Tag Archives: erislandy

Posted on 03/01/2019

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) will televise a card from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York live on Showtime. Tom Brown’s TGB Promotions and Lou DiBella’s DiBella Entertainment are the co-promoters of this card.

The main event of the evening will be between Brian Castano and Erislandy Lara for Castano’s WBA “Regular” Junior Middleweight Title. The co-main event of the evening will be a heavyweight clash between Luis Ortiz and Christian Hammer.

The undercard will feature prospects and contenders such as Bryan De Gracia, Eduardo Ramirez, Edward Rodriguez, and Antonio Russell.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Trapp/Showtime Boxing

The following is a preview of the co-main event and main event of the evening.

Luis Ortiz (30-1) vs. Christian Hammer (24-5); Heavyweight

Luis Ortiz challenged for the heavyweight title in 2018 in an exciting bout with Deontay Wilder but faded at the end and was stopped before the final bell. Since then he has come back to defeat Travis Kauffman and Razvan Cojanu as he attempts to get another shot at a heavyweight title.

On Saturday he’ll be facing Christian Hammer, a fighter who is about 8 years younger than him and about two inches shorter. Hamer fought twice in 2018 and three times in 2017 and has five losses on his record. Ortiz, despite his advancing age, has also been active and fought three times in 2018 and once in 2017.

Ortiz has the edge in most comparable stats. He also has the knockout power edge as he has stopped twenty six of his opponents while Hammer only stopped fourteen of his opponents. Ortiz also had a better amateur career as he was a multi-time Cuban National Champion while Hammer was a former Romanian Amateur Boxing Champion.

Ortiz has defeated the likes of Malik Scott, Tony Thompson, Bryant Jennings, and Monte Barrett. Hammer has defeated the likes of Michael Wallisch, David Price, Erkan Teper, and Kevin Johnson.

However, Hammer has also lost to the likes of Mariusz Wach, Taras Bidenko, Tyson Fury, and Alexander Povetkin.

Ortiz’s age is of concern, but he’s still an elite level boxer with considerable power. Hammer is basically a fringe contender.

Saturday should be a relatively easier fight for Ortiz.

Brian Castano (15-0) vs. Erislandy Lara (25-3-2); WBA Junior Middleweight Title

Erislandy Lara has long been considered a pound for pound great and one of the best boxers in the junior middleweight division. However, he has lost some of his shine since his loss to Jarrett Hurd and his advancing age of thirty five.

On Saturday he will be facing a tough young opponent in Brian Castano, who is six years younger than Lara.

Lara will have a significant edge in height of three inches and reach of seven inches. Lara does have fourteen stoppages on his resume, three more than Castano, but he fought twice the number of fights.

Castano had a good amateur career and was a gold medalist in the South American Games. He also beat current pound for pound great Errol Spence Jr. as an amateur. Lara was a Cuban National Champ and a World Champ as an amateur which gives him the slight edge in amateur experience.

Lara has lost to the likes of Jarrett Hurd, Canelo Alvarez, and Paul Williams. He has defeated the likes of Terrell Gausha, Yuri Foreman, Vanes Martirosyan, Jan Zaveck, Delvin Rodriguez, Ishe Smith, and Austin Trout.

Castano has defeated the likes of Cedric Vitu, Michel Soro, Emmanue de Jesus, and Marcus Upshaw. At this point in their careers, Lara has defeated the better fighters.

However, Lara is advancing in age and showed signs of it when he lost to Jarrett Hurd. Castano is known for being an aggressive fighter who throws a high number of punches, a style that will usually give an older fighter fits as the fight progresses to the later rounds.

This writer feels this will be Castano’s breakout fight and will score an upset over Lara.

Posted on 04/08/2018

By: William Holmes

Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions put on a triple header on the Showtime networks live from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The main event of the evening was between Erislandy Lara and Jarrett Hurd and the co-main event of the evening was between James DeGale and Caleb Truax which was a rematch of a mammoth upset in 2017.

The opening bout of the night was between Julian Williams (24-1-1) and Nathaniel Gallimore (20-1) in the junior middleweight division. The winner of this bout will likely be looking at a title shot in the near future.

Julian Williams was a big step up in competition for Nathaniel Gallimore and he stayed behind a strong jab and good side to side movement in the opening three rounds. Gallimore was able to land some shots on the inside, and landed and received some heavy shots in the fourth round.

Williams had a small mouse under his right eye in the fifth round that opened up from an unintentional headbutt. Williams began to focus on the body more in the middle rounds, though he looked a little tired in the fifth and sixth rounds.

