Even after struggling to make weight the day before, Maurice Hooker had little trouble outboxing Mikkel LesPierre.
In the co-main event of a Matchroom Boxing USA on DAZN card from Verona, New York, Hooker defeated LesPierre by unanimous decision (119-108, 120-107, 118-109) to retain the WBO junior welterweight title. The fight was Hooker's second world title defense since winning the belt in 2018.
It was a mostly easy fight for Hooker as he used his long reach and power to take over from the start. Early in the fifth round, Hooker appeared to have knocked down LesPierre with a right hook, but the referee then ruled it was a slip and not a knockdown. Hooker unleashed a flurry of punches at the end of the round thanks to another right hand that hurt LesPierre. Later in the fight, Hooker would get his knockdown in the ninth round thanks to a combination of body shots to the challenger. LesPierre barely beat the 10-count but was unable to do anything against the champion.
During the weigh-ins the day prior, Hooker initially weighed in at 140.5 lbs. He was given two hours to loss the extra half-pound and after struggling mightily to lose the weight, Hooker was successful in making the 140-pound limit.
Now that Hooker got the win against LesPierre, he can start focusing on a homecoming fight in Dallas later this year. Hooker told Fightful during fight week that the plan is to defend his title in Dallas in June, but that depends on how long the fight against LesPierre would take and how he feels physically. Hooker also stated his interest in unifying against WBC champion Jose Ramirez.
The main event bout of the DAZN card saw Dmitry Bivol retain his WBA light heavyweight title against Joe Smith Jr.
