Friday Night Fights at the Cosmopolitan Play by Play Report

Posted on | April 29, 2011 | No Comments

It seemed more like "The Windy City" than Sin City Friday night as ESPN came to town to film Friday Night Fights for the second time this year at The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Resort. The weather was fairly warm for most of the afternoon and evening, but wind gusts blew in inconvenient and heavy bursts throughout the night. At one point a cornerman's hat blew off his head and wound up all the way in the balcony seating area of what turned out to be a packed house for this special boxing event. Still, the venue was a perfect setting for a furious night of fighting with only two fights failing to go the full distance.

By: Rich Bergeron

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LIGHTWEIGHTS:

Hylon Williams, Jr. (13-0, 3 KOs) vs. Marcos Herrera (6-4-1, 2 KOs)

Round One:

Williams began the fight by sticking an incredible jab in Herrera’s face. Herrera could only paw back, sustaining a bloody nose for his troubles. He took a defensive posture through most of the round as Williams fired off combos off his starching and consistent jab. The blood trickling from Herrera’s nose really brought Williams to life, and he landed his hardest combo of the round when he first saw his opponent wiping the blood away. Some hard right hooks to the body and the head were his best punches in the round. The round ended with a beautiful combo Williams jabbed out of cleanly.

Round Two:

Herrera came out for this round with more aggression, but Williams and his jab regained control quickly. He also landed a hard 1-2 early. Herrera did manage to back Williams up against the ropes, but he couldn’t take advantage of the situation. His combos just weren’t landing with enough power to discourage Williams. Again, Herrera went back to a more defensive stance as Williams began brawling off the ropes with short right hooks and uppercuts. Another hard right hook and a left uppercut to the head scored for Williams before Herrera snuck his own uppercut in at the close of the round.

Round Three:

Herrera picked up some momentum in this round, but the blood dripping from his nose put Williams right back to work. He kept on sticking the jab throughout the round. Herrera fought back with combos, a nice right hook, and a superb 1-2. Williams landed a huge left hook to the body only to get Herrera to fight back with right hooks to the body and uppercuts. The last 30 seconds turned into a nice slugfest between both fighters. Herrera fought one of his best rounds, but Williams was just more accurate and powerful with the shots he landed.

Round Four:

Herrera’s best work is done early in this round. He lands a hard right hand to the head and pushes Williams back with a few body shots. Herrera was able to push Williams against the ropes, but Williams kept leading with his jab and punishing the body in close. Although he was less effective at times in close range, he was able to land the harder shots. He accented the round with a few great combos featuring left hooks to the body and right hooks to the head. A set of strong combos closed the round and put Williams back in control for the final ten seconds.

Round Five:

Williams puts in another great round, owning Herrera with the jab. He lands almost at will, mixing up shots to the body and head. One of his best shots of the round is a clean uppercut to Herrera’s chin. Herrera catches Williams smiling and backing up in the early going. Other than a few sparing combos, though, he doesn’t do much at all to try to take control of this round. His short inside game is his best bet in the fight, but none of his close range shots have enough power to hurt Williams.

Round Six:

Herrera gets the jab going and starts to figure out how to avoid the jab of Williams. Some crushing body shots from Williams inside the 2:00 mark stop Herrera’s advancing attack. Williams goes to the body with some clean left hooks and a right hook to follow. Herrera comes right back with a left and right hook to the body of his own. Williams fights back for control with double hooks to the body. Herrera lands a nice left hook to the body and a straight right to the head. Williams seizes his moment and connects with a right uppercut and a right hook to the head before Herrera tries to steal the round with a series of combos to close the round.

Round Seven:

Clearly needing a knockout to take hom the victory, Herrera doesn’t try to deliver in the second to last round. Williams triples the jab to start the round, and Herrera attacks the body. Other than a hard right to the head and some powerful right hooks to the body, Herrera is unimpressive in the round. Williams takes it easy and coasts through the round with a few bright spots. First he lands a glancing left hook to the head. Later a hard 1-2 and a nice fast and hard combo is enough to give him the round.

