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Fast Results from the ‘Bubble’: Herring Retains His Title in a Messy Fight

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Bob Arum’s Top Rank organization, which has done more than any other promotional group to keep boxing alive during these challenging times, was back at their summer home in the MGM Grand “Bubble” tonight with the 15th installment of their 2020 Summer Series. And for the third straight Saturday, the main event was a title fight. Risking his belt was WBO 130-pound title-holder Jamel Herring against Jonathan Oquendo.

An ex-Marine and former Olympian, Herring, 34, was making the second defense of the title he won from Masayuki Ito and when the smoke cleared, he retained his belt when his Puerto Rican adversary was disqualified after the bell ending the eighth round.

The first two rounds were marred by a lot of clinching, a portent of what would follow. Oquendo went down twice in the second round and again in the sixth for what referee Tony Weeks deemed to be slips. Herring knocked him down legitimately in the third with a clean uppercut but Oquendo wasn’t seriously hurt.

In round five, Herring suffered a cut over his right eye from a head butt that Weeks thought was intentional. He deducted a point from Oquendo.

When the blood started flowing more copiously in the eighth round, Herring packed it in. His vision was definitely compromised.

That led to a long conversation between Weeks and the Nevada Commission which determined that since the cut was intentional, the official verdict would be a win for Herring by disqualification. A DQ between rounds, needless to say, is highly unusual, but the bottom line is that Herring (22-2) retains his title and Oquendo (31-7) may well be called on the carpet at the next NSAC meeting.

Jamel Herring’s next title defense is expected to come against Carl Frampton.

Co-Feature

Omaha super middleweight Stephen Nelson, a stablemate of Terence Crawford, advanced to 17-0 (14) with a sixth-round stoppage of Toledo’s DeAndre Ware (13-3-2). Nelson overcame two bad cuts around his left eye, the first coming in round two and the second in round five, both the result of accidental head butts. There were no knockdowns, but Ware was rocked twice and was on unsteady legs when referee Jay Nady stopped it. The official time was 2:24.

Although DeAndre Ware lost tonight, he made many new friends during his Vegas stay with his actions at yesterday’s weigh-in when he came to the rescue of Pete Susens. The popular 63-year-old Susens, a long-time Top Rank employee who earned his spurs as a twenty-something gadabout on the Midwestern boxing circuit, suffered a heart attack and Ware, a Toledo firefighter, stepped in and performed chest compressions that may have saved his life.

The good news is that Susens was alert when he was transported to the hospital.

Other Bouts

Jared Anderson, the youngest, the busiest (and the best) of Top Rank’s young heavyweight prospects, scored his sixth knockout in as many tries with a fourth-round stoppage of Rodney Hernandez (13-10-2). Hernandez didn’t appear badly hurt when Anderson put him on the canvas with a left-right combination, but the fight had been one-sided to that point and there really was no point in continuing.

San Antonio mighty-mite Jesse Rodriguez demolished Puerto Rico’s Janiel Rivera, scoring three knockdowns before the bout was halted at the 2:03 mark of the opening round. The 20-year-old Rodriguez, the half-brother of new WBA 115-pound champion Joshua Franco, improved to 12-0 (8). It was the fifth straight loss for Rivera (18-7-3).

In what has to be considered an upset, 36-year-old San Antonio welterweight Benjamin Whitaker outworked previously unbeaten D’Andre Smith to win a six-round unanimous decision. Whitaker improved to 14-4 and evened his record at the MGM Bubble to 1-1. The scores were 59-55 and 60-54 twice.

Smith, who hails from Decatur, Georgia, lost for the first time in nine starts. All three judges for this fight were women which may have set a record.

Ruben Cervera, a 23-year-old Colombian super featherweight, blasted out New Orleans Rennard Oliver in the second round. A hard right hand did the trick and Cervera snuck in another before referee Russell Mora waived it off at the 1:42 mark. Cervera improved to 13-2 with his 11th knockout. Oliver fell to 7-3-3.

Fort Worth super featherweight Edward Vazquez overcame a knockdown in the second round to stay undefeated with a unanimous decision over LA’s Adam Ochoa. The judges favored Vazquez (8-0, 1 KO) by scores of 57-56 and 58-55 twice. Ochoa (11-2) entered the contest riding a nine-fight winning streak.

In the opener, 19-year-old Philadelphia featherweight Rashiem Jefferson Jr. improved to 2-0 with a four-round unanimous decision over LA’ Jose Martinez (2-2). The scores were 39-37 And 40-36 twice.

Jefferson Jr, a southpaw, is a second-generation boxer and appears to have a big upside. His father of the same name had a promising pro career aborted by an injury suffered in a motorcycle accident.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams for Top Rank

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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