BROOKLYN, NY —  Sullivan Barrera (22-2, 14KO) outpointed “Irish” Seanie Monaghan (29-2, 17KO) in a highly entertaining 10 round light heavyweight match, capping a night of boxing streamed live on Facebook Watch from the Aviator Sports & Events Complex.

The Cuban-born Barrera, who defected to the US in 2009, used superior talent and athleticism to, at-times, overwhelm Monaghan.  It was a nice bounceback showing for Barrera, 36, who was stopped by WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in their title fight in March of this year.

The fight started slower than expected, as both fighters had been known to forego gameplans and let their hands fly early in fights.  In two of his three prior contests, Barrera had been sent to the mat in the opening round, first by Joe Smith, Jr. and then by Felix Valera.  Coming into tonight, Monaghan, 37, was just one fight removed from a second round stoppage loss to undefeated prospect Marcus Browne. In that fight, Monaghan was also sent to the mat in the bout’s opening round.

Tonight, however, both fighter’s decided to err on the side of caution, and no reckless punches were thrown early or often.  For the most part, it was Barrera acting as the aggressor, and the Long Island native, Monaghan, trying to counter or pot shot his slick Cuban counterpart.

There was good back and forth action throughout, as each fighter had moments in the sun, and each were willing to eat a punch to land one of their own.  Multiple times throughout the fight, Monaghan, who fought in front of hundreds of hometown fans, landed huge left hooks — one that landed in concert with a Barrera left hook and another in the 7th round that he turned over right on Barrera’s chin, but both had little effect.  Time and time again, the 6”2’ Barrera plodded forward, picking his spots to throw, and often breaking through Monaghan’s guard. These punches accumulated and eventually Barrera began marking up the Irishman’s face, producing redness along with a welt under each eye.

In the 8th round, a Barrera right hand landed flush on the top of Monaghan’s forehead, which briefly offset his equilibrium, locking his knees and causing his feet to shuffle awkwardly.  The Cuban, who now lives and fights out of Miami, smelling blood in the water, offered up a brief offensive outburst, but Monaghan was able to quickly regain his composure, button up his defense and fire back his own loaded shots.

At the end of ten, judges James Kinney and Steve Weisfeld scored the bout 99-91, while Carlos Ortiz, Jr. had it 98-92, all for Barrera.  15rounds.com scored it 97-93, Barrera.

It was an impressive performance by both fighters.  With regards to Monaghan, who so often has been the come-forward, aggressive, bombs-away type fighter.  Tonight the Irishman proved that he could box — not brawl, but box — with a skilled Cuban fighter. Conversely, credit Barrera for not engaging in a brawl himself, as he did with the lesser skilled Valera last year when he was sent to the mat in the opening round.

For Monaghan, the loss is undoubtedly a setback, but it was a fight in which he can take away many positives.  For Barrera, the win ensures he remains a major player in the light heavyweight division, with eyes undoubtedly on a rematch with Bivol.

Douglin Lives To Fight Again, TKO’s Saul Roman in 6

Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin (22-6, 14KO) dominated veteran Saul Roman (43-15, 35KO), ending the contest with a body blow in the 6th round of a scheduled 10 round super middleweight scrap.

The southpaw Douglin, 30, was in control from the opening bell, stalking Roman, a veteran of 293 professional rounds, constantly forcing the Mexican onto his back foot.  Throughout the duration of the fight, Douglin pounded his 38 year-old counterpart’s body, continuously digging left crosses under Roman’s right rib cage.

In the third round, as a result of a Douglin left to the body, Roman took a knee for the first time.  He would take a second knee two rounds later after eating a flurry of punches from Douglin that was capped off with a short left cross to the chin.

Early in the sixth Douglin, who is trained by his mother Saphya, landed what looked to be a clean shot to the beltline that forced Roman to a knee for the third time, but referee Shada Murdaugh ruled it a low-blow and Roman was allowed to recover.