Williams body work continued into the seventh, eight, and ninth rounds and it was visibly sapping the energy of Gallimore. Gallimore’s punches didn’t have much snap in the tenth round and Williams had Gallimore badly hurt in the eleventh round and looked close to stopping him.

It was an entertaining fight, with only one questionable scorecard at the end.

The final scores were 114-114, 116-112, and 117-110 in favor of Julian Williams.

After this bout Floyd Mayweather Jr. was interviewed by Showtime and indicated that if he was going to unretire he would fight in the octagon.

The co-main event of the night was between Caleb Truax (29-3-2) and James DeGale (23-2-1) for the IBF Super Middleweight Title.

Photo Credit: Showtime Twitter Account

DeGale showed the quicker hand speed and more accurate in the opening two rounds, but it featured many headbutts that often happen when a southpaw faces an orthodox fighter.

Truax applied heavy pressure in the third round which featured a hard-right hand to the chin of DeGale that sent him falling backwards into the ropes. DeGale had a cut by his right eye that the referee ruled was caused by a punch, but the video replay showed it was caused by a head-butt.

The Nevada commission informed the announce team in the fourth round that the ruling on the cut being caused by a punch still stood despite the video evidence.

Truax continued to come forward in the fourth through sixth rounds while DeGale badly bled. Truax however wasn’t able to land many effective combinations but he was pressing the action.

DeGale started to land some good counters in the seventh round and land some good short shots on the inside. DeGale had a very strong eighth and ninth rounds and often switched to an orthodox stance from his traditional southpaw stance.

Truax had cuts under both of his eyes by the ninth round and appeared to be tiring. DeGale lost a point in the tenth round for a deliberate shoulder strike.

The final two rounds were close and featured some tight action, but DeGale looked like he was landing the better punches.

The final scores were 117-110, 114-113, and 114-113 for James DeGale.

The main event of the night was between Jarrett Hurd (21-0) and Erislandy Lara (25-2-2) for the IBF and WBA Junior Middleweight Titles .

Photo Credit: Showtime Twitter Account

Hurd looked like he was two weight classes bigger than Lara, but Lara was able to find a home with his straight left hand early on and land some quick combinations in the second.

Hurd didn’t appear to be too bothered with Lara’s power and was able to land some good short shots on the inside and was making Lara back away from him in the fourth rounds.

Hurd showed he had a granite chin in the fifth round and was able to take the shots of Lara and answer with his own shots to the body. Lara appeared to tire in the sixth rounds as his back was against the ropes again, and he took a hard right hook at the end of the seventh round.

Hurd was able to land some very hard shots in the eighth round and had Lara’s eye puffed up badly in the ninth.
Lara was able to slow Hurd’s momentum in the 10th round with quick counters and being the first on the attack, and he was able to finish the eleventh round strong and maybe steal the round.

The twelfth round featured both boxers going for the knockout, but it was Hurd who landed a shot that sent his opponent to the mat. Lara looked badly hurt and face was swollen, but he was able to survive the round.

The scores were 114-113 Lara, 114-113 Hurd, and 114-113 Hurd.

Posted on 04/06/2018

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night Showtime will team up with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to put on two highly competitive fights live from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas Nevada.

The main event will feature a Junior Middleweight Unificaiton bout between Erislandy Lara and the rising Jarrett Hurd. The co-main event of the evening will feature an anticipated rematch between Caleb Truax and James DeGale for the IBF Super Middleweight World Championship.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Trapp/Showtime

Their first match was won by Truax in what many consider to be the biggest upset of the year in 2017.

The undercard will feature fighters such as Julian Williams, Sergio Mora, and Alfredo Angulo.

The following is a preview of the two televised fights.

Caleb Truax (29-3-2) vs. James DeGale (23-2-1); IBF Super Middleweight Title

The expected opening bout of the telecast will be between Caleb Truax and James DeGale for the IBF Super Middleweight Title. Truax was able to pull off a tremendous upset during their first bout and surprisingly is still considered by many to be the underdog, despite the fact he beat DeGale in England.

Truax and DeGale are the same height and DeGale has a slight one inch reach advantage. Truax has been the more active boxer of the two. He fought twice in 2017 and three times in 2016. DeGale fought twice in 2017 and once in 2016.

DeGale clearly has the better amateur resume of the two. He was an Olympic Gold Medalist in 2008 while Truax was an Upper Midwest Golden Gloves Champion. However, while DeGale may be the better amateur boxer Truax appears to have more power in his punches. Truax has stopped eighteen of his opponents while DeGale has stopped fourteen.

