By: William Holmes

Who have you fought?

It’s the first question you should ask yourself when evaluating a fight. Some boxers have impressive records with paper thin resumes, and some boxers have decent looking records with a collegiate resume. Records are just numbers, and until a boxer with an impressive record has fought someone competitive, an impressive record can be meaningless.

ESPN’s Friday Night Fights took place from the Foxwoods Resorts in Ledyard, Connecticut and featured what looked to be the best main event that ESPN has broadcast so far in 2012. Hammering Hank Lundy (21-1-1) took on Dannie Williams (21-1) in a lightweight tilt that held possible title implications for both in the near future. Both were young prospects with solid hype behind them, but Lundy was the better known fighter, since he’s fought tougher competition. In Lundy’s past five fights, he has fought opponents with a combined record of 90-8-1, and Williams has fought opponents with a combined record of 83-40-11. Williams claimed that Lundy was vastly overrated.

He was proven wrong.

The fight started off fast, and Williams showed that there’s a reason many analysts consider him to be a highly ranked prospect. Both Lundy and Williams displayed good hand speed, and a left hook from Williams knocked Lundy down in the first round. However, Lundy was able to dig deep and draw from his experience to establish control of the fight from the second round on. He began to find his range with his jab in the second round, and the third round featured some fierce exchanges, with Lundy getting the better of Williams.

As the fight wore on, Williams began to get wide with his punches and a little wild, while Lundy stayed compact with his punches and landed the cleaner shots. Williams tried to trap Lundy by the ropes a few times, but for the most part Lundy was able to successfully fight his way out of trouble. By the end of the fight, it was clear who the winner was, despite the second round knockdown.

Hank Lundy wins by decision with scores of 98-91, 97-92, and 97-92.

The opening bout was a middleweight fight between Elvin Ayala (24-5-1) and last minute replacement Eric Mitchell (23-8-1). Ayala has five losses on his record, but has also fought some solid competition. He has lost to David Lemieux, Arthur Abraham, and drew with Sergio Mora. None of those losses are losses that he should be ashamed about.

Mitchell was a last minute replacement for the originally scheduled Hector Comacho Jr., who suffered a hand injury midweek. Despite the lack of preparation and being way past his prime age, Mitchell looked to be in surprisingly good shape. Mitchell also fought at the heaviest weight he’s fought at in six years.

This fight was for the WBC US Middleweight Championship, which ranks somewhere below the WBC Diamond Belt and WBC Regular Championship.

It wasn’t the most action packed bout. Mitchell put up a tougher fight than expected, but Ayala was able to use his longer reach to control the action and dictate the pace. Mitchell attacked the body of Ayala, and clinched whenever he felt he was in trouble. It wasn’t enough to win him a majority of the rounds though. Ayala was landing the crisper punches and was never in any serious trouble. He did slip in round six, but the referee correctly ruled it a slip and not a knockdown.

Elvin Ayala won the bout with scores of 79-73, 79-73, and 78-74.

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