ESPN continued its Lightweight Boxcino Tournament on the March 28, 2014 edition of ESPN′s Friday Night Fights.
ESPN is currently holding two Boxcino tournaments. The second tournament, held in the Middleweight division, will have its semifinals on April 18.
Each of tonight’s semifinal bouts were scheduled for eight rounds, but with one caveat: if a fight ends in a draw after the eighth, it will be continued for a tie-breaking ninth round.
The winner of both tournaments will be awarded a special ESPN Boxcino belt.
Miguel Gonzalez (23-4, 16 KOs) vs. Fernando Carcamo (16-5, 12 KOs)
Fernando Carcamo, aided by powerful body shots and left hooks to the chin, won a majority decision victory over Miguel Gonzalez in the semifinals of the Boxcino tournament.
After only the first minute of the very first round, Carcamo landed a powerful left hook as Gonzalez was backing away besides the ropes. Gonzalez was seriously hurt as his backed arched above the top ropes and his eyes rolled back. Carcamo thought the fight was stopped, but Gonzalez was given an eight-count while Carcamo celebrated a little too early.
The fight continued as Gonzalez closed the distance, with both fighters landing punches to the body. Carcamo landed the better punches in the exchanges, landing powerful left hooks to Gonzalez’s chin.
In the sixth round, Carcamo landed a hard right hand that forced Gonzalez to switch gears and to once again fight from a distance. Carcamo continued his dominance until Gonzalez landed a thundering left hand to conclude the seventh round.
Gonzalez continued to fight from a distance in the eighth, a style that would have served him better throughout the fight. However, Gonzalez has a bad habit of stepping away from his opponent with his hands down.
It was this bad habit that nearly knocked Gonzalez out in the first round, dissuading him from fighting on the outside. Carcamo was only allowed to shine and work better when the distance was closed.
The judges scored the bout 78-74,77-75,76-76.
Petr Petrov (34-4-2, 16 KOs) vs. Chris Rudd (13-2, 8 KOs)
Petr Petrov scored a fourth-round technical knockout over Chris Rudd in the semifinals of the Lightweight Boxcino tournament.
Rudd began the fight at a distance with a long jab, while Petrov landed shots to the body along with right hands over Rudd’s jab.
Rudd did not have the power to dissuade Petrov from applying his non-stop pressure. Indeed, in the third round, Petrov backed Rudd into the ropes, where he landed a flurry of punches that put Rudd in serious trouble.
In the following round, Petrov landed another right hand that him in a position to finally stop Rudd. Petrov once again backed Rudd onto the ropes where another flurry forced the referee to stop the fight.
The finals for ESPN’s Lightweight Boxcino tournament will air on May 23 when Petr Petrov will take on Fernando Carcamo.