Truax has defeated the likes of DeGale, KeAndrae Leatherwood, Melvin Betenacourt, Scott Sigmon, Derek Ennis, and Donovan George. He has lost to the likes of Anthony Dirrell, Daniel Jacobs, and Jermain Taylor.

DeGale has beaten the likes of Rogelio Medina, Lucian Bute, Andre Dirrell, Marco Antonio Periban, and Dyah Davis. His losses were to George Groves and Truax.

Even though DeGale has the edge in amateur experience and defeated opponents, Truax was able to beat DeGale in his own backyard and rather convincingly the first time they faced each other and it wasn’t by a lucky knockout punch.

Truax will have the mental edge going into Saturday night that may be the difference to help him win this rematch.

Jarrett Hurd (21-0) vs. Erislandy Lara (25-2-2); IBF/WBA Junior Middleweight Titles

This is an intriguing fight between a decorated amateur from Cuba that may be coming near the end of his physical peak and a young upcoming champion looking to make a name for him.

Lara is thirty four years old and will be seven years older than Hurd on fight night. He will also be giving up four inches in height and two and a half inches in reach. Hurd has also been the more active fighter of the two. He fought twice in 2017 and twice in 2016, while Lara only fought once in 2016 and fought twice in 2017.

Lara, however, does not appear to be worried about the size difference. He stated at the last press conference, ” “Everyone knows I love to fight his style. I’ve fought better and taller fighters than him and you’ve seen me dominate them. It’s going to be nothing different on Saturday night.”

Hurd has a slight edge in power as he has fifteen stoppage victories on his record, while Lara only has fourteen stoppage victories.

Hurd was a semifinalist in the National Golden Gloves tournament as an amateur while Lara was a Cuban National Amateur Champion and a member of the Cuban National Boxing Team.

Hurd has defeated the likes of Austin Trout, Tonly Harrison, Ionut Dan, Oscar Molina and Frank Galarza. Nobody has yet to defeat Hurd as a professional.

Lara’s two losses were close and were to Canelo Alvarez and to Paul Williams. He has defeated the likes of Terrel Gausha, Yuri Foreman, Vanes Martirosyan, Jan Zaveck, Delvin Rodriguez, Ishe Smith, Austin Trout, Alfredo Angulo, and Freddy Hernandez.

Hurd appears ready to test Lara and take advantage of his size advantage and his age advantage. He stated, “”Lara is a guy who can’t take pressure fighters well. I have some of the best pressure in the game. I’m younger, stronger, taller and longer. He’s not going to be able to run for 12 rounds. “

Has Lara reached the end of his peak? He hasn’t shown signs of slowing down and Hurd leaves himself open to counters. It should be a close fight, but this writer envisions Lara pulling away by the end of the fight.

Posted on 04/05/2018

By: Bryant Romero

Jarrett “Swift” Hurd (21-0, 15 KOs) showed no hesitation in accepting a unification bout with the considered most established and experienced champion in the Jr. Middleweight division against Erislandy Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs) this Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Hurd relished the opportunity and is heading into the biggest fight of his career with supreme confidence that not only will he defeat Lara, but also establish himself as the only unified champion in the talented rich 154 pound division and make a strong argument that he is the best Jr. middleweight in the world.

Photo Credit:Stephanie Trapp/Showtime Boxing

“There was something in me that always wanted this fight. Once I defended my title against Austin Trout, I was quick to get on top of this opportunity.

“This is going to be a difficult fight. Lara is the type of fighter who has a lot of experience. It won’t be easy so I have to be well prepared and on top of my game come Saturday night,” Hurd said.

Hurd has on been on a tear as of late which can explain the supreme confidence he has heading into this bout. Over the past 7 fights, Hurd has recorded 7 consecutive crushing knockouts, including an impressive stoppage win over former world champion Austin Trout in his last outing. It’s only fitting that for his first unification bout, Hurd will be back at the same arena where he first gained notoriety in his impressive knockout win over the previously undefeated Frank Galarza almost 3 years ago.

“Being back in Vegas and back at Hard Rock where I beat Frank Galarza to really get this whole journey started means a lot to me. I’m planning to give everyone a great show just like I always do,” Hurd told the boxing press.

