Brinkley sets sights on world title shot with win

RENO - After stopping Sacramento's Otis "Triple OG" Griffin in the 11th round Friday at the Grande Exposition Ballroom in the Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Yerington's Jesse Brinkley provided a glimpse at his near future.

In notching his fourth consecutive stoppage, the 31-year-old Brinkley improved to 30-5 with 21 knockouts and took home the vacant WBC United States National Boxing Championship (USNBC) super middleweight belt.

"I want two more fights and then fight for a world title on HBO," said Brinkley, displaying a pair of battered and swollen hands following his bout with Griffin, 18-3-2 (7). "I have to defend this belt in 90 days and let these heal up a little bit and go back in there."

According to Let's Get It On Promotions matchmaker Chris Middendorf, Brinkley likely earned himself a spot in the WBC's top 12. Middendorf said he would examine a list of prospective USNBC opponents and make a match that satisfied all interested parties.

Following Friday's fight, Brinkley grabbed a microphone and, after thanking the capacity crowd of about 1,800, said he would see them again in three months.

Let's Get It On president Tommie Lane said if he could secure a proper site fee with a local venue, the bout would take place in Reno and possibly be televised.

Brinkley looked to have his most complete performance to date and appears to be entering his prime. He was in very good condition, was able to box relaxed and, whether the action took place on the inside or outside, was able to control the pace of the bout.

"His best asset was how slick he was," Griffin said. "As the bigger guy (Griffin is 6-foot-1, Brinkley 5-10), I wasn't able to find him. He does this Manfredo tuck-style, where he's rolling away from my punches. I couldn't go to the body and could only hit him on top of the head."

Griffin said Brinkley possessed "decent power," adding that he was able to add to it when Griffin stepped into the punch while missing his own, thereby increasing the force of the blow.

Brinkley wobbled Griffin as early as the second, landing a thunderous left to the body as the round ended. Brinkley went back to his corner smiling and thumping his chest with a closed glove.

Brinkley also peppered the ever-forward Griffin with a jab and opened up a small cut over Griffin's left eye with a powerful right hand in the fifth. He said he wanted to "do a James Toney and beat up Griffin off the ropes," but listened to the advice of trainer Peter Manfredo Sr. and took the fight to center ring.

After feeding Griffin a dose of right hands throughout the fight and hurting him in the ninth round with a pair of left-rights, Brinkley landed a lightning left hook that put down his opponent for a seven-count in the 10th.

Griffin wobbled back to his corner and fell victim to Brinkley's early-round assault 24 seconds into the 11th.

For the first time in the history of the weight class, the talent level in the super middleweight division is arguably the deepest in boxing. And if undisputed champion Joe Calzaghe is successful in his light heavyweight bout against Bernard Hopkins on April 19 and elects to stay at 175 pounds, some smart matchmaking - and some more wins by Brinkley - could earn the marketable fighter a title shot within a year.

DONAIRE RISING

Glenn Donaire, who scored a bloody eight-round decision over Jose Albuquerque to avenge a six-round draw in 2006, is also looking ahead to a future title shot, this one in the light flyweight division.

The 28-year-old Donaire, of San Leandro, Calif., improved to 17-3-1 (9) with the victory. Once ranked No. 2 by the IBF at flyweight, Donaire finds himself in a lightly populated 108-pound division, in which boxrec.com lists only 393 boxers.

The 32-year-old Albuquerque, now 8-3-2 (2), was a 2000 Olympian for his native Brazil, but even though he brought some good pressure, the slick and hard-punching Donaire never let him into the fight.

"[Albuquerque] changed his style on me [from their first meeting]," Donaire said. "He never hurt me. He's not a big puncher."

Albuquerque did get Donaire's attention with a fourth-round headbutt, which opened a large gash high on Albuquerque's forehead and a small cut over Donaire's left eye.

"It dazed me. I saw stars," Donaire said of the clash of heads, which left both fighters smeared in blood. "He's got a hard head. He played a lot of dirty tricks on me - he hit me low every round."

Referee Pat Schellin warned Albuquerque several times for various infractions.

Donaire said the win should earn him a world ranking at 108 pounds, a division where he said he could once again live up to his nickname of "The Filipino Bomber."

"It wasn't an easy fight - he's an Olympian," Donaire said. "When I got out there, I didn't want to just box, box, box. He's a clever guy. His last two losses, he got cheated."

Donaire showed no ill effects after suffering a broken jaw in his last bout in October 2006 against then IBF flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan.

Glenn's brother, Nonito Donaire, who subsequently knocked out Darchinyan for the IBF title, was ringside to support his brother.

HINKEYS SPLIT

McDermitt brothers Tyler and Derek Hinkey each engaged in four-round bouts on the undercard, with varying degrees of success.

While Tyler, who came in at a career-low 246 pounds, stopped his 220-pound opponent, Travis Biechler, in the first round, Derek found himself on the other end of a stoppage.

Former Oakland Raiders cornerback Tony Hirsch was able to find a home for his right hand throughout his middleweight contest with Hinkey before scoring a stunning knockout in the fourth round.

Hirsch, 4-1 (2), was shaken by a Hinkey left hook to the body to open the final round, but responded with a devastating right hand that dropped his shocked opponent. Hinkey got up right away, but another right hand put him down again and referee Vic Drakulich waved off the fight without a count 55 seconds into the round.

"They thought they'd catch me off-guard on two days' notice," said Hirsch, who replaced Cromwell Gordon after he dropped out of the bout with a reported jaw injury. "They slept on me this time. Let them keep sleeping on me. He never hurt me all night. They were talking about his power all this week. He hit me, but he never hurt me. He played too much. You can't play with me like that."

The 27-year-old Hinkey carried his left hand low throughout the bout, relying on his speed and head movement to try and slip Hirsch's punches.

"Derek kept stepping to [Hirsch's] power," said Hinkey's trainer, Kenny Adams. "I asked him to move to his right, away from his power. From the first round on, it was a problem.

"Derek has to go back to the gym and back to the drawing board. It's not a setback. It's something that happens. It's all in how he responds to it."

Hinkey fell to 4-1 (4).

The 25-year-old Tyler, meanwhile, improved to 2-0-1 (2) with his first-round mugging of Biechler, whom he dropped twice in stopping him at 2:41 of the opening canto.

"I'm trying to put together three and four punches together instead of one or two," said Hinkey, who had Biechler's nose spouting crimson. "I still didn't execute well enough, but I got the job done. I've been wanting another fight since my draw [against Alvaro Morales in his last bout Oct. 20]. I've been holding a lot of [expletive] in. I'm ready for another one."

Tommy Lane said both Hinkeys could fight again as early as April in Massachusetts. Since he suffered a knockout loss, Derek would have to be medically cleared first.

PERALTA LOOKING AHEAD

Carson City lightweight Mike Peralta scored a majority four-round decision over Oscar Marin, of Las Vegas, to win his second fight in a row.

The 25-year-old Peralta improved to 3-2 (1) and said he was looking forward to getting back in the ring as soon as possible. He said he would be looking to step up the quality of his sparring in preparation for his next bout.

"I think I was off a little with my jab," Peralta said. "It took me a little while to set up with this guy. I need better sparring. I didn't perform like I should have. I didn't have enough handspeed. I wasn't getting my feet down. My timing was about 60 percent."

Peralta said he has seen better results since he's grown more focused.

"I'm just going to stay in the gym and listen to my dad [Francisco]," Peralta said. "I'm going to stay on the ball mentally. It's just me, my dad and God."

• Contact Mike Houser at mhouser@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1281.