Undeterred, when the action resumed, Douglin picked up right where he left off and began stalking Roman, eventually uncorking a barrage of unobstructed body shots.  One final left to right side of Roman’s body would bring the Mexican to a knee one final time, as he failed to beat Murdaugh’s ten-count. The KO came at the 2:53 of round 6.

With the win, Douglin, a former world title challenger, joins a long list of notables who have come away victorious against Roman.  The hard-nosed Roman, surely not for lack of effort or heart, has also come up empty against Marco Antonio Barrera, Sergio Martinez, Vanes Martirosyan, Yuri Foreman, Curtis Stevens, Charles Hatley, and Gabriel Rosado.

This was the second straight win of note for Douglin, who outpointed previously unbeaten super middleweight Vaughn Alexander (12-2, 8KO) in August.  Save for one upset defeat to Doel Carrasquillo in 2011, all of Douglin’s other defeats have come against top-notch opposition, including Jermell Charlo, David Benavidez, George Groves, and Anthony Dirrell.

The win throws the Brooklyn-born Douglin, who was making his debut under the Main Events promotional banner, right back into the mix at 168lbs.

Chaney Outslugs Turnbow; Stops Him 4

“Charming” Cassius Chaney (14-0, 8KO) scored a thrilling 4th round KO victory over fellow slugger Santino “Gambino” Turnbow (4-3, 3KO) in a heavyweight contest originally slated for 6 rounds.

In the first frame, the Baltimore-born Chaney used his 6’6” 245lb frame to stalk and walkdown his smaller opponent, forcing the 6’1” Turnbow to fight much of the opening round with his back against the ropes.  Punches from the 31 year-old Chaney continually broke through Turnbow’s suspect guard and by the end of the first, there was visible swelling and redness around the Cincinnati-native’s right eye.

The fight took an unexpected turn early on in the second when Chaney, who now lives and fights out of New Haven CT, walked into a monstrous straight left from Turnbow, which sent him thudding to the canvas.  On unsteady legs, Chaney beat the ten-count, and did his best to evade the onslaught of punches that immediately followed by Turnbow. It took Chaney about a minute or so to fully recover, and by the end of the round, the former University of New Haven basketball player regained his composure.

The third round played out much like the first, with Chaney fighting on his front foot, and Turnbow on his back.  However, unlike in the first, Chaney, now aware of his opponent’s power, approached with a bit more caution.

Then in the fourth, it all ended with a crisp right hand that finished off a one-two. Chaney threw out a lazy left, which got Turnbow to loosen up his defense just enough for a right hand to come rocketing through.  Chaney’s right landed on the button, and knocked Turnbow back into the ropes. He stumbled to his feet midway through referee Miguel Rosario’s ten count, but then dropped back down a knee, facing his corner and grabbing a hold of both ropes.  Rosario called a halt to the contest at the 1:04 mark of the 4th round.

It was an impressive performance by Chaney, who overcame adversity to score his 8th win inside the distance in just 14 career bouts.

For Turnbow, who turned pro in 2016 at the age of 34, the result makes it 3 losses in his last 4 contests.

Bronx Bomber! Villareal Blasts Out Nero Inside 1!

Former two-time New York Golden Gloves Champion, Ismael Villareal (4-0, 1KO), needed just :43 seconds to drop and stop Norman, OK’s Travis Nero (1-4, 1KO) in a junior middleweight contest originally scheduled for four rounds.

The end began with a straight right from Villareal that drew return fire from Nero, leaving him exposed to a blistering left hook that the twenty-one year old prospect would follow with.  The hook caught Nero on his right temple, and sent him crashing to the mat. Nero, 31, was able to beat the ensuing ten-count, but was not in any condition to continue.

It was the first win inside the distance for the highly touted prospect from the Bronx.  Villareal, who amassed an amatuer record of 66-7, turned pro last November and had won via points in each of his first three contests.