Despite a limited amateur career, Hurd is only a slight underdog to the more experienced champion in Erislandy Lara. Lara has fought by far the much better opposition, but his career has stagnated since his close decision loss to Canelo Alvarez back in 2014. Lara has since made 5 successful defenses of his WBA strap since then, but inactivity and fighting some unworthy opponents has made his WBA title run very lackluster. The word in Vegas is that Hurd will be too big, too strong, and too fresh for Lara, but whatever happens this Saturday, Hurd promises action in this Jr. Middleweight unification.

“No matter what kind of fight he brings; I’m going to stick to my game plan. He has to fight at my pace. No matter what he comes with, I’m going to be in charge in the ring.

“It’s always going to be fireworks when I’m in the ring. I have a fan-friendly style. At the end of the day, you don’t have to worry about Lara running away, because I’m going to be in his face for 12 rounds,” Hurd said.

Posted on 01/17/2017

Rabbi (Yuri Foreman) Should Have Been in Temple
By: Ronald Neal Goldman

What might eventually portend as a career ending match, Yuri Foreman (34-3, 10 KOs), was knocked out for the second first time in his career, at 1;47 of the fourth round at the Amphitheater at Hialeah Park South Florida. Dubbed The Fighting Rabbi, Foreman’s ring savvy with his ability to slip punches, and quick thinking on his feet, was no match for Erislandy Lara, (24–2-2, 14 KOs) one of the most avoided fighters in the game. Implementing Metallica’s iconic title song Seek and Destroy, as his game strategy , Lara disposed of the Israeli fighter- originally from the Soviet Union- with a perfectly timed left uppercut that left Yuri incapable to continue on his quest for a second world title. While neither fighter is known for devastating punching power, it was the Cuban born Lara, best, known for setting traps and delivering and scoring with remarkable accuracy, which made the difference. Referee Samuel Burgos’s uncontested stoppage of the fight, places the orthodox rabbinical student in the unenviable quandary of some heavy soul searching contemplation.

As orthodox Jew,Yuri’s foray into the squared circle is not without precedent. Having been a publicist for former number one welterweight challenger, Dmitriy (Star of David) Salita, (35-2-1) the issues of maintaining religious convictions, while at the same time pursuing the WBA welterweight title was more than simply a case of cognitive dissonance, conflicting beliefs and, by extension, where to implement your energies. Salita, a devoted follower of the Chabad religious sect, formerly of what is now considered the Ukraine then supplanted in Brooklyn, New York, was the avatar to a multitude of Jewish orthodoxy who looked at Dmitriy as more than the stereotypical Jew who favored the philosophical over the physical, books over boxing, as it were. I recall one Saturday when the Jewish Sabbath ended around 7:30 p.m. and he was scheduled to fight in the Garden that same evening. He quite literally went from his sartorially appropriate Sabbath garb to his boxing trunks, from praying to punching.

For Yuri, his dream of securing a world title was played out on the Major Degan on June 5, 2010. Racing the clock, he was escorted by police cruisers to Yankee Stadium -directly following the end of the Sabbath- in his showdown with Miguel Cotto in a super welterweight challenge for the WBA Super Welterweight Championship. As divinity reared its unapologetically spiritual adjudication, it was not meant to be as Mr. Forerman lost via a TKO in in the ninth round.
Yuri Foreman’s issues, this writer believes, was and is, his inability to reconcile the spiritual with the ethical, who, and, more importantly, what he is. If, as I believe in Yuri’s case, he is unable to put his reconciliation of opposites to rest and find a a path whereby his vocation and his asceticism can comfortably coexist, he may never realize his full potential of either.

Ronald Neal Goldman
professor of English
Touro College and University System

Posted on 10/27/2016

The Psychological Relentlessness of Erislandy Lara
Written by Tae Joon Kim

Erislandy Lara’s chess match against Austin Trout exemplified a grandmaster of psychological strategy and manipulation. Lara was able to take command of every aspect of the boxing match against Lara as, right from the first round, he controlled distance, Trout’s punch output, Trout’s emotions and fired his own offensive at will as he accumulatively damaged Trout’s chin.

This was no surprise as Erislandy Lara is considered by many to be one of the most clever and cerebral boxers of contemporary times.

Although neither fighter was particularly dominant in Round One, Lara immediately seized mastery over the pace right from the get go. Beginning in Round Two, it became clear that Lara’s reactions to Austin Trout’s offensive would not give away any openings, as Lara kept things simple and utilized subtle slips and slides with his shoulder to avoid Trout’s offensive. He never overexerted his evasive movement to overuse his energy nor permit Trout to capitalize on any defensive mistakes.

An intriguing subtle difference between the two offensively, which became apparent starting in Round Two, was the confidence with which both opponents had behind their jabs.

