LARA VS. RODRIGUEZ PBC ON SPIKE RECAP
By Zo Crooks,Real Combat Media Chicago Boxing Correspondent
Chicago, IL (June 13th, 2015)– Once again the PBC returned to Chicago on Friday night to display some of boxing’s greatest talent. In the main event Junior Middleweight Erislandy Lara easily defeated Delvin Rodriguez. Lara walked away a unanimous decision with scores of 120-107 on all three judges scorecards.
Lara displayed his slick Cuban style of boxing all night long. From the opening bell the jab was working. The jab then setup the straight left hands that couldn’t miss target the entire night. Lara dropped Rodriguez in the middle rounds with a vicious one-two combination. Although Lara put on a clinic, it took until the 5th round before an impatient crowd at the UIC Pavilion began to rain boos and whistles.
Lara used very little movement in this bout in comparison to previous bouts.. After the fight Lara said, “I was trying to bait him to come in but it wasn’t working. So I had to get aggressive in there…..It’s never a comfortable feeling leaving it up to the judges. I’d like to win every round and get the knockout if possible, but at least i got the win tonight. “
Rodriguez gave a great effort in defeat. He gave his this take on the fight, “It was very uncomfortable in there for me tonight. He was sharp and giving me lots of weird angles to work with. He was always looking to land his left. He caught me once to the body though and that took three or four rounds to shake off.”
Once the scores was announced Lara made it clear which direction he wants to go in. Lara said, “I’m going to sit down with my team and Al Haymon. The future is clear. We want the best. We want Floyd Mayweather. We want Miguel Cotto. We want Gennady Golovkin at 160 lbs.”
As for Rodriguez the future is not so clear. After losing a lopsided victory to Lara, Rodriguez stated, “It’s hard to say what’s next right now. There are still some great fights for me. Just because I lost to a skilled, technical fighter like Lara doesn’t mean there aren’t great fights left for me.”
In the co main event, fearsome light-heavyweight Artur Beterbiev ran his unbeaten streak to nine, all by knockout, with a seventh-round stoppage of game-but-outgunned Alexander Johnson (17-3). Beterbiev knocked Johnson down twice in the fifth, the first on a sharp jab-and-left-hook combination, the second with a series of clubbing rights.
After seemingly taking the next round off, Beterbiev finished it in the seventh. He caught Johnson, a late sub, with a short left hook that dropped him to one knee. A few seconds later, he clocked Johnson with a huge single right hand along the ropes. That crushing blow prompted referee Mark Nelson to immediately wave off the action as Johnson crumbled in a heap. The end came at 1:38 of the round and added more credence to Beterbiev’s reputation as a devastating finisher.
“Nothing was really working that well for me tonight though. I like to box smart and find the right openings. Maybe the righty to lefty switch in the last week made a difference…..I’m happy and proud to have been part of another PBC card and to have had a fight here in the United States. The last time I was in Chicago was back in 2007 in the same venue. So it felt great to be back”, said Beterbiev.
‘‘I’m ready for a championship fight,’’ said Beterbiev, who is being fast-tracked up the 175-pound ranks. ‘‘I don’t care who it is, but I want a title fight.’’
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @REALCOMBATMEDIA
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK: REALCOMBATMEDIA
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM : REALCOMBATMEDIA
CHECK OUT OUR QUALITY SPONSORED PRODUCTS
NUTRIENT RICH HEMP PLANT PROTEIN
IMPROVE BRAIN FUNCTION WITH ‘ALPHA BRAIN’
IMPROVE YOUR ENERGY WITH SHROOMTECH
INCREASE ENDURANCE WITH THE CARDIO MASK
INCREASE YOUR STRENGTH WITH T-PLUS
English
No Comments Yet