his hands full with the aggressive Tijuana fighter. But the Russian-born heavyweight, fighting for the first time since November 2023, landed the cleaner shots throughout the four rounds.
“I was looking for the KO and was throwing a lot of right hands,” Grachev posted on Instagram, “but the dude had a hard head.”
