There was little suspense in Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington’s first defense of the WBC featherweight championship. The unbeaten champion delivered a composed, technical performance Saturday night, earning a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Rene Palacios at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland. The bout was featured on the inaugural edition of “The Fight” series, streamed live on DAZN and TNT.
With the victory, Carrington immediately shifted his focus toward a title unification bout.
Carrington (18-0, 10 KOs) showcased his elite boxing skills throughout the 12-round contest, frustrating Palacios with a sharp jab, accurate straight right hands, and slick movement off the back foot.
The Brooklyn native was comfortable fighting with his back near the ropes, consistently making Palacios miss before countering with clean combinations.
The judges reflected Carrington’s dominance, awarding him the fight by scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112. The WBC’s open scoring system showed Carrington comfortably ahead 40-36 on all three scorecards after four rounds and extending his advantage to 79-73 through eight rounds.
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Palacios Has His Moments
Despite trailing throughout the fight, Palacios (19-1-1, 10 KOs) never stopped applying pressure. The Mexican southpaw found success during the middle rounds by attacking Carrington’s body and landing several clean left hands. His strongest stretch came in the seventh round when he connected with multiple power punches upstairs and downstairs.
The fight’s most controversial moment came in the eighth. Palacios appeared to score a knockdown with a right hook, but referee Harvey Dock ruled it a slip after determining the punch landed to the back of Carrington’s head as the champion ducked into the shot.
Palacios made one final push in the championship rounds. Late in the 11th, he hurt Carrington with a pair of crushing left hooks to the liver that briefly slowed the champion and forced him to clinch while moving around the ring.
Needing a knockout entering the final round, Palacios continued pressing the action but couldn’t land the fight-changing shot. Carrington stayed composed, boxed intelligently over the final three minutes, and secured another successful title defense.
Unification Is the Goal
Following the victory, Carrington wasted little time making his intentions known. Rather than pursuing additional voluntary defenses, the WBC champion called for a unification fight against one of the division’s other titleholders.
Ranked No. 3 by The Ring at featherweight, Carrington continues to build momentum as one of boxing’s brightest young champions. With another convincing performance behind him, he now appears ready to chase the biggest fights available in the 126-pound division.
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Robert LaMar is a Deputy Editor for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
