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Photos ©Barry Arpin/SaddoBoxing
Defending USBA Super Bantamweight Champion Mike Oliver put his title and unbeaten record on the line this past Friday against veteran Vernie Torres at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT. Torres, a tough, former USBA Super Flyweight Champion came in looking to derail Oliver’s title quest and place himself back in the hunt.
This was Oliver’s first time in the ring since besting previously undefeated Gary Stark Jr., by unanimous decision in February. While the victory over Stark wasn’t his best showing, a silver lining can be found in the fact that he managed an easy win on points despite not being at his best. Torres also faced Stark Jr., at the end of last year, dropping a unanimous decision.
Mike Oliver made his way to the ring accompanied by a rapper providing a musical entrance (ala 50 Cent for Floyd), and a corner that included former cruiserweight title contender John “Ice Man” Scully and the full support of his hometown fans.
On appearances alone, Mike Oliver looked to be the leaner, perhaps more fit fighter of the two, while Torres, although in good shape, appeared thicker.
The action started with Oliver demonstrating his lightning quick hands, ripping off hard combos and making it difficult for Torres to mount any type of offense. Torres tried to time a big punch in spots but found no success in the first round.
Oliver looked comfortable as the aggressor in the first, bringing the fight to Torres. In the second round, he put his counterpunching skills on display, patiently waited for his opponent to throw then he slipped the attack and landed flush, hard punches that stopped Torres from advancing.
Before Torres could adjust, Oliver flipped the switch and turned back into the aggressor, hurting his rival with hard flurries.
With Oliver’s speed becoming more and more of a factor, he wasted no time in attacking, keeping Torres reeling, and scoring at will. Torres found some success landing a hard shot or two in spots but Oliver showed a solid chin and seemed unaffected.
About halfway through round three, Torres tried to bull his way inside, a strategy which backfired as Oliver peppered him from close range and fought very well while moving backward.
In the early part of round four, cheers of “Machine Gun, Machine Gun” echoed throughout the arena and seemed to energize the already electric Oliver. He rattled off a vicious series of punches, keeping Torres pinned against the ropes.
Torres attempted to answer back with a flurry but Oliver again slipped away from and around most shots, nailing Torres in return.
By the fifth, Torres once relatively heavy punches became more looping and less effective even when they landed. It was becoming evident that Torres was becoming frustrated with the direction in which the fight was moving.
Vernie started to resort to some desperate grabbing at Oliver and holding him in headlocks after clenches, earning him his first warning from the ref. Oliver kept his focus and continued to hammer away at the increasingly discouraged Torres.
In the sixth round, Oliver and Torres delivered one of the best exchanges of the fight. Torres rocked Oliver early, only to have the local man bounce back, quickly pinning Torres on the ropes and banging away.
It would have been easy, maybe even smart for “Machine Gun” to coast to a points victory but even after realizing his superior hand speed was too much for Torres, he still chose to bang away with Vernie, giving the fans everything they hoped for. It has become obvious that the only hope Torres has of gaining a win is to land one big punch.
In round seven, Torres again finds his back against the ropes while he eats combos from Oliver. Then “Machine Gun” flurried hard, nearly sending Torres through the ropes.
The ref jumped in and nearly ate a shot from Torres, who came off the ropes swinging. A disgusted Torres finally realized that he was being given a standing eight count. Oliver continued to dominate the action and coasted to an easy 10-8 round.
The fight lasted until an accidental head butt at 1:18 in the eighth round, causing the ref to send the fighter to their corners. A cut above Torres’s left eye caused the ringside physician to call a halt to the entertaining scrap.
Much like the preceding rounds, Oliver was in control right up to the finish. Mike Oliver was awarded a technical victory and he won every round on my card, with the judges scoring it 79-72, 79-72 and 78-73.
A few other interesting match-ups included highly regarded prospect featherweight Dat Nguyen improving to 9-0 (5) with his UD victory over Jorge Ruiz, who fell to 5-2-1 (0).
Undefeated heavyweight prospect Tony Grano scored a first round TKO over Jay Sweetman, 7-6 (3). Grano runs his mark to 9-0-1 (8).
Cruiserweight Chris McInerny moves to 8-0-1 (5) with a fifth round TKO over veteran Eric Starr, 15-31-3 (4).
A match-up between Anthony Russell, 15-2-1 (4), and Rodney Toney, 29-4-4 (17). was ruled a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads prompting the ringside physician to call the fight in the third round.
