By: Sean Crose

Boxing returned to Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Casino on Saturday night, as Showtime broadcast a Premiere Boxing Champions card. First up, the 12-0 Rolando Romero battled the 10-3 Avery Sparrow in a scheduled 12 round lightweight contest. Justin Pauldo was supposed to be Romero’s opponent, but his inability to make weight allowed for Sparrow to slip into the televised card.

A left hook sent Sparrow to the mat within the first minute of the first round. He got up and tried to hold on, but Romero hammered away. Ultimately, however, Sparrow was able to survive the round. Romero continued to chop away in the second, yet Avery held up. He did not, however, effectively fight back. Romero continued to hit hard in the third. Yet he was also effectively employing range.

Sparrow got a warning for holding in the fourth, though the broadcast team was puzzled by this. Meanwhile, Romero kept swinging hard. Sparrow, whose trunks seemed a bit too big, kept coming forward in the fifth, as he had throughout the previous four rounds, no matter what kind of punishment he was taking. Sparrow’s leg appeared to give out in the sixth, but he managed to get up. Still, an intentional low blow led the referee to take away two points from the fighter. By the seventh round, Sparrow’s corner had seen enough and stopped the fight.

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