Cosmopolitan Friday Night Fights On ESPN Play By Play Report

Posted on | July 29, 2011 | No Comments

By: Rich Bergeron

The Cosmopolitan Hotel’s Chelsea Ballroom hosts the third Friday Night Fights installment of the year tonight. Robert Duran and Leon Spinks are ringside for the occasion, which includes a main event that serves as an eliminator to determine who will fight Amir Khan next. Victor Cayo (26-1, 18 KOs) will battle Lamont Peterson (28-1-1, 14 KOs) for the title shot, and their fight serves as the headliner of a phenomenal boxing card.

MAIN EVENT:

Victor Cayo (26-1, 18 KOs) vs. Lamont Peterson (28-1-1, 14 KOs), 12 Round IBF Jr. Welterweight Eliminator

ROUND ONE:

Peterson lands first with a light jab to the body. He continues to shoot the jab out, landing another to the body and face a moment later. Cayo catches him in the middle of the ring, but Peterson covers up well. Peterson throws a couple hard left hooks that land. He baits Cayo in and lands a solid straight right a moment later. Peterson is moving well and picking his shots. He’s changing levels and avoiding the worst Cayo has to offer. Toward the end of the round Cayo goes down on a slip, but Peterson greets him with a hammering straight right when he gets back to his feet.

ROUND TWO:

Cayo comes out with more passion to start, but he can’t seem to connect with any meaningful shots. Peterson seems intently focused and is throwing mostly jabs. Cayo is winging body and head shots, landing only a few. A hard left hook crashes into Peterson’s chin, and a right hook connects a bit later. Peterson backs Cayo up to the ropes and connects with some power shots of his own to the head. When they break off the ropes, Peterson goes for another jab to the body and takes a Cayo jab to the face. Right at the bell, Cayo jumps in with an arching uppercut that hits home.

ROUND THREE:

Peterson gets caught with his back against the ropes early in the round but fights back to the center. Cayo increases his punch output , but he’s not landing enough to hurt Peterson. Peterson begins to fight more defensively, waiting for Cayo to make a mistake before throwing his shots. Late in the round both fighters wind up in a slugfest with Cayo throwing more but landing less than Peterson. Cayo is beginning to show some fatigue. Peterson is content to let him punch himself out.

ROUND FOUR:

Peterson stalks Cayo around the ring until the two begin trading in the center. Cayo lands some nice hooks, but Peterson is unscathed. He backs Cayo into a corner and keeps beating him against the ropes with head and body shots. Cayo explodes out of trouble only to wind up in trouble again against the ropes on the other side of the ring. Cayo lands a nice uppercut and right hook combo to get back in the mix. Peterson covers up for the following combo and then gets back to work in the center as both men go toe to toe. Peterson takes a warning for a low blow. He lands a series of hooks to the head at the close of the round, and Cayo is visibly wobbled.

ROUND FIVE:

Peterson comes out like a bull, greeting Cayo right in front of his corner. Cayo pops him with a hard right that slows him down. They both end up in a corner, trading hooks that land hard. Peterson is waiting for the right punch again. He peppers Cayo with the jab again, bouncing on his toes. Cayo catches him with a hard straight right and Peterson goes back to the jab and move strategy. He catches Cayo with his own hard right and jumps back to the outside. They both unload on each other in the center of the ring for the final 30 seconds. Peterson seems to have the better strategy, but Cayo is throwing more punches. It’s a close fight at this point.

ROUND SIX:

Peterson goes heavy on the jab early, connecting to the body and head. He lets Cayo chase him with winging shots, spending only a few seconds at a time on the inside. Cayo finally catches him near a corner and gets a few hooks through Peterson’s defense. Peterson shakes it off and fires away at Cayo’s body. The round ends with Peterson landing a hard left hook to the body followed quickly by a glancing left hook to the head.

ROUND SEVEN:

The round begins with both fighters in the center and throwing off the clinch. It’s hook after hook, to the body and the head for both guys. Peterson pushed Cayo into the ropes and keeps his guard up to block Cayo’s best punches. After a break Peterson lands some solid right hooks, and Cayo appears hurt. Cayo stops the attack with a hard left hook, but Peterson keeps stalking. Each fighter is beginning to show their fatigue. Peterson seems more composed and strategy-minded, but Cayo is more aggressive.

