On 3-19, Sechew Powell got revenge. Powell (now 26-2) beat Deandre Latimore over 12 rounds with a Majority Decision. The fight was a rematch of a July 2008 battle that saw Sechew get knocked out for the only time in his career, a seventh round TKO. But now Powell has the upper hand and the latest victory between the two. Judge David Sutherland had it 117-111, Judge Chris Flores had it 114-114, and Judge: Gerald Ritter saw it 116-112 in Powell “The Iron Horse”‘s favor.

In the Latimore rematch, Sechew found a home for the jab about midway through the fight and outlanded Latimore 69-20 for the final 6 rounds with it. Deandre actually gave a very busy effort, averaging 67 punches per round, but landed fewer than 20% of those shots. Sechew’s defense was certainly better than in their first bout, 21 months ago. Powell scored with 27% of his jabs and 32% of his power punches, soundly out-performing Deandre in every category.

Deandre actually took the early rounds, solely through a heavier attack and controlling the tempo. He even pinned Powell in the corner a couple times and tried to pound out some points. At one point in the fourth he knocked Powell’s mouthpiece right out of his mouth. His agression didn’t pay off though, since he landed very few of the shots after that.

Finally, Powell started picking Deandre apart with counter uppercuts and by working the body on the inside. Then, when he slowed Latimore down some, he was able to stick to his gameplan and score with right hooks and sharp jabs to finish off the night. He opened a cut over Latimore’s right eye which began to swell. And when the 12th came around, Sechew felt he was up on the cards and played it safe, backing off the whole round. Latimore didn’t try hard enough to catch Sechew and eventually payed the price, losing the MD.

The fight was an IBF Light Middleweight Title Eliminator, and for the 30 year old Powell might be the last, best shot at a belt. He now awaits the winner of the Cory Spinks vs Cornelius Bundrage fight (Spinks has the title), and hopes to lift that belt for himself in a showdown with the champ. Unfortunately, the Spinks vs Bundrage fight has been postponed due to contract conflicts from Don King (shocking!) and the ESPN2 network.

In the undercard, Edwin Rodriguez served up a knockout in round 1 of George Armenta, and Prenice Brewer
earned a UD over 6 rounds against Christopher Fernandez.

1. Powell will try again against Latimore tonight on FNF