Boxing News Boxing News
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Last Wednesday, The Borgata Hotel and Casino played host to ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fights as part of a huge week of boxing in Atlantic City; a week that will feature two fighters named Hopkins as the main event on different nights. Antonio Tarver, the other half of Saturday’s main event, made a ringside appearance to do an interview for ESPN. Tarver exuded confidence as he walked around the ring donning a shirt stating, “Legend Killer.” With two of boxing’s finest preparing to do battle this Saturday, two rising stars took center stage in the co-main events on Wednesday.
Demetrius Hopkins vs. Michael Warrick
The pre-fight buzz was about Hopkins, at light welter, failing to make weight. At the first weigh-in, he was 143 pounds, and weighed-in at 142 pounds on his second try. After the fight, Hopkins said he felt the effect of having to cut the extra weight. The fatigue definitely showed. His opponent, Michael Warrick, on the other hand, entered the contest in top shape. Warrick had a high energy level and gave Hopkins a tough fight.
Round one: Warrick was very aggressive, pressing Hopkins early. Hopkins stayed back and picked his spots to throw counters. The first round featured very little action and neither man was able to land big. Warrick, the more active fighter, took the first round on all three scorecards.
Round two: Warrick kept pressing Hopkins in the second round, but struggled to land anything. Hopkins, again, stayed back and countered. Hopkins landed a strong right hand midway through the round, but did little else. Hopkins took the round on all three scorecards.
Round three: Hopkins began to warm up while Warrick continued to push. The two exchanged left hands early in the round, but Warrick was unable to land anything substantial after that. Hopkins began to show off his superior reach and quickness, landing a few big counter left hooks. Hopkins won the round on all three scorecards.
Round four: Hopkins continued to dance as Warrick charged him. Hopkins was able to do some damage in the middle of the round with a big counter left hook. Warrick seemed fazed by the hook and lost some aggression. Hopkins responded by pressing Warrick, using his jab more and landed a hard right toward the end of the round. Hopkins won the round on all three scorecards.
Round five: There was little action in the round until Warrick hurt his left knee in an exchange. Hopkins pounced on his opponent as Warrick hobbled around the ring. Hopkins landed a several strong left-right combinations, but was unable to land a big blow cleanly. Hopkins won on all three scorecards.
Round six: Warrick seemed to shake off the knee injury and continued to attack Hopkins, who was content to remain in a defensive position, failing to capitalize on the momentum he built in the previous round. Warrick scored effectively with the jab, but was unable to land power punches. I thought Warrick outworked Hopkins and took the sixth round. One judge agreed, but the other two awarded Hopkins the round.
Round seven: Another close round as Warrick continued to battle. He scored with the jab and landed a big left hook in the middle of the round. His energy and that punch, along with Hopkins’ continued dancing, gave him the round on two of the three judges’ scorecards.
Round eight: Warrick looked tired as Hopkins scored on him with the jab throughout the round. Warrick, behind on the scorecards, began lunging at Hopkins in hopes of landing a knockout punch. Hopkins countered with the jab and the two fighters clinched often. Hopkins landed and Warrick did not. All three judges awarded Hopkins the round.
Round nine: By the ninth round, most of the crowd had grown disinterested in a fight that featured more clinches than big punches or good exchanges and many of the fans didn’t see the right cross that Hopkins threw in the middle of the round. Unfortunately, Michael Warrick didn’t see it either. The monster right hand connected cleanly with Warrick’s jaw, knocking him unconscious. Hopkins won the fight, scoring a KO at 1:59 of the ninth, raising his record to 24-0-1 with 10 knockouts.
Hopkins was the better boxer in this fight. His hands were faster, his reach was longer and his defense was excellent. He struggled to match Warrick’s energy level and seemed flat throughout the fight. He did, however, display flashes of greatness when he could summon the energy. He overmatched Warrick when he was the aggressor, but he rarely took the initiative. Warrick’s record dropped to 18-4 but he fought a hard fight and never gave up. He showed great toughness to come back after injuring his knee in the fifth round and make the sixth and seventh rounds interesting.
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Ishe Smith vs. Pat Thompson
Junior middleweight Ishe Smith, of “The Contender” fame, returned to the ring for the first time in over a year against Patrick Thompson. Smith showed very little ring rust, dominating the fight from the beginning.
Round one: Smith took control in the first round of the fight, landing power shots and combinations to the head and body of Thompson, who had no response.
Round two: The second round featured less action and Thompson was able to land a few punches, but Smith still had control of the fight and won the round.
Round three: In the third, Thompson’s nose began to bleed. The two fighters had a couple of nice exchanges, but Smith once again got the better of Thompson.
Round four: Thompson was much more aggressive in the fourth. He scored early in the round with a strong right hook and seemed to show some life in the fight. Smith regained control in the middle of the round by using his jab. Thompson, however, finished the round strong landing a big right hand. He won the round on two of the three judges’ scorecards.
Round five: Smith regained control in the fifth round and nearly stopped Thompson with a big right hook and a flurry of punches. Thompson was defenseless and falling into the ropes as the bell rang to end round five.
Round six: The sixth round featured very little action as both fighters seemed to take a round off. They danced and jabbed, but didn’t throw much until the end of the frame when Smith landed three right hooks to end the round. One judge awarded Thompson the session, while the other two gave Smith the sixth.
Round seven: Thompson was tired and desperate in the seventh round. He began swinging wildly, but was able to score some punches. Smith used his jab to keep Thompson off and won the seventh round on two of the three judges’ scorecards.
Round eight: In the eighth, Smith was able to hurt Thompson with a right hook and bombard with a flurry of hooks and uppercuts. Thompson somehow stayed on his and survived the round.
Round nine: In the ninth, Smith landed his jab at will, but was unable to land a knockout punch. Smith won the round easily.
Round ten: The tenth round featured much of the same. Smith dominated with his jab and Thompson was too tired to defend against it. Midway through the tenth, Smith asked the referee to stop the fight and began taunting Thompson, who had blood dripping from his nose at this point. Thompson became frustrated, but didn’t give Smith an opportunity for an easy knockout. Smith won a unanimous decision. by scores of 99-91(twice) and 98-92.
Ishe Smith dominated a very mediocre fighter in Pat Thompson. He was faster, had superior defense, and superior skill. Thompson, however, refused to go down or give up. Smith had several opportunities to end the fight, but was unable to finish. This victory, albeit impressive, leads me to believe Smith lacks the power to be an elite fighter in the junior middleweight division.
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Sheldon Rudolph vs. Lorenzo Bethea
The best fight of the night occurred after the cameras were turned off and most of the crowd had left. Bethea, an Atlantic City product, had the support of the hometown crowd, at least what remained of it. The two welterweights gave the fans something that had been missing for most of the night, action and excitement. The two fighters stood toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring and landed bombs. There was no fancy footwork, no dancing, no attempt to establish a jab from four or five feet away. The two pounded each other with hooks for three and a half round. Bethea, who had dominated the entire fight, won the fight by TKO in the middle of the fourth round.