Round Eight:

Herrera puts on a spirited effort in the final frame. Williams tries to jab his way out of trouble early, getting caught with combos to the body and head from Herrera when he slows down. Williams comes right back with some hard right hooks to the head. Herrera lands a straight right to the body and forces Williams to go back to jabbing and moving. Suddenly, Williams unloads with a swift, snappy, and power-laden combo that stuns Herrera. Williams goes back on defense momentarily and gets pushed against the ropes with some jabs and a nice uppercut from Herrera. Still, Herrera is not fighting like a man who needs a knockout. Williams finishes the fight with an amazing series of combos, lighting Herrera up and putting the exclamation point on a fight he controlled from bell to bell.

79-3 x2, 77-75 Unanimous Decision to Hylon Williams, Jr.

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS:

Allen Conyers (12-4, 9 KOs) vs. Carlos Molina (17-4-2, 5 KOs)

ROUND ONE:

Left hooks to the body land cleanly for Molina early. Conyers works the left hook but has trouble finding his range. Molina is all body in the early going. He works the jab and then lands a nice left hook to the head. Conyers lands a glancing right uppercut. Molina goes back to the body and gets caught with a nice jab from Conyers. Molina goes back to work with the left hook to the body and head to finish the round. Conyers has no answer other than a couple awkward body shots and seems to be having trouble keeping his balance and maintaining a good stance to throw from.

ROUND TWO:

Molina digs to the body to start the round, moving well and frustrating Conyers. Conyers finally catches him with a nice upjab. Molina goes to the head and lands a couple nice shots. Molina rips off a combo and has Conyers gasping for air. Conyers is stuck with his back against the ropes and taking head and body shots, only blocking a few. Molina takes another clean round easily.

ROUND THREE:

Conyers begins with a lazy jab, but he’s just not “fighting tall” as Teddy Atlas would say. Molina keeps landing thudding body shots at will. Conyers finally finds his left hook, landing a couple to the head, but Molina is undaunted. Molina backs him up against the ropes again with combos to the body and head after opening up a cut above Conyers’ left eye. The round ends with Molina taking it to Conyers in the corner.

ROUND FOUR:

Molina starts going to the head with the jab, and Conyers is walking in with his hands down. Molina gets the combos going and then gets caught and goes down on a glorified slip from a straight right. Soon enough he has Conyers right back against the ropes. Molina’s head hunting is opening up his own head to a few well placed shots from Conyers.

ROUND FIVE:

Molina goes back to the body early. He’s landing almost every shot to the body and half his punches to the head. Conyers just can’t get any rhythm going. Molina lands a really nice straight right to the head. Conyers wings a left hook to the head only to get caught with a few counters from Molina. Finally, Conyers gets him against the ropes and goes to work, but Molina fights his way out and goes back to the bread and butter body shots. He goes off in the last ten seconds and lands some clean body and head shots to take back the round.

ROUND SIX:

Molina’s body punching starts early again, but he’s quick to go back to the head with 1-2s. Conyers is clearly getting frustrated. Molina wades in with some bombs. A left and right hook to the head from Molina lands hard, but Conyers can at least claim a good chin. Molina is back to head hunting for a moment and then blasts Conyers with a series of hard body shots. He backs Conyers up against the ropes yet again and tees off with a great mix of body and head shots to close the frame.

ROUND SEVEN:

Molina gets right on his horse with punishing body shots. Molina later lands a huge straight right, backs Conyers into a corner and goes to work. Molina has an open target to the body and keeps Conyers honest by faking to the head. Molina lands a crushing overhand right off a left hook to prompt Referee Tony weeks to stop the fight at the 2:09 mark.

MOLINA GETS THE TKO.

“I was prepared for a tough fight,” said Molina after the bout. “I was able to put a lot more snap on my punches.” He also dismissed the power of Conyers, saying, “I was never hit flush, but the knockdown was legitimate.”