ROUND EIGHT:

Cayo looks more light on his feet to start the round, shooting jabs at Peterson from the outside and bombing quick right hooks from afar. Peterson blocks well at first but comes back with some winging shots, one of which clips Cayo in the leg. The ref doesn’t see the low blow and lets the action go. Peterson backs Cayo into the ropes eventually and punishes him for the early success he had in the round. Huge hooks, uppercuts, and 1-2 combos land hard. Cayo fires back, but Peterson is covering up well. He backs out of trouble and wades back in at the end of the round to land a left and right hook to the body and a nice left hook to the head before the bell.

ROUND NINE:

Peterson ducks a hook and fires a left hook to the head to start the round. He drifts back into a defensive mindset and works the jab, ducking and dancing away from Cayo’s counters. Cayo unloads in the center of the ring, but few punches land. He tries again only to get clipped with a Peterson straight right. Peterson gets caught a few times, but always when he’s moving away. His counters are landing with way more accuracy and power than anything Cayo is firing. Peterson leans in and targets the body. They get in a late exchange with Peterson going for power and Cayo utilizing his speed. Peterson’s face is unblemished while Cayo is beginning to show signs of swelling around his eyes. His low left hand stance is leaving him open to too many jabs.

ROUND TEN:

Both fighters trade bombs in the center of the ring. Peterson is landing the harder hooks and connecting with higher frequency. Cayo has less power behind the punches he throws that do connect. Peterson keeps catching him on the chin with huge hooks. As Cayo scrambles to score points, Peterson leans on him and goes to the body. He connects with a few solid left hooks to the head whenever Cayo engages. The fight gets busy late in the round with both fighters getting in some choice punches. Peterson is pounds Cayo’s body while Cayo works the combos and reddens Peterson’s right eye.

ROUND ELEVEN:

Cayo starts off on the attack but takes a hard right hook to the body and head from Peterson. Cayo jabs his way across the ring only to be countered with a hard straight right from Peterson. They go back to trading inside around the center of the ring. Cayo gets caught with a pair of dual hooks to the head, but he keeps slugging back to the close of the round. Peterson is about to size him up for a hard, ducking right hook when the bell rings and stops him in mid-swing.

ROUND TWELVE:

Peterson gets the best of the early exchanges, landing sweeping left hooks to the neck and head of Cayo. Moments later bombing right hooks hurt Cayo. The crowd goes wild as Peterson moves in for the kill. Cayo kills his momentum with a straight right to the head. Peterson finds himself in trouble and circles back to the outside. They wind up in the center of the ring trading some hard, smacking shots to the head. Peterson backs Cayo into the ropes and unloads again with some heavy handed hooks. Cayo takes a knee and complains about being hit in the back of the head. Referee Kenny Bayless counts him out to end the fight in the closing frame.

RESULT: Peterson wins at 2:46 of Round 12 by KO.

CO-MAIN EVENT:

Edison Miranda (34-5, 29 KOs) vs. Yordanis Despaigne (8-1, 4 KOs), 10 Round Light Heavyweight Bout:

ROUND ONE:

Miranda throws first, Despaigne paws back with a jab. Both connect with stiff jabs a moment later. Despaigne rattles off a combo. Miranda jabs back. Both men trade jabs again, nothing landing hard. Both fighters are cautious early but begin mixing it up as the round goes on. Despaigne is using the whole ring to keep his distance and score from the outside. Inside of ten seconds left in the round, Despaigne connects with some powerful hooks and straight rights. Miranda, who is already experiencing some swelling around his eye, is momentarily rocked but survives the round.

ROUND TWO:

Miranda comes out much more aggressively this round. Despaigne doesn’t press the pace as hard as he did at the end of the last round until about a minute in.  Both trade some head and body shots, turning into a slugfest in the middle of the ring. Miranda is getting his bell rung and his body bruised from the Despaigne onslaught. He weathers the storm and gets right back into the fight, pushing Despaigne against the ropes. Despaigne fights his way off the ropes and starts circling the ring again. Miranda is landing a few shots here and there, but Despaigne seems to have the better strategy. The bell rings and Miranda lands a low, late shot on Despaigne, causing the ref to take a point.

