~~Erislandy Lara~~
The main event of
ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” from the “Fountainbleau Hotel” in Miami Beach,
Florida featured Miami Welterweight Antwone Smith winning a 10-round decision
over Colombian veteran Richard Gutierrez. However, the evening was a
showcase for three decorated Cuban amateur fighters making their professional
debut and another, Erislandy Lara, continuing to impress in his brief
professional career.
To the delight of a
largely Cuban crowd cheering their compatriots in the ring, all four were
victorious in their bouts. The main event certainly appeared to be an
afterthought in the evening’s festivities.
The opening televised
fight featured Cuba’s Light Middleweight Erislandy Lara, sporting a record of
5-0 with 3 KOs, facing the much more experienced Edwin Vazquez of Puerto Rico in
an 8-round fight. On paper, the 37-year old Vazquez appeared to be a
significant step up in class for the Cuban. Although on a 4-bout losing streak,
Vazquez had faced world class opposition in Zab Judah, Mathew Hatton,
Demetrius Hopkins, Acelino Freitas and Antonio Diaz sprinkled in a career
record of 22-13 with 8 KOs.
However, from the
opening round, it was evident that the Colombian would not be able to match the
highly skilled Lara’s boxing ability, speed and punching power. A hard left
hand in the second round dropped Vazquez for an eight count, and only the bell
prolonged the inevitable. After seeing a defenseless Vazquez absorb several
hard combinations that had him hurt, referee Telis Assimenios mercifully stopped
the fight at 1:13 of the fourth round. The impressive win raised Lara’s record
to 6-0 with 4 KOs, and the 22-year old displayed enough power, speed and overall
boxing ability to make him a fighter to watch in the 154-pound class. The
veteran Vazquez appears to be nearing the end of his boxing career.
In the other
televised preliminary fight, Cuba’s highly acclaimed Guillermo Rigondeaux made
his anticipated professional debut. The 4-time Olympic Gold medalist and
7-time Cuban national champion, had defected from the Cuban boxing team in 2007
at the Pan American games in Brazil, only to voluntarily return to the island a
few days later. In February of this year, he once again defected from Cuba and
settled in Miami, hoping the international experience gained while accumulating
an impressive amateur record of 243-4 will lead him to fame and riches in the
professional ranks.
In a scheduled
4-rounder, Rigondeaux dropped his opponent, Arkansas’ Juan Noriega (3-2 record
with 2 consecutive losses) with a single straight left hand only 19-seconds into
the fight. After the mandatory 8-count, Noriega was somehow able to survive the
round. After absorbing more punishment in the second round, a backtracking
Noriega was wobbled by several hard right hooks from the left handed Cuban in
the third round, and the referee finally stepped in to stop the onslaught.
Rigondeaux displayed his boxing skills and fast hands, but at 28-years of age
and with such an extensive amateur career, time is certainly not on his side.
He must
accelerate
quickly to a higher level of opposition
before his skills erode.
In the anti-climatic
main event, Miami’s Antwone Smith won a unanimous decision over Colombia’s
Richard Gutierrez. Sporting a record of 15-1-1 with 8 KOs, Smith was fighting
in his first 10-round main event against the experienced Gutierrez, whose only
losses came at the hands of highly ranked Alfredo Angulo and Joshua Clottey.
Smith displayed very good boxing skills in a fight fought mostly at close
range. An accidental head butt opened a cut over Smith’s right eye in the fifth
round, but a tiring Gutierrez was unable to inflict any further damage on the
cut.
Smith’s movement and
quick hands kept him out of trouble as he out-boxed Gutierrez throughout the
remainder of the fight. After 10-rounds, the unanimous decision of judge
Michael Pernick's 97-93, judge Rocky Young's 96-94 and judge John Ruppert's
100-88 all favored Antwone Smith. The two closer margins of victory seemed to
be more in line with the action in the ring, with judge Ruppert's 100-88
scoring seemingly way out of line. The 22-year old Smith’s boxing skills and
good combination punching should take him to a higher level, but he must improve
his punching power in order to tangle with the division’s big names.
Results of other preliminary fights:
1)
Cuban Middleweight Yudel Johnson won his professional debut by a TKO in
round one over previously undefeated Greg Weathers (3-0). The 27-year old
Johnson was an Olympic Silver medalist and Pan American Gold medalist.
2)
27-year old Cuban Cruiserweight Yordanis Despaigne won a unanimous
4-round decision in his debut over previously unbeaten Robert Campbell, who
carried a 3-0-1 record into the fight.
3)
Miami’s Ed Paredes (21-3 with 13 KOs) won a unanimous 6-round decision
over Gilbert Venegas (10-5-3).
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5-23-2009
