Tony Harrison vs. Antwone Smith
Middleweight Tony Harrison (20-0-0, 16 KOs) will be making his case in 2015 to be classified as a full-blown contender in a Middleweight division that could use some fresh talent.
He continued his reign of impressive wins in the main event of the Friday, March 6, 2015 edition of ESPN2 Friday Night Fights, dominating the smaller and clearly less talented Antwone Smith (23-5-1, 12 KOs).
Harrison, who had a clear reach advantage, was able to pick apart Smith with brutal shots in the first round, drawing blood from Smith’s nose, and knocking him down twice.
The second knockdown came right as the bell rang for the end of the round, igniting a serious conversation between the ring doctor and Smith’s corner on whether he should even be allowed to walk out for Round 2.
Smith was allowed to fight on, but didn’t last long, Harrison dropped him again at the 2:45 minute mark, concluding a night that saw three out of four of the televised fights stopped within two rounds.
The Al Haymon advised fighter from Michigan, who has looked sharp recently, winning his two previous fights by first-round knockouts, could find himself in with some of the bigger names at 160 pounds, possibly by the end of year.
His long, athletic frame, combined with improving technical-boxing skills and punching power, could make him a threat to any top 10 contender in the future, and maybe even put him in position as a quality opponent for another Haymon-advised Middlweight, Peter Quillin.
Ievgen Khytrov vs. Jorge Melendez
Ievgen Khytrov (9-0-0, 9 KOs) a promising Middleweight prospect from Ukraine, who some have even compared to a young Gennady Golovkin, was in the toughest fight of his short professional career against slugger Jorge Melendez (28-4-1, 26 KOs) in the co-main event of the night.
Khytrov established a head-snapping jab early, which allowed him inside on Melendez, setting up hard and effective two-and-three punch combinations.
Melendez proved to be a game opponent in the second round though, gaining confidence and landing some of his best punches of the fight.
Melendez, who usually fights at Junior Middleweight, did not carry his power up to Middleweight well enough to hurt Khytrov, who went back to the jab in the third round, and wobbled Melendez for the first time in the fight at the end of the fourth.
Although Khytrov showed signs of fatigue entering the sixth round, the deepest he’s been in his career, his power shots continued to land on Melendez, whose face was swollen, and who was seriously hurt again at the end of the seventh round.
Melendez came out for the eighth round already looking defeated, and it wasn’t long until Khytrov landed a brutal body shot, forcing Melendez to take a knee, which was enough for referee Tony Weeks to step in and put an end to the fight.
Early Results:
Impressive Junior Middleweight prospect Erickson Lubin (10-0-0, 7 KOs), fought for the second time in just a month when he took on a fellow undefeated prospect in Kenneth Council (8-0-0, 6 KOs).
Lubin was pin point with his punches throughout Round 1, putting Council down twice in the first minute of the fight, then again at the 1:30 mark for the third and final time. Lubin floored Council with a chopping overhand right to the top of Council’s head.
Lubin, who was formally promoted by Mike Tyson, and is a new signee of Al Haymon, seems to prefer to stay active, and with performances like tonight, could have a very bright future fighting at 154 pounds.
Lastly, the broadcast opened with Middleweight prospect Caleb Plant (7-0-0, 5 KOs) who entered the ring with a heavy heart after losing his 19-month-old daughter earlier in 2015.
They call Plant “Sweet Hands,” but they were anything but that tonight as he brutally knocked out overmatched opponent Daniel Henry (2-3-3, 0 KOs) in just the first round.
