Ringside Boxing Report: Giovanni Lorenzo – Archak TerMeliksetian

ByJim Marra
Main Events put on a cracking five bout fightcard on Friday night at Schuetzen Park in North Bergen, NJ headlined by an exciting matchup of promising light middleweight prospects Giovanni Lorenzo vs. Archak TerMeliksetian. The two engaged in a spirited slugfest that didn’t go the distance but that was just part of the entertaining, well run promotion by Main Events. There were some interesting undercard contests as well, kicked off by

a cruiserweight pairing between Cracow, Poland’s Gregory Somzyski and Lloyd Wilson.

Things started off evenly but Wilson, of Winston-Salem, NC was in survival mode by the end of the second round. Every time that Somzyski got on the inside, Wilson clinched up. This led to Somzyski getting the unanimous decision win in his professional debut, 40-36 and 39-37 (twice), much to the delight of the strong Polish crowd in the North Bergen audience. Lloyd Wilson drops to 3-3 (3).

Next up was a light middleweight clash between Mariusz Cendrowski, of Wroclaw, Poland and Miami’s Hicklet Lau. In this matchup, Cendrowski showed some good speed and landed some clean power punches that only seemed to stun the Cuban journeyman. The Pole was the more aggressive fighter, while Lau seemed to hide behind his jab all night. At the end of six rounds, Cendrowski got the victory on the scorecards 59-55, 58-56 and 58-57 to move to 11-0 (6) while Lau drops to 19-16-2 (9).

Super middleweights Wayne Johnsen and Clifton Roberson provided ample fireworks as their contest became a very heated affair from the start. Both fighters were trading powershots with each other in the first round and the give and take battle continued on for the next three rounds with the combatants even exchanging blows after the bell of round four. By the fifth, Roberson, of Ripley, TN began to tire and was quickly knocked down, through the ropes by Lyndhurst, NJ’s Johnsen, and the hometown man’s fans began to go wild.

The less experienced visitor got up at the count of eight but never fully recovered as Johnsen, sensing victory, quickly pounced on his opponent, throwing a barrage of punches which were mostly unanswered by Roberson. This led the referee to stop the bout at 2:15 of the fifth. Wayne Johnsen improves to 11-1 (6) while Clifton Roberson falls to 2-1-1(1).

The final undercard match was a heavyweight pairing that saw another Polish import, undefeated prospect Mariusz Wach, square off against veteran Earl Ladson of Winston-Salem, NC. After entering the ring, Wach stood at an intimidating 6 feet 6 inches and towered over his adversary. Much like the present heavyweight division, this fight proved to be unimpressive for the first three rounds, but by the fourth, Wach was able to wobble Ladson with some heavy right hands.

During the sixth and final round, Wach again went back to his right hand and landed some huge shots. The determined Ladson, 12-9 (7), was able to survive, but he lost the decision 60-54 on all cards while Wach, 8-0 (2), celebrated with his Polish fans in the crowd.

It seemed that both the Polish and Wayne Johnsen fans left before the headlining bout, only to be replaced by Dominican fans who appeared to fill up Schuetzen Park to cheer on their fighter, light middle Giovanni Lorenzo. While Lorenzo, born in the Dominican Republic but now living in New York, entered the ring, his fans were stirred into a frenzy, waving numerous flags of their native country. His opponent Archak TerMeliksetian, of Los Angeles, didn’t look terribly impressed.

During the early rounds, both fighters exchanged numerous punches with the two being equally successful at landing. Lorenzo and TerMeliksetian also exchanged verbal jabs as well at the end of each round. By the fourth, Lorenzo took to the offensive and landed his punches effectively, while Archak began to counter with some success as he found openings in Lorenzo’s defense.

Both fighters were warned on numerous occasions throughout the fourth to stop hitting behind the head as the dislike between the two rivals intensified. Lorenzo then put on a great boxing display in the fifth by jabbing and finding his opponents range. The unbeaten twenty five year old was scoring with two or three punch combinations and then jabbing his way out. This sweet scientific display sent the Dominican crowd nuts while chants of “Lo-Ren-Zo!” began to erupt throughout Schuetzen Park.

By round six, Lorenzo was doing much of the same but was deducted a point for hitting behind the head. This seemed to energize TerMeliksetian a little as he ended the round strongly with a good flurry of punches.

The seventh quickly turned into a slugfest between the two fighters and saw Lorenzo catch Archak on the ropes, hammering the native Armenian at will. Lorenzo seemed determined to make up for the point he lost in round six. From the accumulation of punches TerMeliksetian took in round seven, he did not answer the bell for the eighth and final round. Giovanni Lorenzo moves to 20-0 (12) and secures a possible future date with fellow undefeated prospect Sechew Powell. Archak TerMeliksetian has now lost two bouts in a row and drops to 15-3 (12).