ESPN kicked off its Lightweight Boxcino Tournament on the February 21, 2014 edition of ESPN 2’s Friday Night Fights.
ESPN will hold two eight-man tournaments, the first of which began tonight featuring four quarterfinal Lightweight bouts. Next week, ESPN will air the quarterfinals of its Middleweight portion.
Each of tonight’s fights were scheduled for six rounds, but with one caveat: if a fight ends in a draw after the sixth, it will be continued for a seventh tie-breaking round.
Furthermore, according to a RingTV article, if the seventh round also ends in a draw, three ringside writers will determine which of the two will move onto the tournament’s semifinals, which will take place on March 28.
The winner of both tournaments will be awarded a special ESPN Boxcino belt.
Photo by Shane Sims/Banner Promotions
Photo by Shane Sims/Banner Promotions
Yakubu Amidu (21-5-2, 19 KOs) vs. Chris Rudd (13-1, 8 KOs)
In the tournament’s opening bout, Chris Rudd won a seven-round unanimous decision over Yakubu Amidu in what was planned to be a six-round fight.
For most of the fight, Rudd used his three-inch height advantage to keep Amidu away by jabbing and using the ring. In the second and third rounds, both fighters were trading punches on the inside, with Amidu landing left hooks to Rudd’s body and head.
Rudd, however, landed the best punch of the night with a left hook that rocked Amidu as he was stepping out from an exchange.
The fight was continued after the sixth because the judges scored the bout a draw, forcing both fighters into a tie-breaker round.
In the seventh round, Rudd cleverly switched to southpaw, preventing Amidu from being able to find his rhythm and land a hard shot. It was a change in tactic that won him the fight.
Petr Petrov (33-4-2, 15 KOs) vs. Fedor Papazov (14-1, 9 KOs)
In a fight that matched two hard-hitting Russians, Petr Petrov was able to land the harder punches more frequently en route to a six-round unanimous decision victory over Fedor Papazov.
The pace was set in the first round, in which both fighters fought closely at the center of the ring, trading wildly-thrown counter punches.
Petrov, who was knocked out by Marcos Maidana in 2011, got the the better of these exchanges. Papazov had a bad habit of stepping out with his hands down after an exchange instead of working closely on the inside.
Indeed, Petrov took advantage of this bad habit, landing hard right hands in the fourth round–the best punches he landed in the fight.
Petrov will face Rudd in the tournament’s semifinals.
Miguel Gonzalez (23-3, 16 KOs) vs. Miguel Angel Mendoza (21-3-2, 21 KOs)
Miguel Gonzalez won a split decision victory over Miguel Angel Mendoza, after six hard-fought rounds.
Gonzalez used his southpaw jab to keep Mendoza off of him, stepping away from Mendoza’s undisciplined shots.
Mendoza led with wild right hands to the head and body, instead of walking Gonzalez down with his jab.
Mendoza was clearly in the ring with a better boxer, but his reckless aggression nevertheless grew more troublesome for Gonzalez as the fight when on.
Indeed, in the final round when Mendoza swung for the fences, Gonzalez was forced to fight from against the ropes. Mendoza did not look as if he’d do well had the fight lasted another round, but nevertheless he walked away with the decision for tonight.
Fernando Carcamo (15-5, 12 KOs) vs. Samuel Neequaye (21-0, 15 KOs)
Screenshot photo by ESPN
Fernando Carcamo knocked out Samuel Neequaye in the second round of their lightweight fight. The fight made it clear why facing legitimate opponents is important in building a young fighter’s career.
Neequaye, who came into the fight undefeated with twenty fights, might look good on paper when matched against Carcamo, who has five losses in nearly just as many fights.
However, Carcamo made it clear that his level of opposition had been different, walking through Neequaye after only two rounds. Carcamo scored a knockdown in the first round, and hurt Neequaye several times in the second to force the referee to stop the fight.
Carraco will face Gonzalez in the tournament’s semifinals.
