STAR BOXING // MANHATTAN CENTER
GRAND
BALLROOM // NYC
MIKE ARNAOUTIS - Vineland, NJ - 17-2-2 (9 KOs)
vs
HARRISON CUELLO - NYC - 15-5-2 (11 KOs)
USBA
LIGHT WELTERWEIGHT TITLE
12 rounds
Round 1 - Two southpaws come out jabbing and
circling; Arnaoutis is jabbing low looking for his overhand
power punch. Cuello steps in with a long straight left; both
cautious. Arnaoutis misses with a hard left, Cuello
measures with his jab before eating a hard left by Arnaoutis.
Arnaoutis lands a nice straight left to Cuello's body, Cuello
steps in with a 1-2 that misses. ARNAOUTIS
2/Nice
solid left by Arnaoutis lands and gets Cuello's moving,
another 1-2 lands followed by a hook, Cuello is falling short
on his punches while Arnaoutis has been finding his mark, 3
shots land by Arnaoutis, a left hook lands and Cuello is
already beginning to get flustered. "Mighty Mike" the crowd
chants. Arnaoutis rips 6 punches off and most of them land,
Arnaoutis is stalking now while Cuello is lunging in to make
up for being outside of his range, Cuello lands a hard left,
Arnaoutis comes back with multiple jabs making Cuello
retreat. ARNAOUTIS
3/Cuello
is leaning in with 1-2's, Arnaoutis is making him pay by
stepping back and countering, Arnaoutis moves forward to
initiate the action while Cuello reels for a moment looking
for defense. Arnaoutis is in control with steady shots to
Cuello's chest and head. Cuello moves nicely but Arnaoutis'
constant barrage is proving too much for him. Cuello lands a
straight left but cannot stay in to throw more without being
countered by Arnaoutis power shots coming over the top of his
low defense. ARNAOUTIS
4/Cuello
misses with a body shot and is countered by Arnaoutis with a
straight left to the forehead, Cuello is missing plenty for
the first minute of the round, Arnaoutis is stalking, a quick
1-2 lands by Arnaoutis. Arnaoutis does an excellent job of
keeping Cuello in proper range, Cuello is looking for answers
to eat up the few inches that Arnaoutis is commanding with his
slight reach advantage. Arnaoutis steps in and out at precise
moments to keep Cuello off balance and swinging at air.
ARNAOUTIS
5/More
of the same with Cuello falling short with his shots. Cuello
seems to be crafty and slick but has yet to change things up
to turn the tide. Arnaoutis has commanded this fight with
quick snappy punches that are beating Cuello to the punch 90%
of the time. Cuello fires back with double jabs only to eat
straight lefts and triple jabs from Arnaoutis. The mostly
Greek fans in the room are eating it up as their hero is
displaying a variety of skill over his worthy yet highly
outclassed opponent. Cuello runs for cover to stop the
onslaught. ARNAOUTIS
6/Cuello
charges out with straight shots that drive Arnaoutis to his
corner. Arnaoutis comes out with a hard 1-2 that halts Cuello,
both guys swing for the fences and the crowd erupts. Arnaoutis
is bleeding from the top of his head and the blood is working
its way down his face. Cuello is fighting hard off the ropes
but Arnaoutis is getting the best of each exchange. "Mikey,
Mikey" from the crowd. Cuello is reeling for most of the
second half of the round and Arnaoutis picks up the pace.
Cuello lands back in retaliation but it's all Arnaoutis at the
bell. ARNAOUTIS
7/Although
the boxing skills of Arnaoutis are clear through the amount
of shots landed it's my belief that he should have hurt Cuello
by now. Cuello is missing well over 70% of his punches while
Arnaoutis steadily picks his shots with precision and accuracy,
1-2's by Cuello hit arms and air, Arnaoutis counters with
stiff jabs, Cuello may have gone an entire round without
landing a punch. ARNAOUTIS
8/Nice
left hook to Cuello's body starts the round. Cuello continues
to look for his 1-2, stiff jabs by Arnaoutis make it difficult
for Cuello to set up for anything, more 1-2's by Cuello hit
air, Cuello eats a solid left, and another... Arnaoutis is loose
and limber, his flow is at full throttle as he moves in and
out with accuracy and diligence, Cuello is looking like a
fighter whose best days are far from what's taking place in
this arena. Cuello reels at the bell as the crowd begins to
pack it in. ARNAOUTIS
9/More
of the same as Arnaoutis seems to have picked up the pace
looking for the knock-out. Cuello is tough and durable though
and continues to search for answers. Cuello lands a hard left
that drives Arnaoutis off of him, Arnaoutis comes back with a
steady flow of straight shots. Arnaoutis has his flow down
enough to be able to step in- land 3 shots and step out before
getting hit. Cuello swings hard at the bell, mostly missing.