When Trout was able to calmly slip from Lara’s jabs, Lara didn’t take “no” for an answer. Lara would follow up his own missed jab with a further offensive assault and with great success! On the other hand, when Trout failed to land his own jab, which typically ended up landing on Lara’s arm, he did not follow up with a successive combination. At this point very early in the fight, Lara already asserted his subtle yet nonetheless overwhelming relentless offense whenever such moments would arise. With great self-restraint, Lara also still kept the punching output of both himself and Trout to a minimal, so that the continual repetition of the fight’s momentum would continue to be in his favor, and thus make for an increasing succession of psychological pressure on the part of Lara’s tactics.

In the Fifth Round, Trout- after failing to apply pressure to Lara and falling victim to his pace- had attempted to throw a combination with multiple hooks to the head, but keeping his calm, Lara knew exactly what to do as- at this point- he had everything under control. Lrara simply stepped back and raised his high guard, so even during rare moments of Trout attacking as he pushed himself to the edge of his will, Lara would not allow himself to be overwhelmed by Trout’s emotional game, thus strictly forcing himself to keep playing an objective and calculative game while Trout at this point had no choice but to rely on guts and instinct. After all, no one can beat today can beat Erislandy Lara at a chess match.

The frustrating nature of this match from Trout’s viewpoint was that whenever he would try to execute on his offense, Lara would utilize very simple and minimalist movements to either evade or defend his punches. Lara was more evasive/defensive than he was reliant on counters (though whenever he did counter, they usually delivered devastating consequences for Trout!)

For a majority of Trout’s offensive attempts, these are all what Lara had to do to keep things frustratingly simple:
1. Step Back.
2. Block with shoulder.
3. Slip.
4. For combinations, block with the high guard.

These reactions were utilized in very high repetition monotonously throughout the fight, all the while as Lara kept calm and attacked at will. For Lara to be able to stick to these fundamental reactions for the entirety of twelve consecutive rounds, without overexerting himself, is simply tactical and psychological brilliance.

For Trout, it must have been as if almost every single one of his punches were futile, as Lara didn’t look to even be trying.

Lara, just like other cerebral boxers such as Floyd Mayweather Jr., Guillermo Rigondeaux, Wladimir Klitschko and Andre Ward, is able to maintain a minimalist nature to his fights despite the potential brutalities involved in the ring. This reveals a very gifted mind in Lara who understands that to break the will of the opponent before him, he must be the master of his own mind, able to explore and potentiate the depths of his fighting style and creativity as he maintains serenity and objectivity.
For all twelve rounds, Erislandy Lara was psychologically relentless and unforgiving.

With multiple straight lefts landing on Trout’s chin in successive accumulation, complemented by the psychological breakdown of Trout for the entirety of the fight, all lead to a phenomenal knockdown in the eleventh round. This was not achieved by mere power. These were the results of Lara’s long-term investments of straight lefts, intense focus, incredible calm, simple and fundamental evasion, and manipulation of the fight’s rhythm.

Erislandy Lara is simply one of the greatest tacticians of the sport today and deserves to fight another big name as soon as possible!

Posted on 05/22/2016

Showtime World Championship Boxing Results:
By: William Holmes

Mayweather Promotions and TGB Promotions televised three title fights in the junior middleweight division as the WBA, IBF, and WBC belts were up for grabs. Five the top six fighters in the junior middleweight division competed on tonight’s card.

Showtime networks televised the bouts live from the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, despite the fact three world titles were on the line a lot of empty seats were seen inside the venue.

Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/Showtime

Jermell Charlo (27-0) and John Jackson (20-2) opened up tonight’s broadcast with for the WBC Junior Middleweight Title.

Charlo, a large favorite, was giving up a few inches in height to Jackson. Jackson used his jab effectively in the opening round and even had Charlo briefly caught in the corner. Jackson attacked more to the body in the second round and was able to end the round with a strong counter right on a forward moving Charlo.

Charlo continued to have trouble finding his rhythm in the third round as Jackson was the more accurate puncher and was landing some good shots to the body. Charlo tried in vain to chase Jackson around the ring and trap him, but Jackson was throwing and landing more combinations than his opponent.

Charlo landed his first hard clean shot of the night in the fifth round with a sweeping left hook in the fifth round that got the attention of Jackson. Charlo was also able to put together a good body head right hook combination near the end of the round.

