On paper, it was a comfortable victory. Inside the ring, it was less convincing.
Carrington controlled much of the fight with his jab, movement and combination punching, keeping Palacios at the end of his punches for long stretches. The unbeaten challenger had difficulty applying sustained pressure, allowing Carrington to dictate the pace over most of the 12 rounds.
The champion still had several uncomfortable moments.
In the eighth round, Carrington went down from a right hand that landed to the side of his head. Referee Harvey Dock ruled it a slip after Carrington immediately protested that he had been hit behind the head, but replay angles appeared to show the punch landed legally. Had it been ruled a knockdown, the scorecards would have been considerably closer.
Palacios also had his best success in the 11th round, landing two left hands upstairs before digging a hard left to the body that forced Carrington to bend over and hold. It was one of the few times in the fight that the champion looked genuinely hurt.
Carrington recovered to finish the bout strongly, but the performance stopped short of the type of statement many expected.
The Brooklyn native has repeatedly expressed interest in facing undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue if the Japanese star moves up to featherweight. Saturday’s performance is unlikely to increase demand for that fight or strengthen Carrington’s argument that he is the division’s No. 1 featherweight.
Instead of a dominant title defense against a late replacement challenger, Carrington delivered a professional but uneven performance that left questions unanswered. He retained his belt and remained unbeaten, but he did little to separate himself from the rest of the contenders at 126 pounds or build momentum toward the marquee fights he has been seeking.
Before the fight, Carrington made it clear he wanted WBO champion Rafael Espinoza next. After Saturday’s performance, many fans still want the fight, but for a different reason. Social media quickly filled with posts urging Top Rank to “feed him to Espinoza,” reflecting the view that Espinoza, widely regarded by many as the best featherweight in the division, would be a difficult assignment for Carrington based on what he showed against Palacios. Top Rank may not share that urgency after a title defense that did little to raise Carrington’s stock.
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