HEAVYWEIGHTS

Ken Frank (4-1-1, 2 KOs) vs. Glendy Hernandez (6-0, 3KOs)

ROUND ONE:

Hernandez uses his reach early, changing levels and working the body and the head well. Frank works a slow jab with little effect on Hernandez. Hernandez lands a nice right hook to the head. Frank goes to the body with a couple hard right hooks. Hernandez comes back with his own big left hook to the body. Hernandez scores a nice jab to the head. Off a break Frank gets caught with a combo from Hernandez. Hernandez bombs a nice left hook to Frank’s chin at the close of the round, but Frank doesn’t seem to even feel it.

ROUND TWO:

Hernandez establishes control with the jab. He gets caught with a head shot from Frank that stuns him for a second. Frank lands a hook to the body and takes a nice straight right to the head a moment later. Hernandez is landing the better head shots, keeping Frank blinking and backing up. After some holding and hitting Hernandez gets aggressive and boxes Frank into a corner with the hardest head shots of the fight.

ROUND THREE:

Hernandez gets caught against the ropes early, but Frank can’t do much with the advantage. Frank’s winging body shots are landing, but not much else. Hernandez lands a hard left hook to the head but can’t seem to string any combos together. Frank gets busy while the fighters are in a clinch. Neither fighter looked impressive this round.

ROUND FOUR:

Hernandez starts off a bit stronger with some hard body shots. A huge right hand lands a few moments later to Frank’s temple. Hernandez wings an awkward left hook to the head that lands, but Frank won’t quit coming forward. Frank lands a great combo, but there’s no starch on it. A clash of heads stops the action for a few seconds. Frank leads with a jab and goes right back into the clinch. Hernandez goes head hunting to close the round, but nothing hard enough to stun Frank lands.

Decision: 39-37 x2, 40-36 Unanimous to Glendy Hernandez

Super Featherweights:

Rances Barthelemy (11-0, 9 KOs) vs. Rynell Griffin (6-4-1, 2 KOs)

ROUND ONE:

Griffin is aggressive early. Barthelemy is all lefts, winging jabs and hooks with more speed than power. Griffin is throwing with power but not landing as much. Barthelelmy is picking and choosing his shots, but nothing has much power on it. Both fighters are trading well with Barthelemy starting to find range on his uppercuts.

ROUND TWO:

Griffin’s low hands get him in trouble early. Barthelemy unloads with amazing power and accuracy, forcing Griffin to fight back with winging body shots. Griffin is a lot less aggressive as Barthelemy starts to redden his face and punish the head with increasingly harder punches. Barthelemy is changing levels, scoring at will. Griffin’s nose is bleeding, but he continues to fight back after the ref asks him to, “Show me something.” What he shows him is not nearly enough as Barthelemy unloads with furious speed and power to end the round on a shake and bake combo that gives the ref a perfect opportunity to step in and stop it.

Featherweights:

Evgeny Gradovich (9-0, 6 KOs) vs. Aalan Martinez (9-0-1, 5 KOs)

ROUND ONE:

Martinez works the jab early. Gradovich is wild to start but lands a few nice bombs in the first minute. Martinez strings some jabs together and follows up with a nice uppercut. Gradovich is the clear aggressor, but both fighters look sloppy trying to figure out each other’s styles. Gradovich ends the round with a pressing attack that leaves Martinez trying to fight out of the corner.

ROUND TWO:

The sloppiness continues, and clean punches are hard to come by for both fighters. Gradovich is the quicker, harder puncher, but Martinez is biding his time and waiting for his best shot. Martinez just can’t put any combos together. Gradovich nails him with a hard left hook in the final thirty seconds and goes to work on him against the ropes. Martinez can only manage to get the last punch in, a quick jab that lands flush.

ROUND THREE:

Both fighters work the jab to start. Martinez is landing more but going right to the clinch when he does. Gradovich is still the aggressor. Martinez has no answer for the consistent attack of Gradovich.

ROUND FOUR:

An ugly slugfest starts the round. Martinez is countering better but still doing nothing to hurt Gradovich. Gradovich lands some hard rights that make Martinez go to the clinch again. Gradovich keeps rocking Martinez with right hooks, but nothing hard enough to drop him. Gradovich is wailing away to the closing bell, keeping Martinez frustrated and behind on the scorecards.

