ESPN FNF televised twin-bill from El
Paso, Texas, delivered another pier-sixer of a shootout
that saw Antonio Escalante nipping Miguel Roman in the
feature attraction, and Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia
besting Ashley Theopane from London town across the pond
in a jr. welter thriller.
Stanza one - It’s Theopane having the
better - more effective from the outside against the
younger Garcia of the “City of Brotherly Love” who was
slow getting off.
Garcia turns the tables with a solid
stanza of pressure and power punches - Theopane using the
ring but less effective in candle two - and then, over
four hot stanzas it’s all square at 38 apiece.
Five and six goes to Theopane with the
better boxing skills - but Garcia grabs numero seven that
was highlighted by a power right hand to the head that
put a wiggle in the walk - Garcia then closed the stanza
with a barrage of left hooks to the body.
Theopane recovers in candle eight -
and then catches a break during round nine when Garcia is
banged with a point deduction for low blow infraction in
a round he was winning - finally numero ten that drops
the curtain on a competitive action affair.
The official scoring went Theopane
95-94; Garcia 95-94, 96-94 for the split decision win.
My unofficial had it Theopane 95-94 in points and 5-4-1
under round by round method..
Post Scripts: Danny Garcia ( 16-0, 10
KO) ~ age 21 - a prelim fighter in his first ten rounder
finished the stronger in with a skilled veteran. The kid
needs mucho fine tuning in the “Sweet Science” department
- the hunch is it will come with age.
Post Scripts: Ashley Theopane ( 25-4-1, 7 KO) ~ age 29 -
this, a first one on USA shores. Thirty kept appointments
with only seven scalps taken, hints of career club
fighter. Still, put on a good show. Problem at this time
for both Ashley & Garcia is jr. welter and full
welterweight are two tough ladders to climb.
Passing thoughts: What was referee
Roberto Belez thinking as late as stanza nine of ten
round bout to debit Garcia a point for low blow in a
cliffhanger?
……………………………….....................................................................................
The main event may have seemed a tough act to
follow - but not really - on paper it looked all Antonio
Escalante who entered IBF #1 on the S/bantam charts and
WBO#3 featherweight listing - Miguel Roman arrived
unranked featherweight.
The rest of the story: Roman
at age 24 showed he would arrive with high hopes based on
true grit and punching power - on that note, let the
games begin.
Roman has the edge in in stanza uno -
numero dos goes to Escalante in a predictable barn burner
- Escalante again with quicker combinations.
Stanza four Escalante with the edge in
a round loaded with hot exchanges - Roman pressure over
five and six has it all square at 57-57.
Then numero seven with Escalante
claiming the round - repeats in eight, as he drops the
game Roman to the canvas with a left hook, finishing off
a flurry of punches.
Still, Roman is not quite cooked -
grabs candle nine with pressure as Escalante appears to
be slowing down - then final stanza ten sees Roman
finishing the stronger.
Official scoring went unanimous
Escalante 97-92- 96-93-96-93 - my unofficial agreed
Escalante 95-94 in points - but had it been under round
by round method of scoring it would have closed a 5-5
standoff.
Post Scripts: Antonio Escalante (
23-2, 14 KO) ~ age 24 - nice looking S/Bantam but not
ready at this time for the elite at jr. feather and full
featherweight. Can still grow into legit contender.
Post Scripts: Miguel Roman (28-7, 20
KO) ~ age 24 - got to admire the guts - sticks to the
game plan - torah-torah-torah … not a reverse gear in
this Mexican punching machine. Earned another TV date for
a job well done.
