In the final bout of a long night of boxing at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, Zab “Super” Judah (40-6, 27 KO) was awarded a split decision victory over the previously unbeaten Lucas Matthysse (27-1, 25 KO) in front of a crowd of 4,172 people.
The main event was slow to start, as the first five rounds failed to provide fireworks, and thus, failed to excite the crowd — who, at times, ‘booed’ the fighters in the ring. The best punches of the bouts first few rounds were landed by Zab — a crisp right hook in round 1, a sharp left uppercut perfectly placed on Matthysse’s chin in round 3, and another vicious right hook in round 5.
From round 6 on, however, Matthysse looked like a different fighter. He started to press the action more and more and walk down Judah and cut off the ring. It was evident that Matthysse was trying to score big with a straight right, and finally, in round 10, he connected and Judah went crashing to the canvas. Matthysse, smelling blood in the water, tried to follow up, but Judah fired back and warded off any further attack.
Matthysse second-half comeback was not enough to overcome his slow start, however, as he lost a split decision. The judge who scored the bout in favor of the Argentinian saw it 114-113. While the two who scored the bout for Judah saw the fight 115-112 and 114-113.
The win marks Judah’s fourth in a row and second straight since returning to 140 lbs. Next up for Judah will likely be Kaizer Mabuza in another IBF junior welterweight eliminator
Robert Guerrero vs. Vincente Escobedo
In an entertaining and hard-fought ten round battle, Robert Guerrero (28-1, 18 KO) earned a unanimous decision victory over fellow Californian, Vincente Escobedo (22-3, 14 KO).
In the opening round, Guerrero got the better of Escobedo, with a sensational right hook serving as the opening rounds most devastating punch. It was a clash of heads however, not any punches, that caused a huge gash to open up on the side of Escobedo’s head. As the round progressed, Escobedo’s entire left side of his face was painted red.
Escobedo’s cutman did a nice job between rounds to slow the cut and reduce the blood flow from a pour to a slow leak. Both fighters continued to feel one another in the second round, with Guerrero getting the better of Escobedo. In the third round, Guerrero turned up the heat, as he dropped Escobedo with a dazzling combination of a right hook followed by a straight left.
To Escobedo’s credit and in round four found a lot of success when he threw punches in bunches. At times, Escobedo landed his punches flush on Guerrero’s face, but “The Ghost” was never in danger.
In the sixth round, Guerrero sent Escobedo crashing to the canvas once again, courtesy of a left uppercut.
While Escobedo battled, there was no way he could overcome the two knockdowns.
All three judges scored the bout in favor of Guerrero: 100-88, 98-90, and 96-93.
Bastie Samir vs. Damion Reed — 4 Rounds
In the night’s opening bout, Bastie Samir (6-0, 6 KOs) made quick work of Reidsville, North Carolina’s Damion Reed (2-4, 1 KO). Samir, who fights out of Las Vegas by way of Accra, Ghana, bombarded his defenseless opponent with a barrage of vicious left hooks. The former Ghanaian Olympian sent Reed to one knee four different times in the opening round before the referee called a halt to the bout. The time of the stoppage was 2:47 into round 1.
Mikael Zewski vs. Ardrick Butler — Welterweights — 4Rounds
In a four round bout at the welterweight division, undefeated prospect Mikael Zewski (5-0, 3 KOs) defeated Philadelphia’s Ardrick Butler (5-3, 2 KOs). The Canadian prospect, Zewski, showed off an impressive skillet over the twelve minutes spent in the ring. Zewski pounded away at Butler throughout the fight, hammering Butler’s body, and mixing in aggressive left hooks that often found a home. In the final round, Zewski kicked it into another gear, throwing a fifteen second flurry of viscious power punches, which Butler, to his credit, withstood. The resilient Butler had his own share of success sprinkled throughout the bout, but Zewski always had an answer. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Zewski.
Mike Perez vs. Hevinson Herrera — Lightweights — 6 Rounds
Undefeated prospect Mike Perez put on an electrifying performance in front of his hometown fans. Perez (10-0-1, 5 KO’s), born and raised in Newark, shocked his opponent, Hevinson Herrera (14-7-1, 12 KO’s) when he hurt him with a straight right less than a minute into the inaugural round. Perez wisely followed up backing the injured Herrera up against the ropes before finishing him off with a three punch combination — left hook, right to the body, left hook — that sent Herrera hard to the canvas. Herrera beat the ten count, but was visibly hurt and standing on wobbly legs. Referee Randy Nuemann stopped the bout 1:02 into the opening round.