Jackson was able to go back to his lateral movement in the sixth round and was able to touch Charlo often with quick jabs and crosses before moving out of the way. Charlo was much more aggressive in the seventh round and was able to land some hard right crosses to the chin of Jackson, but Jackson was still able to land combinations of his own.

Charlo was able to get in close to Jackson in the opening minute of the ieghth round and blasted him with a right hook that had Jackson frozen and unable to defend himself, and he then followed it up with a left hook that hard Jackson falling back into the corner and out on his feet.

The referee quickly jumped in and stopped the fight before Jackson could get hurt any more. Jermell Charlo won by TKO at 0:51 of the eighth round.

Jermall Charlo (23-0) faced Austin Trout (30-2) in the co-main event of the night for the IBF Junior Middleweight Title.

Trout has been in the ring with high level competition such as Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto, but he was in the ring with a taller and younger boxer with a high level ceiling.
Jermall Charlo is considered by many to be the stronger puncher of the twin brothers.

Charlo had a strong jab in the opening round and Trout was throwing his jab to the body and connected with a left uppercut to the chin. Their feet got tangled up and Trout slipped to the mat. Charlo was able to land a good straight right lead in the final minute of the round.

The second round was close to call, but Charlo landed the hardest punch of the round with a short left hook. Trout however, was able to land more punches, especially to the body. The difference in power was evident in the third round, as Charlo was able to land several hard right hands to the cin of Trout which got the crowd roaring in approval.

Trout showed good head movement in the fourth round and was able to pepper Charlo from the outside. Trout stunned Charlo in the fifth round with a lead right hook, and he remained elusive enough to avoid the hard shots of Charlo. Charlo came on in the second half of the fifth round and was able to cause some swelling around the right eye of Trout.

It was clear that Charlo was not afraid of Trout’s power in the sixth round and he continued to come forward and was able to land some clubbing right hands.

Trout was able to land some solid counter left crosses and short uppercuts in the seventh round, but you could tell that Trout was very cautious of the power of Charlo. Charlo was able to land a hard straight right hand in the final seconds, but still, the seventh round was a good round for Austin Trout.

They both stepped off the gas pedal a little bit in the eighth round, but Trout was looking more confident in throwing and landing his combinations. Charlo stepped up his aggression in the ninth round and was effective with his heavy jabs.

A cut opened up over the right eye of Austin Trout in the tenth round, and boxers landed their fair share of punches, but Charlo was definitely landing the harder shots.

Trout likely needed a knockout in the final two rounds to win the bout. But he fought well and could have won these rounds on some of the judges’ scorecards.

Unexpectedly, the judges scored the bout in favor of Jermall Charlo with scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 116-112.

The main event of the night was between Erislandy Lara (22-2-2) and Vanes Martirosyan (36-2-1) in a rematch for the WBA Junior Middleweight Title.

Lara, a southpaw, was using a lot of up and down movement and was active with his jab in the opening round. Martirosyan was most effective when he threw to the body, but Lara landed more to the head.

The second and third rounds were slow, but the slow pace favored the style of Lara who was able to pop shot Martirosyan and move safely out of the way.

Lara was aggressive at the start of round, and a hematoma started to form on the head of Martirosyan. Martirosyan was warned again in the fourth round to keep his body punches up.

The fifth round featured more action than the previous round, with Lara’s best punch being the straight left to the head and Martirosyan’s best punches being the hooks to the body. The same theme repeated itself in the sixth round, but Martirosyan’s body punches were beginning to land with more frequency.

In the sixth round, Lara’s high guard was getting banged by the shots of Martirosyan and some were sneaking through. Martirosyan’s activity was much higher than Lara in this round.

The seventh round was close but Martirosyan was able to land some good body shots. Lara opened up the eighth round with quick combinations and more aggression. Lara landed clean to the nose of Martirosyan with a hard straight left hand near the end of the round.

Martirosyan fought a good ninth round but constantly coming forward and attacking to the body and threatening the chin with short quick uppercuts. Martirosyan had Lara fighting while moving backwards in the tenth round by pressing the pace and banging hard hooks to the body and head of his opponent. A clash of heads occurred in the tenth and Martirosyan hit Lara with a low blow and received a hard warning for the referee.

Martirosyan hit Lara with another low blow in the eleventh round and was deducted a point by the referee. Martirosyan was infuriated, and fought with fury for the remainder of the round but was unable to hurt Lara. Martirosyan went hard for the knockout in the final round and likely won it, but Lara fought defensively and safely and was never in danger of getting knocked down.

Erislandy Lara retained his title with scores of 115-112, 116-111, and 116-111.