***With tons of Boxing Action Photos***
Fight fans at the Aladdin Resort in Las Vegas last night won’t soon forget the brawl that took place between middleweights Kelly Pavlik and Fulgencio Zuniga. Twenty-three year old middleweight prospect Pavlik, of Youngstown, Ohio, was given the sternest test in his young boxing career, and passed with flying colours. The Colombian Zuniga, as always, came to fight and surprised Pavlik with a left hook in the first round that put him on the seat of his pants. Pavlik was more surprised than hurt, and came back to finish a decent first round.
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The action seemed to progressively heat up in its intensity as each round passed, so much so that fans were standing up from their seats, cheering by the end of round six. The shorter Zuniga preferred to work on the inside, investing in pounding Pavlik’s body and coming over the top with chopping rights and left hooks.
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Pavlik was better suited to work from the outside with a long jab, and started to control the fight in the mid to late rounds with some nice counterpunching on the free-swinging and open Zuniga.
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An accidental head butt in the eigth round opened a severe gash above Zuniga’s eye that bled profusely and left both fighters swinging away under the lights, covered in crimson.
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Pavlik landed his best punch of the fight in the 9th round, finally wobbling the teak tough Zuniga, who was able to steady himself and finish the round, punching back against the imposing Pavlik. The combination of the hellish cut and increased level of punishment that Zuniga was taking prompted his corner to stop fight at the end of round 9.
Click for larger image © Mark DeSisto
Fight fans will want to keep an eye on Kelly Pavlik, as he appears to be on the rise from middleweight prospect to contender.
Contact Mark DeSisto: bostonsmarkd@yahoo.com
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