Tyrone Luckey vs. Alex Montes — Junior Lightweights — 4 Rounds
In a fight that had the Prudential Center crowd on their feet at times, Middletown, New Jersey’s Tyrone Luckey improved his record to 2-0 with a third round stoppage over Alex Montes (1-2) of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The fight started with a bang when Montes introduced Luckey to the canvas about fifteen seconds into the fight. The fighter’s continued to exchange power punches with each other throughout the first round, standing in the pocket, and wailing away. The second round saw Luckey find Montes’ chin with regularity, as he dropped Montes twice in round two, both with violent left hooks. Round three saw more fireworks, with Montes on the receiving end of most exchanges. Once again, Luckey rocked Montes, who went down for the third time in the fight. When Montes got to his feet, he was standing on unstable legs and that’s when Luckey pounded away at his injured opponent until the referee called a halt to the bout at the 2:55 mark of the round 3.
Mike Brooks vs. Kywayne Hill — Junior Lightweights — 4 Rounds
Long Island, New York’s Mike “Lefty” Brooks easily outpointed Philadelphia’s Kywayne Hill to improve his record to 3-0, 1 KO. Brooks used his superior hand speed to continuously score against Hill 1-6, 1 KO, who offered up an uninspiring effort. At times, Hill looked like he could inflict some damage on Brooks, scoring sporadically with uppercuts and straight rights. He could never string together combinations, however, and seemed content at times to cover up and let Brooks throw freely — which he did. In the end, all three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Brooks.
Angel Concepcion vs. Maurice Amaro — Light Heavyweights — 4 Rounds
In a four round light heavyweight bout, Newark’s Angel Concepcion improved his record to 3-0 with a unanimous decision over Philadelphia’s Maurice Amaro, who fell to 1-3. The opening round was Concepcion’s finest, landing punches at will through Hill’s suspect defense. Concepcion pummeled HIll with left hooks that wrapped around Hill’s defense and couple them with straight rights that split Hill’s gloves. TO his credit, Hill withstood everything Concepcion threw at him, and on occasion landed some power punches of his own. Concepcion, who was never once in danger throughout the fight, imposed his will on Hill, landing punches with regularity. In the end all three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Newark’s Concepcion.
Adrien Broner vs. Ilido Julio — Junior Lightweights — 8 Rounds
Undefeated prospect Adrian Broner scored a first round TKO victory over veteran journeyman Ilido Julio to improve his record to 18-0, 15 KOs. Broner, showed not only superior boxing skills, but also superior dance moves, as he came into the ring dancing, danced a little more mid-fight, and finished the show with a backflip. Broner hammered his out of shape Colombian opponent from the opening bell. Midway through the round, Broner landed a violent left hook/straight right combination that sent Julio crashing to the floor. During the 10-count, Broner walked over to where the HBO announcing trio of Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman, and Roy Jones Jr., are seated and told Roy Jones Jr. that he’s the next world champion. When the fight resumed, Broner rushed over the wobbly Julio and unleashed a continuous flow of punches until the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. The time of the stoppage was 1:34 in the first round.
Sadam Ali vs. Gary Bergeron — Welterweights — 8 Rounds 2:18
Fan favorite and former US Olympian, Brooklyn’s Sadam Ali (10-0, 6 KOs) overpowered New Orleans’ Gary Bergeron (12-7, 7 KOs) to get the TKO victory at the 2:18 mark of round 2. Ali looked as sharp as ever, creating angles with impressive footwork and landing punches at will. Bergeron seemed content to cover up his face and absorb a barrage of body punches throughout the fight. Ali hammered away at Bergeron, who was unable to create any offense whatsoever during his five-plus minutes in the ring. Towards the end of the opening round, Ali dropped Bergeron with a left hook, left uppercut combination. After beating the 10-count, Bergeron was pinned against the ropes, covering up and not firing back as Ali unleashed vicious combinations on him. The fight could have easily been stopped at the end of round 1, but Bergeron was saved by bell.
The second round was all Ali, as he once again controlled the fight. Towards the end of round 2, Ali dropped Bergeron again, this time by a right uppercut. After beating the count, Ali put pressure on, eventually rocking Bergeron again with a left hook that put the New Orleans native on unsteady legs. A straight right and one more left hook prompted the referee to call a halt to the bout at the 2:18 mark of round 2.
