Photo courtesy of DiBella Entertainment
In the main event of the Friday, August 8, 2014 edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, Willie Nelson, now 23-1-1 with 13 KOs, defeated the game Luis Grajeda by unanimous decision. All three judges had the fight scored 98-92 for Nelson, while Round By Round Boxing had it 96-94 for the Cleveland, Ohio native.
When Nelson stuck to the gameplan that trainer Jack Loew implemented, he did well. But he went through long stretches where he would lunge in at his smaller opponent, giving Grajeda multiple counter-punching opportunities.
Grajeda took advantage during the third round, when he smacked Nelson with a left hook and then wobbled him with a right hand. Nelson was able to survive the round and then took over the fight.
He was solid in the middle rounds, keeping Grajeda off balance and forcing him to hold quite frequently.
By the end of the seventh, Grajeda seemed to be wearing down and referee Jay Nady, when he wasn’t nodding off in one of the corners, warned him frequently about holding. By the end of the round, Vic Drakulich would have disqualified and then shot Grajeda.
Grajeda avoided contact for nearly the entire eighth round. But Nelson kept lunging at him, and Grajeda finally made him pay.
He drilled Nelson with a perfect right uppercut with about 30 seconds to go, causing Nelson to flail helplessly into the ropes, where Nady let him reflect quietly until Grajeda smacked him again. Somehow, Nelson remained on his feet and made it out of the round.
Nelson closed out the fight fairly well, getting back to the jab and clearing the cobwebs enough to finish strong. The 98-92 scorecards seemed a bit wide, but Nelson did enough to win. Gradeja’s record drops to 17-3-2, with 13 KOs.
The night opened with the professional debut of Chinese Heavyweight Zhang Zhilei. He may also have a side career in magic, as he somehow scored a concussive knockout by hitting a guy in the shoulder/man boob region.
I’m not suggesting that the fight was thrown, but I am betting that there were at least a few dozen drunk members of the crowd who would have lasted longer in the ring.
Teddy Atlas let loose with another one of his typically inane, borderline psychotic, barely coherent rants, but he was right–Vic Drakulich was horrendous last Saturday.
His punishment apparently lasted five days, because he was back as the ref in the co-feature tonight. Way to crack down, boys.
One final thought–Willie Nelson reminds me of an orthodox Paul Williams. But he doesn’t have anywhere near the power or punch output. And that habit of lunging in on opponents is going to get him destroyed by a top level opponent.
He’s got talent, but he needs some serious fixing. The problem is, I’ve never heard “Jack Loew,” and “defense” in the same sentence.
