Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin (20-0, 16 KOs) tasted victory in his comeback fight, though Renald Garrido (19-16-2, 3 KOs) gave him problems along the way.
In what was at times a sloppy fight, Seldin took home unanimous 98-92 scorecards across the board in his first bout since June 16 of last year. Capping off a three-fight card from Star Boxing, Seldin and Garrido went 10 rounds before a rowdy Long Island crowd.
Though Seldin allegedly vowed to end Garrido’s night within two rounds, the durable Frenchman was a thorn in Seldin’s side; absorbing Cletus’ power punches with relative ease.
A big puncher who–somewhat infamously–charges at his opponent to start each fight, Seldin settled for a surgical performance, slinging left and right hooks into Garrido’s body.
Ring rust may have been a factor in Seldin’s performance. Though he came away with the decision, Garrido’s record and dearth of power (just three knockouts among his 37 career fights) seemed to indicate this would be a tune-up fight, helping ease Seldin back into the Junior Welterweight ranks.
Instead, “Lion’s Heart” flipped the script, finding Seldin’s chin and landing cleanly in several exchanges. Though Cletus ran away with the fight in the later rounds, Garrido far outperformed his resume and can take solace in a stock-raising performance.
Seldin had been slated to compete on a June Star Boxing card prior to testing positive for increased levels of testosterone. Seldin claimed to have not felt the ill-effects of his prolonged layoff. “He [Garrido] was like my little baby toy, I pushed him around the ring, did what I want with him,” said Seldin.
Despite chastising Garrido’s lack of power, Seldin conceded “he did have good defense, and he was tough.”
Cletus Seldin & Renald Garrido slug it out to the finish! 98-92 scorecards all around to the Hebrew Hammer 🔨 pic.twitter.com/gfUdinpOYt
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) September 29, 2017
The debuting Brandon Bey (0-1) and Vinny D’Angelo (3-0) started the card with four rounds in the Super Middleweight division. Bey turned in a game performance, but D’Angelo’s experience was the difference in a 40-36, 39-37 (twice) unanimous decision.
Two cancelled bouts bumped Anthony Laureano (3-0) and James Lester (11-14-1) up to the night’s co-main event.
Laureano punished the body of Lester in early rounds, making the shopworn vet rely on sheer grit to survive. Lester’s chin betrayed him in the fourth round, however, as he was dropped and swarmed by his younger adversary.
Though he barely made it through the stanza, Lester’s corner stopped the fight between rounds.
Header photo courtesy of Star Boxing
