Baraou Upsets Tellez; Han and Bahdi Win Too at Caribe Royale in Orlando

Germany’s Abass Baraou traveled to Florida as an uninspiring foe for highly touted Yoenis Tellez and walked away with the interim super welterweight title after a surprisingly strong performance on Saturday.

“I worked very hard for this,” said Baraou.

The European titlist Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) proved his pressure style effective against the slick southpaw Tellez (10-1, 7 KOs) who was fighting at home and was the favored fighter, but lost the interim title at the Caribe Royale Orlando, in Orlando, Florida.

Baraou’s constant pressure did not allow Tellez to take advantage with his strong counter punches. Instead, he remained on the ropes almost every round and was unable to mount his own attack for much of the fight.

Things turned around in the fifth when Tellez worked the body with some thunderous shots and slowed down the relentless attacks of Baraou. It looked like Tellez was back on the beam but it wasn’t to be.

Baraou kept putting the pressure on Tellez and when he leaned against the ropes the German fighter scored repeatedly with uppercuts that snapped the head of the Cuban fighter. It seemed to sap the confidence away from Tellez.

In the last three rounds both fighters worked hard to gain control and Baraou was especially effective in the last 30 seconds of the rounds. In the last round Baraou connected with lefts and rights and with only 10 seconds remaining in the fight, he floored Tellez with a left hook.

The knockdown was the cinching moment for Baraou who won the interim title by unanimous decision 116-111, 115-112, 117-110.

“It’s a special moment for me,” said a tearful Baraoue who is of Togo descent. “I’ve been waiting so long for this moment.”

Majority Draw

Puerto Rico’s Yankiel Rivera (7-0-1, 3 KOs) expected to put on a dominant performance but ran into the rugged Angelino Cordova (19-0-2, 12 KOs) whose wild swinging style troubled the hometown fighter and ended in a majority draw in a regional flyweight title contest.

Cordova opened up the fight swinging for the fences and missing. That must have triggered Rivera who constantly looked to score a knockout to no avail. Cordova was just too tough.

While the TV announcers continued to deride Cordova he continued to connect with those wide punches almost every round. Both fighters collided heads repeatedly with Rivera suffering cuts on the eye and mouth.

Rivera scored a knockdown but it looked like he tossed Cordova to the floor rather than dropped him with a blow. A point was also taken away from Cordova for hitting behind the head. Despite suffering two 10-8 rounds, Cordova remained in the fight and proved to have a great chin and incredible stamina.

After 12 rough rounds one judge scored it 115-111 for Cordova and two saw it 113-113 for a majority draw.

“Like always, thanks to God. I come to work. I understand the judges,” said Cordova. “I did the work I needed to do.”

Han Wins

Stephanie Han (11-0, 3 KOs) survived a first-round knockdown to retain the WBA lightweight title against Colombia’s very willing Paulina Angel (7-2-2, 3 KOs).

A left hand to the chin floored Han during an exchange of blows but did not duly harm the Texan who is from a prominent El Paso fighting family. She rallied and boxed her way through the remainder of the fight.

Han, who recently signed with Most Valuable Promotions, was expected to give an outstanding performance. But Angel was up to the task and had her own goals. She took advantage of every second and kept urging Han to mix it up.

It was not Han’s style to exchange freely with Angel, instead she used a box-and-move style to keep the Colombian fighter at arms length. It proved to be a solid strategy and she was awarded the win 98-91 on all three cards.

“My opponent was a great fighter,” said the classy Han. “She caught me.”

Bahdi Wins

Canada’s Lucas Bahdi (20-0, 15 KOs) used his typical ambush style to turn things around and defeat former world champion Roger Gutierrez (29-7-1, 22 KOs) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds in a lightweight fight.

Gutierrez and Lucas were both conservative with their approach until around the third round. The Venezuelan fighter Gutierrez opened-up his attack with a long jab and quick jab and right cross combination. It put him in charge as he kept the slow pressure on.

Near the end of the sixth round the momentum changed as Bahdi ambushed Gutierrez with a powerful right cross counter that delivered Gutierrez to the floor in sections. But he got up and beat the count.

Suddenly Bahdi was the aggressor as Gutierrez sought to recover his senses.

Bahdi had used that same style to set traps in two prior fights that proved successful. But in this fight the foe Gutierrez remained in the fight but was unable to reverse the momentum. After 12 rounds the judges scored it 116-111, 117-110, 115-112 for Bahdi.

“He’s a tough fighter, he could crack,” said Bahdi. “Now it’s my time.”

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum