Pier Olivier Cote vs Aris Ambriz

We’re live on Showtime Extreme for the undercard of tonight’s Pacquiao vs Mosley bout at the MGM in Las Vegas. First up is an 8 round super lightweight contest between Canadian prospect Pier Olivier Cote and Aris Ambriz (15-1-1, 8 KOs) of Azusa, Calif.

Cote looked impressive through the first round, showing off power and enough quickness to land his lead right hand. We pick up the action the second round:

Round 2: Cote uses the jab mostly as a rangefinder before exploding with his right hand. Ambriz’ left eye is already marked up a bit but he’s trying to use his jab to stay at a distance. Cote unleahes a left-right combination and forces Ambriz to take a seat on the canvas.

Aside from his jab every punch Cote throws comes with band intentions. He has excellent handspeed and brings the left-right combinations in rapid succession. Any trainer would love how he always follows up his big power shots with the other hand. Ambriz looks to be clearly over-matched in terms of both speed and power.

Round 3: Cote’s jab is more a formality than anything. He pokes it out there slightly and then comes immediately with the thunderous right. He pulls the same move twice to start the fourth round and the ref steps in to put an end to the beating. This was clearly a mismatch and Weeks had seen enough to know Ambriz was outclassed.

Referee Tony Weeks calls the fight on account of accumulation of blows at 46 seconds of Round 3. Cote, now (16-0, 11 KOs), is clearly one to watch. Sadly few people beyond fight writers would have caught this sensational U.S. debut.