Robert Easter Jr. and Richard Commey in PBC Fight of The Year! Jacobs Wins Rematch
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Photo Credit: Robert Brizel, Real Combat Media- Ringside
Reading, PA (September 11th, 2016)– Spike, Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions and Marshall Kauffman’s King’s Promotions surpassed the competition Friday night, September 9, 2016. The Robert Easter Jr. versus Richard Commey vacant International Boxing Federation World Lightweight world title bout was a Spike winner, the best on the 11 bout card. It was a thriller for every moment of 12 rounds at Santander Arena, in Reading, Pennsylvania.
With a share of the world lightweight title at stake, the boxing exchanges went back and forth for all 12 rounds, and kept boxing fans on their feet. The rounds were all close, and difficult to score. When it was all over, Robert Easter Jr. went to 18-0 with 14 knockouts, Toledo, Ohio, with a razor 12 round split decision over Richard Commey, 24-1 with 22 knockouts, Accra, Ghana.
Easter was taller than Commey at 5’11”, but he had a very wide stance, which did not allow him to move around the ring as he should have. A frustrated Easter slipped around the ring at times. Commey was shorter at 5’9”, but he had quicker reflexes and foot movement, and he was able to get in and out at opportune times, making the most of it with every surge. Yet, Easter was able to disrupt Commey’s rhythm at times with a nice, quick jab.
Commey did a little better in the early rounds. He fought with shades of brilliance like his Ghanaian compatriot Azumah Nelson. It took a little while for Easter to match Commey’s intensity. In the middle rounds, about the fourth or fifth round, Easter started to time Commey. As a result, Commey began holding a lot.
Commey staggered Easter somewhere in the middle rounds. Easter’s conditioning helped him to recuperate fairly quickly. One of Easter’s gloves touched the canvas in round 8, scored as a knockdown for a 10-8 round for Commey. Easter dominated the later rounds, pushing Commey back to the ropes, and scoring frequently with uppercuts. Commey responded as best as he could, fighting off the ropes wherever possible. A hard right by Easter rocked Commey in the final round.
After the bout, Commey stated he felt he won and asked for a rematch, saying it was difficult to win versus an American on American soil. However, the scoring results from the three judges spoke for neutrality and fairness. It is clear the three judges based their scorecards on the bout, and not on the cheering Toledo fans who traveled to the Doubletree Hotel in Reading to support their favorite fighter as part of the ‘Bunny Team’. It was not Easter in September. It was an all-around fair fight which could have gone either way.
Result: Robert Easter Jr. Win Split Decision 12 Richard Commey, Lightweights
Scoring: 114-11, 114-113 for Easter. 114-113 for Comney. Controversial decision.
Easter wins vacant International Boxing Federation World Lightweight Title.
Referee: Benjy Esteves Jr. IBF Supervisor: Randy Neumann
In the televised Spike main event, Danny Jacobs retained the World Boxing Association World Middleweight title with a seventh round stoppage of Sergio Mora in a pathetic tune up rematch. Jacobs, 32-1 with 29 knockouts, Brooklyn, New York, ‘The Miracle Man’, needed no miracle to dispose of Mora, ‘The Latin Snake’, 28-5-2 with nine knockouts, Los Angeles, California. Mora twisted his right ankle in the second round of the first encounter at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in August of 2015.
In the rematch, Mora had better movement, and ran in the early rounds. The snake acted more like a mouse, and Jacobs, the cat, cut off the ring, and landed power shots which dropped Mora in rounds 4 and 5. Eventually, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, Mora got dropped three times in round 7, and the Reading massacre was mercifully ended by referee Gary Rosato.
To Mora’s credit, nobody expected him to show improvement over his last showing with Jacobs. Perhaps the most noteworthy point was Argentine middleweight contender Jorge Sebastian Heiland’s win over Angel Hernandez in the preliminary bouts, perhaps hoping to be the next challenger for Jacobs. Saul Canelo Alvarez remains active at 154 pounds, and Gennady Golovkin remains active at 160 as the recognized middleweight champion. Take your pick. Until GGG and Canelo come to the table with Jacobs, Danny will be forced to do battle with a second tier of opponents, who are looking more and more like fools with him.
Result: Danny Jacobs TKO 7 Serio Mora, Middleweights (2:08)
Jacobs retains World Boxing Association World Middleweight title
Referee: Gary Rosato. WBA Supervisor: Aurelio Fiengo
Mora down in rounds 4 and 5, and down three times in round 7. Referee stops contest.
Preliminary Bouts at Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania
Referees: Benjy Esteves Jr., Shawn Clark
Travis Kauffman TKO 2 Josh Gormley, Heavyweights (0:47)
Gormley’s left arm came out of socket and was dangling, and needed to be popped back in.
Christopher Brooker Win Majority Decision 8 Elvin Ayala, Super Middleweights
Veteran Ayala takes prospect Brooker on a trip to hell, including winning round eight.
Jorge Sebastian Heiland TKO 2 Angel Hernandez, Middleweights (0:47)
Contender Heiland knocked Hernandez down twice in first, and again in second round, and nears a world title shot. Note: Hernandez is not Angel ‘Toro’ Hernandez of Chicago.
Kermit Cintron TKO 7 Manny Woods, Super Welterweights (2:28)
Ex-World Welterweight champion Cintron won the walkout bout with Woods, but it wasn’t easy. Cintron sustained a bad left eye cut from a head butt in round 4, and finally finished Woods in a corner late in round 7, who went down and out. Cintron’s left eye cut was immediately ordered glued shut by Pennsylvania Athletic Commissioner Greg Sirb before going to the hospital, mandating an extended ‘no boxing’ recuperative period.
Frank De Alba KO 2 Kiun Evans, Super Featherweights (3:04)
20 win southpaw Reading prospect De Alba exposed the padded 12-2-1 record of visiting tomato can Evans from Little Rock, Arkansas. The bell rang while Evans got counted out.
Earl Newman Win 6 Leo Hall, cruiserweights
10-0 Brooklyn prospect Newman and 8-1 Detroit prospect Hall went at it rock’em sock’em robots style, in exciting six round technical war. Newman outworked Hall, who gave his all.
Erik Spring Win 6 Simon Henriksson, Super Welterweights
8-1-1 Reading southpaw super welterweight prospect Spring was oh so careful outpointing unknown 4-0 Simon Henriksson of Ystad, Sweden. Nobody knew anything about the guy.
Nicholas Hernandez Win 4 Randy Hedderick, Super Welterweights
Reading prospect Hernandez had his hands full outworking 1-6-1 Gulfport, Mississippi’s Hedderick, a well-conditioned, sharp boxing ringer who has gone the distance eight times.
Kashon Hutchinson win 4 Jordan Morales, Super Lightweights
Reading prospect Hutchinson outpoints Lebanon prospect Morales 3 rounds to 1 in battle of Pennsylvania hopefuls. Morales won second round, making Hutchinson work for win.
Former world champions Michael Moorer, Adrien Broner, and Antonio Tarver were in attendance. Paid admission after parties were held at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading, and at the Fumo Hookah Bar.
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