By: Sean Crose

Boxing returned to Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center on Saturday night, as Erislandy Lara battled Brain Castano for the WBA super welterweight title. First though, the card, which was aired on Showtime, presented featherweights Bryan DeGarcia (24-1-1) and Eduardo Ramierez (21-1-3) in a scheduled 12 round affair. The first three rounds were fast paced, and close, but generally uneventful. The fourth saw Ramirez apply pressure effectively while DeGracia employed strong body work. The end of the fifth saw DeGracia unload nicely on his man…though Ramirez fought back gamely. DeGracia continued to land well in the sixth. The active DeGracia looked to be carrying the fight as the match headed into the later rounds. In the ninth, however, Ramirez suddenly caught DeGracia – and unloaded. Referee Benjy Esteves stepped in and stopped the bout.

Photo Credit: Showtime Boxing Twitter Account

Next up was heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz (30-1) who was looking to get another crack at a heavyweight title by looking good against Germany’s 24-5 Christian Hammer in a scheduled 10 round battle. Ortiz won the first courtesy of an active jab and clean punching. Hammer caught Ortiz hard early in the second. Later in the round, Ortiz landed on Hammer. It was a close, exciting round, punctuated by a hard Ortiz body shot. The third saw both men trade punches. Hammer was trying to set traps, while Ortiz was a bit more active. The fourth saw both men trading leather. Something to note: many of Ortiz’ seemingly hard shots were hitting Hammer’s gloves. The fifth saw more of the same…Ortiz was winning, but it was clear he was in a fight. After a dominant sixth, Ortiz was heading into the second half of the fight seemingly in control of the scorecards.

Ortiz’ jab told the story in the seventh. In the eighth, however, it looked like Ortiz might (“might” being the operative word) be tiring a bit. Hammer was looking stronger late in the fight, possibly winning the ninth on the cards. Ortiz dominated the tenth, assuring himself the UD win he was ultimately granted by the judges. It wasn’t the heavyweight’s best fight, but he got the win, nonetheless.

It was time for the main event. Lara (25-3-2) was looking to reestablish himself as a top man in his division while the undefeated yet widely unknown champion Castano (15-0) was eager to make his mark on the world. The first round was a close affair. The second saw the slickster, Lara, trying to keep off Castano with his southpaw jab. Castano seemed to tough his way through the third, pinning his man against the ropes and landing with some effectiveness. Castano continued to be aggressive in the fourth, but many of his shots were landing on Lara’s gloves. Although he kept aggressive in the fifth, Castano took a lot of clean punches from Lara. The sixth was fast paced, exciting and very close.

Photo Credit: Showtime Boxing Twitter Account

Lara’s sharp shooting told the tale in the seventh. By the eighth, it became a matter of taste. People who enjoy pressure fighters would most likely prefer Castano. People who enjoy clean punching and defensive acumen would most likely prefer Lara. Castano landed to the body in the ninth, and Lara continued to land clean to the head. The tenth ended up being a high octane round with both men trading some nice shots. Castano’s relentless aggression may have won him the eleventh. The twelfth was also a high energy chapter, intense and hard to choose a winner from. Ultimately, the cards ruled it a draw, which was understandable considering the close nature of the fight.

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