Super bantamweight contender Ra’eese Aleem 18-0 (12) put the super bantamweight division on notice with a dominant 11th round knockout of previously undefeated ‘Vicious’ Vac Pasillas 16-1 (9) at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut on Saturday night.
The 30-year-old from Michigan who resides in Las Vegas had Pasillas on the canvas four times before referee Danny Schiavone waved off the fight at the 1:00 mark of the penultimate round.
“I feel great. We had a good camp. I was dominant. I wanted to put an exclamation point with this performance,” said Aleem, who picked up the vacant interim WBA belt with the win.
“It feels absolutely amazing. It just confirms what I knew in my head, that I have elite power. He’s one of the top fighters in the division so to knock him out, it means I’m a true threat.
“I think a lot of people were sleeping on me and my power. I wasn’t surprised that I stopped him. I didn’t think he’d be able to go the distance with me. I think a lot of the fighters in this division should really be on notice.
“I wanted to knock him out. But I wasn’t necessarily trying to go for the knockout early. I was just seeing the openings and everything came together.”
The fight took place on the undercard of the fast-paced fight for the WBO 122-pound title between champion Angelo Leo 20-1 (9) and Stephen Fulton 19-0 (8), a fight won by the challenger.
Aleem is now on the hunt for a unification bout, with WBA and IBF champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev 8-0 (6) high on his hit list.
“It doesn’t matter who I fight next. I’m ready to fight any world champion. Whether it’s the winner of Leo-Fulton or if Murodjon Akhmadaliev wants to come out of hiding,” Aleem continued.
“Any current world champion that’s willing to fight, I’m ready. I’ve got the pen, send the contract. Whether that’s Brandon Figueroa, Akhmadaliev – he has two of the belts and is a tremendous fighter. He hasn’t defended his belts yet. Any one of those fights would be a great fight.”
Aleem had Pasillas on the canvas courtesy of a right hand in the second round and again in the sixth. He scored another knockdown in the ninth when Pasillas’ glove touched the canvas. The 28-year-old southpaw from East Los Angeles found himself on the deck again in the 11th which was enough to see the fight halted.
“I couldn’t feel his power. There wasn’t like one punch he hit me with and I was like, ‘Damn, I got to watch out.’ I knew he was a hard hitter, but I didn’t feel his power tonight,” Aleem said.
“I’m a diverse fighter. Coming into this fight, I didn’t know what kind of fighter I was facing. But I pride myself in being able to adapt. I’m not one-dimensional; I can brawl, I can box. I just took what he gave me.
“I was able to give him different looks. And being able to explode in those small spaces, I feel I was able to capitalise.
“Early on, I was touching him and he could feel my power. He was grunting when I hit him in the body. So I knew he didn’t want to be aggressive because he could feel it.”