ROUND THREE:

Miranda is down on the scorecards now, but he’s definitely not out. He takes a hard combo from Despaigne and fires back with his own. A few seconds later Despaigne suffers another low blow. He protests and carries on while recovering, and the ref takes another point from Miranda when he’s ready to box again. Despaigne takes his frustration out on Miranda by landing some heavy shots highlighted by a hard uppercut lead. He’s using the 1-2 very well, but Miranda is still moving forward and mounting a halfway decent attack. Despaigne is landing more toward the end of the round, but Miranda keeps coming and firing. Despaigne finishes strong with some decent exchanges, but he’s far enough ahead to know he doesn’t need to take any chances.

ROUND FOUR:

Despaigne is fighting more defensively now. He is staying outside and landing the jab. Miranda’s shorter reach is making the fight much more difficult for him. Despaigne gets caught in an exchange when he gets too close, but the action inspires him to fight back even harder. Miranda begins to pepper the body as Despaigne’s attack wavers. The shots Miranda does take are not very effective as he wades in and throws. Inside a minute left in the round, Miranda stands like a statue in front of Despaigne with his hands down and takes multiple left and right hooks to the chin purposely. Both Miranda’s eyes are getting red, but he’s not close to going down. He fights back with a couple bombs of his own until the bell rings.

ROUND FIVE:

Miranda gets on his horse to begin the round and comes after Despaigne. A few moments later, the crowd erupts as a glancing low blow lands that leads to the ref calling the fight by way of disqualification. Miranda’s night ends just when he was beginning to show some promise in the fight.

“I had him beat. I was never hurt,” said Miranda after the bout.

Despaigne countered with bravado in his own commentary: “I would have killed him if the fight continued.”

Editor’s Note: The ESPN photographer sitting next to me (Marco Perez Zapata, www.knockoutpuro.net) showed me a close up shot of where the punch landed. From my vantage point Miranda’s final shot glanced the midsection, but the picture shows definitive proof that the punch crashed home right on the belt line.

RESULT: Despaigne Wins by DQ at :45 of Round 5

Rances Barthelemy (12-0, 10 KOs) vs. Gerardo Robles (14-9, 6 KOs), 8 Round Super Featherweight Bout:

ROUND ONE:

Barthelemy uses his height to his advantage early. He keeps the jab busy as his shorter opponent works his way inside with looping hooks. Robles begins to penetrate Barthelemy’s defense only to be met with some tough bod shots. Barthelemy is calm and calculating while Robles fights with more urgency and ill intent. Robles takes a hard right hook to the jaw during the closing seconds when he gets a bit too aggressive.

ROUND TWO:

Barthelemy gets busier with his counters, jabs, and lead rights to start the round. Robles keeps getting caught on the way inside, but he does manage to connect with a few hard hooks to the body. He wings some uppercuts to the head as well, but Barthelemy comes back with harder head shots. Robles slows down and Barthelemy stays busy, peppering him with quick jabs. Robles keeps advancing, but Barthelemy’s style is frustrating him. Barthelemy is extremely accurate and fast with his counters.

ROUND THREE:

Robles stays outside early as Barthelemy keeps shooting the jab in his face. He wades in and wings some head shots at Barthelemy, but nothing lands cleanly. A slip from Robles stops the action for a moment. He jumps to his feet and gets more aggressive as the round goes on. He pays with counters landing to his head each time he drops his hands to fire on Barthelemy. Robles lands a solid left hook to the chin of Barthelemy later in the round. Barthelemy circles back outside and gets out of trouble. Robles lands another hard left hook to the head before the bell.

ROUND FOUR:

Barthelemy works the jab again to begin the round, opening his body up for Robles to throw and land some hooks there. Robles is attacking with more patience and power and lands  nice straight right to the head. Barthelemy is landing the jab to the head but not much else. His signature hard left hook to the body is getting blocked easily. Robles is gaining momentum and catches Barthelemy with a left hook to the body and a right hook to the head. Barthelemy comes back with some 1-2s, but nothing hurts Robles. Barthelemy is fighting poorly in close range with Robles beginning to punish his body. Barthelemy gives him a nod of respect at the bell for a good round.