ARNAOUTIS
10/Cuello
leaps in with a hook, Arnaoutis counters with a solid 1-2
after he misses, a solid left by Arnaoutis gets Cuello
backpedaling, another left by Arnaoutis puts Cuello on shaky
legs and clearly takes the steam out of his offense. Arnaoutis
is having trouble positioning himself on the ever moving
Cuello to land another big shot. "Mighty Mike, Mighty Mike" the
crowd chants. Arnaoutis waves his hands in the air for them to
continue, Cuello is in survival mode and doesn't' seem to be
going anywhere for a few more rounds. ARNAOUTIS
11/The
steam from Cuello has dropped drastically yet he continues
trying to beat Arnaoutis to the punch, AND Arnaoutis
peppers him with arm shots to the head. Arnaoutis steps in
with a solid right hook that makes Cuello reel back and into
the ropes, Arnaoutis peppers him with ten pitty pats that do
little damage. Arnaoutis is rallied by the crowd's chants, yet
he's not even close to landing anything to do damage.
ARNAOUTIS
12/Cuello's'
cornerman acts as if he's going to stop the fight in between
rounds until Cuello himself begs him to come back. Cuello
comes out doing the same thing, however, hoping something will
change (insanity?). Arnaoutis is clearly looking for the KO in
a bout which he's clearly dominated, Cuello is half what he
was yet he is determined to finish the fight. Arnaoutis looks for
the big punch yet he's adamantly shown us all that his skills
lie clearly in the "BOXING" realm and not the POWER realm.
Another 1-2 by Cuello hits arms as Arnaoutis rallies the crowd
10 seconds before the final bell - Hands high, leaning back on
the ropes as Cuello stands staring, bewildered at his
uneventful output. ARNAOUTIS
WINNER: UNANIMOUS DECISION MIKE ARNAOUTIS
~USBA LIGHT WELTERWEIGHT TITLE~
My
take: Arnaoutis is a solid boxer who may run into some
trouble when paired up against a solid, well conditioned POWER
puncher. He's already proven a solid heart & chin by going
the distance with solid fighters like Ricardo Torres & Kendall
Holt. Yet, unless he develops more STRENGTH he may be
relegated to only being able to shine against the likes of
tonight's opponent.
VINNIE MADDALONE/Flushing, NY/28-4 (19 KOs)
vs
JEFF
YEOMAN/Indianapolis, IN/21-8 (8 KOs)
8
rounds
1/Maddalone
comes charging forward with typical wide bombs, at the
outset Yeoman looks far from the 29 professional fights on his
record. Yeoman lunges in with long overhand rights as the
crowd laughs hysterically at his silly style, finally the ref
stops the actions to put a stop to Yeoman's "shut-eyed"
shoulder rolls - Yeoman does eventually land a long overhand
right, yet it is virtually impossible to grant him the round
due to his overall Ineffectiveness. MADDALONE
2/Maddalone
lands a stiff hard jab at the outset, Yeoman does his best at
covering up while trying to move away, every novice defensive
technique is used pretty much all at the same time by Yeoman
and regardless of what's landed, Yeoman's antics steal the
show. Maddalone lands a hard right to Yeoman's soloplex
that slams him to a knee. Yeoman gets up and takes a right to
the back of the ear (for turning his head) and falls again -
the ref calls it a slip - he gets up AGAIN and Maddalone,
sensing another KO, steps in with a tight right hook that
catches Yeoman square on the chin dropping him like a sack
of worn-out & old dirty laundry - in his corner...
WINNER: VINNIE MADDALONE KO 2:11 round 2
MY
TAKE: It's basically impossible to accurately judge
a fighter's performance when he's paired against the likes of
Jeff Yeoman. I actually couldn't wait to get home
and research the 21 fighters that Yeoman supposedly beat.
Yes, they do exist. Although there's more than a probable
chance that they chose another line of work immediately after
losing to him.
CURTIS STEVENS/Brooklyn, NY/17-2-1 (12)
vs
THOMAS REID/Jackson, TN/35-21-1 (13)
8
rounds
WINNER / CURTIS STEVENS KO 2:55 round 8
MY TAKE: Although
the stoppage by the referee was sudden, it wasn't quite as
unfair as I may have initially penned it. I couldn't help but
think about the Taylor/Chavez stoppage in the final round of
THEIR fight which was eerily similar to tonight's contest.
Thomas Reid will always be one of
my favorite Journeymen. Though his days are numbered with
nearly 60 fights to his credit, he will always be noted for
his courage in taking on "killas" in their backyard. Remember
what he did to Kendall Holt??
TIM SKOLNICK/Kerhoksen, NY/Pro Debut
vs
SHAWN MCLEAN/NYC/2-1
(1)/
4 rounds
WINNER: TIM
SKOLNICK - KO :28 round 3
MY TAKE: This
could be a case of someone who fell into a line of work by
which they have no business.
It's kinda like shuffling your
feet when sparring with a beginner ~ what's the point?
RAYMOND SERRANO,
JR/Philadelphia, PA/3-0 (2)
vs
ABE BRUNO/Jersey City,
NJ/6-10-4 (3)
4 rounds
WINNER: RAYMOND
SERRANO, JR - KO 1:48 round 1
