Cora breaks down Williams

WORLEY, Idaho – There was Bad News in Camelot.

Felix “Bad News” Cora, Jr. scored a nine-round technical knockout over “King” Arthur Williams Thursday night in the Coeur d’Alene Casino’s House of Fury, capturing the North American Boxing Federation cruiserweight championship belt.

The victory should move Cora, 17-0, into contention for a world championship fight.

“Hopefully this will open some doors for me, maybe allow me to be an interim champion or get a title shot,” Cora said. “I just thank the Coeur d’Alene Casino for allowing me to get into the ring with a former champion – a guy who told me I’m going to be a champion some day. You can’t beat that.”

In June, “King” Arthur pulled Excalibur from the stone for the fourth time in the House of Fury, capturing the NABF title for the first time. Williams formerly held the USBA cruiserweight crown twice and is a former IBF world champion.

But against a younger, faster, left-handed Lancelot in Cora, the King could not hold onto his crown.

Cora consistently fired his right-hand lead through Williams’ defense to score points and followed those up with hard left hooks.

But Williams (41-14-1) did not become a world champion by backing up, and he made it clear that he would not surrender his NABF belt easily. By the ninth round, however, the champion began to show signs of wear with a bloody cut over his left eye and swelling under both.

By the end of the round, the bleeding worsened and the ringside doctor checked the wound between rounds and the fight was stopped.

“Nothing against the USBA, but Felix just wasn’t getting the chance to fight,” Cora’s trainer and father, Felix Cora, Sr., said.

Sandpoint’s Favio Medina had his finest outing as a professional, scoring a unanimous decision over Carson Jones and avenging a four-round draw.

Known for being more of a puncher than a boxer, the 148-pounder fought a smart, tactical fight in the six-round rematch, winning all six rounds on two of three judges’ scorecards.

Spokane’s Skyler Anderson put together a big lead on all three ringside scorecards through the first three rounds of his second professional fight, knocking down Las Vegas heavyweight James Harling in the first round.

But with 1:13 left in the fight, Harling connected with a right hand to the Spokane youngster’s temple that buckled his knees.

“Every round I told him not to let that guy catch him with a lucky punch,” Anderson’s father and trainer, Clint Anderson, said.

Skyler Anderson’s 17-year-old brother, Brandon, lost his professional debut by a unanimous decision to Mario Hays of Las Vegas.

Nespelem’s Billy Drywater made an impressive professional debut, knocking out San Jose’s Mike Hull at the 1:28 mark of the second round.