ROUND FIVE:

The action begins with a quick exchange that leads to a low blow from Barthelemy. The ref takes a point for the foul. When the fight resumes they trade shots at the center of the ring with Robles taking some ringing head shots and showing signs of losing steam. Barthelemy mixes it up and begins landing the right hook to the body. Robles is slowing down and leaving himself open to more head shots. At one point in the closing seconds Barthelemy lands a right hand with both hands by his sides and dances off the ropes as Robles plods after him.

ROUND SIX:

Robles decides to take the fight back inside at the center of the ring, but Barthelemy is content to hammer him with counters. Barthelemy goes into a tight defensive shell and lets Robles shots bounce off his forearms. He bides his times and starts head hunting whenever he sees an open shot. Robles gets caught with another low blow, but the ref refuses to stop the action. Robles fires back with two shots right on the belt line. Though some of Barthelemy’s hardest punches aren’t landing clean, they are taking a toll on Robles.

ROUND SEVEN:

Robles slows down the attack this round, waiting until he has Barthelemy against the ropes before punching. He’s having one of his best rounds of the night in the early going. Barthelemy is landing heavy counters when he can, though. Robles keeps up his advance and gets caught flush with a hard right. He seems to be expending more energy throwing awkward off balance shots while Barthelemy is waiting and watching for his hands to drop so he can fire off an accurate counter.

ROUND EIGHT:

Robles will probably need a knockout, but he takes his time to start the round. Barthelemy is landing the crisper shots as the fight moves to the center of the ring. The fight turns into a real slugfest until Barthelemy lands another low blow to break up the pace. Both warriors go back to teeing off on each other in no time. It’s not Barthelemy’s best night, but he’s done enough to win the contest by the time the closing bell of the fight sounds.

RESULT: Barthelemy wins by Unanimous Decision

Timothy Hall, Jr. (6-11, 4KOs) vs. Badou Jack (6-0, 5 KOs), 6 Round Light Heavyweight Bout:

ROUND ONE:

Both men trade jabs, and Hall hits Jack in the body a few times early. Jack gets the combo going, working the 1-2. Jack throws some hard winging shots to the body and head. He lands a hard right to the head, and a moment later Hall returns the favor. Both guys go to the center of the ring and trade hard shots. Jack smiles after taking a good shot. Hall’s right hook is busy, but Jack is throwing the bulk of the punches and taking everything Hall has without flinching. Jack lands two hard uppercuts to the body and then moves up to the head with hooks and uppercuts to end the round.

ROUND TWO:

Jack and Hall trade jabs to the chin to start the frame. Jack drops a huge bomb of a right hand to the head of Hall, causing his opponent to go into a shell with his hands up. Hall is rattled by the subsequent attack and ends up going down hard. He gets back up before the ten count, but he withers again just a few seconds after the action begins again. He falls to the canvas in the corner to close out the fight and give Jack the TKO win.

RESULT: Jack wins by TKO at 1:31 of the second round.

IN OTHER ACTION:

SERGEY KOVALEV (15-0, 13 KOs) KNOCKED OUT DOUGLAS OTIENO (23-6, 12 KOs) AT 2:39 OF THE SECOND ROUND OF THEIR FIGHT TO OPEN THE CARD. THE WIN EARNS KOVALEV THE VACANT NABA USA LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.

HEAVYWEIGHTS RAZVAN COJANU (0-1) AND KOURTNEY BODEN (3-2, 2 KOs) FINISHED OFF THE NIGHT’S CARD WITH A ROUGH AND TOUGH 4-ROUND SLUGFEST. COJANU MOUTHED A KISS TO A WOMAN IN THE CROWD DURING A CLINCH IN THE CLOSING SECONDS  OF THE FIGHT AS HE CRUISED TO VICTORY TO NOTCH HIS FIRST CAREER WIN BY UNANIMOUS DECISION.

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