Poise might have been the area that veteran Lanardo Tyner(25-7-2 15 ko’s) chose to target more than any other in his welterweight bout with prospect Jessie Vargas(18-0 9 ko’s), but the 22 year old showed composure beyond his years, and outlasted Tyner in an ugly ten round affair littered with fouls.
Vargas opened up the fight long exchange in illegal blows by catching Tyner low in the first round, part of a sustained body attack. Tyner was granted time to recover by referee Tony Weeks, and was visibly angry as he rose to his feet, and converted his frustration into an offensive rally to close out the first round.
The two men exchanged combinations inside, until round four when Tyner evened the score with a low blow of his own that sent Vargas to the canvas, reeling in pain. After a recovery period Tyner pounced on his weakened opponent, putting punches together and scoring well. Vargas turned the tables once again, however, with another shot below the belt in retaliation, which infuriated the 36 year old Tyner.
The fighters were able to keep things moderately clean for the next few rounds, with the exception of a few exchanges after the bell that were quickly broken up. Vargas continued to work well inside, but showed a few defensive flaws, and ate some unnecessary shots from Tyner.
Vargas stepped on the gas pedal in round 7, teeing off on Tyner with hooks, and right hands to the body and head. The offensive showcase drew a reaction from the crowd until Tyner smiled and beat his chest at the younger Vargas, and pressed forward with a successful combination of his own.
After a rough and tumble eighth round that saw the two men wrestle their way through the ropes and out of the ring momentarily, Vargas was able to clean up the pace of the bout, and get the better of Tyner in close quarters, outworking his man down the stretch.
In what started out as a firefight, Jessie Vargas was able to keep his cool in the late rounds, and outlast a savvy veteran opponent for a lopsided decision victory with scores reading 99-91 all the way across. It was an ugly affair for the centerpiece of Floyd Mayweather’s promotional stable, and while room for improvement is clear, Vargas was able to pick up a big win, and a valuable learning experience.
“I don’t think this was my toughest or hardest fight, but it was a good fight,’’ said Vargas, who was sporting a cut on the upper left side of his head afterward. “This was just another learning experience. I need these kinds of fights against these kinds of fighters to stay in position to move forward.
“I probably could have moved and boxed more, but he took my out of my game plan a few times. There were times when all I wanted to do was connect with the big shot.
“That low blow he got me with in the fourth round was definitely the hardest low blow I’ve ever been hit with. I’ve never been nailed with anything like that before.’’
Latimore vs. Nunez
“The Bull’ took on the role of matador when Deandre Latimore (23-3-1) survived a late rally from short notice replacement Milton Nunez (23-4-1) and took home a majority decision win.
St. Louis native Latimore, originally slated to face Ryan Davis (who failed his eye exam), brought a conservative game plan into Friday’s bout, working his jab, and making the Columbian miss with wide hooks. In round three the 26 year old Latimore found a rhythm, landing to the body and putting combinations together, staggering Nunez at certain points.
24 year old Nunez, who was brought in on 48 hours notice, stayed competitive, but wasn’t able to do any significant scoring. Until round 9 that is. In the final minute of the ninth Latimore’s sharp defense offered up a costly opening, which Nunez capitalized on with a hard right hand. With Latimore visibly staggered Nunez charged forward with a wild, but effective flurry that dropped Latimore to the canvas. Latimore rose to his feet, still out of sorts, but was saved by the bell to end the round.
Latimore was able to slow the pace down a little bit to open round ten, staying defensive and jabbing himself out of trouble. Nunez, however, was able to find another opening and drop Latimore once again inside of the round’s final minute, winning over the crowd, and earning his paycheck.
Latimore was announced the majority decision winner, to a mixed reaction from the crowd at Hard Rock in Las Vegas, improving him to 23-3-1.
“It was my first start in nearly a year and I’m just happy to get the win,’’ said Latimore, who was making his first start for new trainer Jeff Mayweather. “Honestly I didn’t care if I won by 10 points or one, I just wanted the win. I had to pace myself at times but I did what I had to do and what Jeff wanted me to do,
“The second knockdown wasn’t a knockdown. I went down from headbutts. It is what it is, though, and I look forward to getting back to work in the gym and fighting on a regular basis.’’
“I knocked him down and was hitting him with a barrage of right and left hands and the referee (Joe Cortez) moved in and stepped between us. I thought he was going to stop it. You don’t do what the ref did and not stop the fight.
“Still, I thought I’d done enough to win.’’
Undercard
Junior Welterweights Joaquin Chavez (0-0-1) and Jalani Wilson (0-0-1) put both their passion and inexperience on display. Chavez was able to land significant shots throughout the four round affair, while Wilson lunged forward with hooks, landing on occasion but failing to inflict any meaningful damage. The bout was ruled a draw after four rounds.
Antonio Orozco (13-0 8 ko’s) looked sharp as nails in a dominating performance over Rodolfo Armenta(11-5 9 ko’s).
Orozco stayed tight with his combination punching, working the body, and scoring upstairs. Armenta was game, but overmatched by the hand speed of “The Simple Man”. Orozco scored a well earned stoppage in round 4 with a combination that dropped Armenta for the count.
In a California vs. Nevada border war David Clark(4-2-1) blitzed Rocco Espinoza(3-3-1) for an easy TKO1 via 3 knockdown rule. Espinoza had no answer for Clark’s immediate pressure and collapsed to the canvas three times early on for the quick loss.