ROUND FIVE:

Gradovich gets the advantage early with some holding and hitting. Martinez lands a nice uppercut, and he starts to come to life only to get shoved by Gradovich almost through the ropes. Gradovich gets back into the action with the combos after Martinez lands another nice uppercut. Martinez can’t do much else this round as Gradovich wins another.

ROUND SIX: Gradovich has a rough start but finishes strong with some hard combos. Martinez lands some of the hardest punches of the fight this round, but it’s too little too late.

The judges score it 59-55 twice and 58-56 once for Gradovich.

WELTERWEIGHTS:

Tim Coleman (18-1-1, 5 KOs) vs. Sergio Rivera (16-6-2, 10 KOs)

ROUND ONE:

Coleman starts cautiously, looking for his range to throw some bombs on Rivera. He connects with a rock solid 1-2 and goes to work trying to land everything with KO power. Pushing Rivera against the ropes he tees off. He’s mixing it up well, landing to the body and head as Rivera struggles to land a single shot. The rest of the round is uneventful with both fighters taking their time to find the right opportunity to throw and Coleman getting the better shots in.

ROUND TWO:

Rivera gets more aggressive in the first few moments of the round. Rivera loads up the right and lands a couple hard blows to the head. Rivera goes to the body off the clinch and lands some of his best shots so far. Coleman turns it on late, but Rivera is starting to find a way around his offense.

ROUND THREE:

Rivera gets sloppy in the early going and goes down on a slip. He’s backed into the ropes but clips Coleman with some good head shots after a bit of rope-a-doping. Coleman goes on the inside and hammers away at the body and then back up to the head. Rivera comes back with his own body shots. Both fighters begin breathing heavy and leaning on each other. Coleman lands some nice left hooks to the body and goes back up to the head with another left hook that crashes home. Rivera goes back to the body and scores some points of his own. This is the closest round of the night thus far.

ROUND FOUR:

Coleman nails Rivera with a right hand early that makes him teary eyed for a few moments. Rivera fights his way back into the mix and pushes Coleman against the ropes. Another slugfest breaks out, both guys landing some great shots. Coleman has his back to the ropes and looks to be withering. Rivera concentrates heavy on the body while Coleman head hunts. Most of the shots from both are blocked by the other, but both keep winging away. Rivera stuns Coleman momentarily and jumps on him only to get caught with a nice uppercut. Another round that looks too close to call, but Rivera’s definitely turning the tide.

ROUND FIVE:

Coleman starts the round with a sloppy backhand. Rivera puts him right back on the ropes and goes to work on the body again. Coleman bounces out but doesn’t do much with the distance he gains. Rivera pushes him back onto the ropes where he fights back brilliantly. Rivera looks to be slowing down with Coleman landing more in the clinch and in the close exchanges. Coleman is bobbing and weaving to keep from taking any damaging shots and taking the fight back.

ROUND SIX:

Coleman comes out looking to keep control. A cut opens up on the top of Rivera’s head. Rivera’s eyes are swelling up, but not enough to obscure his vision. Coleman is starting to get more accurate with his heavier punches. Coleman keeps landing the 1-2 and the lead right hand to the head. Both fighters wind up in the corner going toe to toe in the closing seconds. Coleman is back on top, pressing the action more and stringing the better punches together.

ROUND SEVEN:

Coleman lands a nice left hook early. He sticks the jab and lands three in a row before Rivera goes back into close range. Rivera pushes Coleman against the ropes again and punishes him with body shots. Coleman lands a left and right uppercut with his back on the ropes. The next uppercut lands too low and draws a warning. Another slugfest breaks out, both fighters giving each other their best. Coleman lands a great left hook to the head off the ropes and follows up a minute later with a right hook that’s even harder.

ROUND EIGHT:

Coleman lands an amazing combo early. Rivera is forced to clinch. Rivera can only hammer away at the body. Again Coleman winds up on the ropes. Rivera lands a nice jab only to get popped with a hard right to the head. Coleman lands a nice combo to the head before getting bulled into the ropes again. Coleman battles off the ropes well as Rivera keeps targeting the body. The fight ends in a sloppy toe to toe slugfest.

DECISION: 79-72, 80-72, 78-74 all for Coleman

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