Fast Results From Brooklyn: Porter UD Garcia; Ugas and Kownacki Victorious

Styles make fights says an old boxing adage and tonight’s match at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center was expected to be a doozy based on the contrasting styles of Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia. Porter had a well-earned reputation as a high-octane fighter, a boxer who wears his opponents down with incessant pressure. Garcia was the counter-puncher, a sharpshooter comfortable fighting off his back foot. At stake in this battle between two former welterweight title-holders, both 30 years old, was the WBC strap vacated by Keith Thurman.

The fight followed the script that most savvy boxing enthusiasts envisioned in that it was a good action fight with many close rounds. Porter, a slight underdog, threw punches in bunches, as is his custom, and although his aggression wasn’t always effective, all three judges were sufficiently impressed to score the fight in his favor. The tallies were 116-112 and 115-113 twice.

There were no knockdowns, but twice there was an accidental clash of heads as Porter was boring in, most notably in round seven when Garcia got the worst of it and the ref allowed him a few moments to recover.

There are many options for Porter who improved to 29-2-1. In defeat, Danny Garcia (34-2) remains a very marketable commodity in a hot division. Although it’s a longshot, one possibility for Garcia is a bout with Amir Khan, notwithstanding the fact that Khan has his sights set on Manny Pacquiao and his promoter wants to match him against Kell Brook. Earlier today in Birmingham, England, Khan overcame a hoary moment in the second round to score a 12-round unanimous decision over Canada-based Columbian Samuel Vargas.

Ugas-Barrionuevo

The first fight on the PPV tripleheader was a crowd-pleaser (we’ll get to that in a moment), but the semi-main was a one-sided snoozer. Argentina import Cesar Barrionuevo was simply outclassed by Yordenis Ugas. Employing an effective body attack, Ugas won all 12 rounds on two of the scorecards and 11 rounds on the other.

It was the eighth straight win for Ugas (23-3) since returning to the ring in 2016 after a 27-month hiatus. Barrionuevo (34-4-2), who was making his U.S. debut, became the latest Argentine hopeful to fall flat in an important fight on the road, a recurrent pattern.

Kownacki-Martin

The 10-round heavyweight contest between Adam Kownacki and Charles Martin was a rousing affair that ended in favor of Kownacki, much to the jubilation of the pro-Kownacki crowd. Kownacki (18-0, 14 KOs), a Poland-born Brooklynite with a Pillsbury doughboy physique, dominated the early rounds by dictating the pace. The action slowed in rounds seven and eight when it appeared that both fighters were spent, but each found a second wind and the last two rounds were robust.

All three judges were in accord, scoring the fight 96-94 for Kownacki (most ringsiders had it wider), but Martin (25-2-1), whose brief reign as an IBF heavyweight title-holder ended in 2016 with a thud in London, won over some of his detractors with a gutsy effort.

– – – –

Also, cruiserweight Marsellos Wilder, the 29-year-old younger brother of Deontay Wilder, improved to 2-0 with a first round stoppage of sacrificial lamb Ryan Williams. The well-muscled, six-foot-three Marsellos, a former wide receiver at Jackson State, came to boxing late after playing minor league football with indoor teams in Alabama and Texas.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.