Spinks holds on against Karmazin for IBF title

ST. LOUIS – Cory Spinks got a majority decision over Roman Karmazin to capture the International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title Saturday night.

Both fighters came out in the 12th and final round as though neither was certain who was leading the bout. Spinks avoided action, and it might have made the difference. Two judges had him winning 115-113. The third judge had the bout even, 113-113.

Spinks, the son of former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, struggled from rounds six to 10, when Karmazin landed several good shots. Karmazin got his best punch in with about 30 seconds left in the 10th round. The right-cross to the side of Spinks’ head stunned the left-hander, who hung on to get into the 11th.

Despite the several hard shots Karmazin landed, Spinks got in enough punches to stay close in the scoring.

It was the first bout for the 28-year-old Spinks since a disastrous fight Feb. 5, 2005, when he relinquished his three welterweight belts to Zab Judah in front of 22,000 hometown fans in the Savvis Center.

Judah scored a technical knockout in the ninth round and dominated Spinks, who struggled to drop enough weight to qualify for the bout and boxed lethargically for most of the event.

The 33-year-old Karmazin, of St. Petersburg, Russia, last fought July 14, 2005, when he captured the IBF junior middleweight championship in an unanimous decision over Kassim Ouma. Saturday marked his first title defense and only his fifth bout in the United States.

Though Spinks made his return in his hometown, the announced attendance was only 12,018.