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Rey?s round by round: An upset and two important losses By Rey Anthony PhilBoxing.com Mon, 30 Apr 2012  Grachev upsets Silakh. It was an action packed night that resulted in 2 matches of undefeated fighters that both ended in 2 knock outs that turned 2 zeros to 1. Austin, Texas - It was a night of the upset when Ukrainian light heavyweight Ismayl Silakh (17-1-0 14KO) was knocked out by Denis ?the Pirate? Grachev (12-0-1 8KO) during their main event fight last Friday April 27,2012 at the Frank Erwin center. A bout scheduled for 10-rounds for the NABF light heavyweight title. The fight was being lined up to give light to the dim picture of the current state of the light heavyweight division. A prelude match the night before the Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson squares off in a rematch in Atlantic City, NJ. Silakh is the heavy favorite to win the fight. He had a great amateur career and a high KO percentage knocking out 14 out of his last 17 opponents. He is ranked in the top ten of every important boxing sanctioning body. Grachev was a kick boxing champ prior to becoming a professional boxer. Both of them are born in Europe but fighting out of California. At the opening bell it is visible that Silakh had the height advantage, which means that he can contain his opponent by jabbing from the outside while Grachev who kept his chin tucked in well was trying his best to reach his opponent?s body on the inside however he had trouble connecting because Silakh?s jabs and hooks are keeping him off balance. Silakh was trying to fight smart by punching then stepping back. During the second round, Grachev started getting his range and started to connect more effectively but Silakh stuck to his style instead of making some adjustments he threw a few jabs and hook then stepped away. Grachev kept on putting on the pressure. He was dropped with Silakh?s right hand around half way through the round. Knowing that he won the round, Silakh still played it safe. Grachev stuck to his fight plan and still fought his style. He did not seem to lose his heart after being knocked down. Silakh still looked slick and fluid during the fourth round he landed a lot of his left jabs and hook to the head. Grachev was back struggling to get his range insidebut still not connecting clean punches. Halfway through the fight, it is starting to look like Silakh is fighting to win the score cards and not to knock Grachev out. The crowd was expecting the fight to be more action packed but they were not getting it and the audible booing can be heard from the crowd. Grachev did not seem to be getting tired he just kept chasing Silakh did not seem so interested in engaging in an all-out punching war against him. Silakh being the favorite to win the fight is too careful and too safe. The crowd?s booing is indicative of their dissatisfaction with what they are seeing rom Silakh?s performance. Grachev caught Silakh with a right hand against the ropes as the round closes. ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas? score card showed Silakh leading in all rounds. Grachev?s pressure against his opponent paid off when he caught Silakh again with a clean right hand to the head. Grachev landed more power punches than Silakh during the seventh round. Silakh who was an 11-1 favorite in Las Vegas to win the fight got knocked out in the eighth round. Grachev countered with a right hand off Silakh?s uppercut. Grachev?s punch appeared to have hurt Silakh as he backed on the ropes sensing this as his opportunity, Grachev continued his onslaught and dropped a still weak Ismayl Silakh the official time of the knock out was 2:18. Ismayl Silakh?s disappointing loss should not prevent him from going back to the drawing board and re-invigorate his career. He will no longer be an undefeated fighter but there are still plenty of opportunities for him to recover. Grachev who did not seem so marketable just opened up a lot of doors for himself. Fuentes outpoints Montes Another bout was held to fill up the time before the main event because of the abrupt end of the Fortuna VS. Evans under card, two welterweights from Texas squared off in the ring Randy Fuentes (2-0-1) from Edinburg won a unanimous decision against John Montes (1-2-0) from Laredo. Even though it is still early in their careers as professional boxers, both fighters are not strangers in the world of survival contests. Fuentes who have been practicing martial arts since age 5 showed his familiarity with contact sports in his second professional outing when he outpointed Montes who served 4 ? years in the Army. It should be noted that Montes dropped 6 ? lbs. from his previous fights and it visibly took a toll in his performance. In the opening round, both fighters started showing aggressiveness but cannot find their distances yet. Montes had the awkward style. His legs are non-proportional and too skinny for his body. It was as if Montes was looking more accurate. He appeared to have been dropped by Fuentes left hand before the end of the round but the referee Mark Calo-oy was in a different angle to see it clearly and it was officially ruled a slip In round two Fuentes started showing more strength and better defense. Montes briefly answered with his own attack while Fuentes was against the ropes. His punches are starting to look weak because it did not appear like he had enough legs to give power in his punches. Montes started looking tired towards the end of this round. The highlight of the third round happened when Montes caught Fuentes in the corner and stunned him with a looping left hook. However, after a brief recovery, Fuentes is still dictating the pace of the fight. Montes? face was visibly turning red from his opponent?s attacks. Montes was not giving up but he seems to be running out of gas at that point. At the final round Fuentes? punches were still getting through Montes weak defense. Montes had no footwork. Fuentes dancing around the ring looking solid and confident that he was on his way to his victory. The judges scored the fight Perry Hillin 40-36, Anthony Townsend 40-35 and Glen Rick Crocker 39-36. If Montes wants to continue with his career, there is still plenty of time for him to get back on track. The welterweight division does not look like the right division for his size. He should consider moving up in weight. At the age of 25, he has lost 2 of his last three fights. His career is now on the brink and if he decides to fight again, it will be the deciding factor whether he is a contender or en route to becoming a journeyman of the sport. Fuentes is still undefeated and at the young age of 23, there are still many opportunities for him to prove himself. He has a lot of time. Right now he is at the bottom of the world rankings for his division but with proper training and motivation, he should not have a problem going up against the champs for a title shot a year or two from now. Fortuna threw the money shot The battle of the undefeated featherweights ended in a devastating first round annihilation when Javier ?El Abejon? Fortuna (19-0-0 14KO) knocked out Yuandale ?money shot? Evans (16-1-0 12KO) at the opening round of their scheduled 10-round fight in Frank Erwin center as the undercard for the Ismael Silakh VS. Denis Grachev main event televised on ESPN Friday Night Fights April 28, 2011. Evans who is known for his devastating left hook was given the signature KO by Sergio Martinez? stable mate Fortuna who seemed loose and relaxed before the opening bell of the fight. It feels like the fight was on its way to becoming a snoozer. Fortuna started with a quick combination. But both fighters threw soft jabs just to feel each other?s distance. Fortuna and Evans were both timing their throws. However, mid-way through round 1 Fortuna caught Evans with a straight left hand that landed flush on his opponent?s chin. It is the punch that started the end of the fight. Evans looked brutally hurt and his eyes showed it by looking like he saw stars. The fight did not end there. Evans was still able to get up but Fortuna continued his onslaught while Evans was still wobbly in his legs. Evans would?ve survived the round had he grabbed Fortuna to buy him some recovery time but as ESPN commentator Teddy atlas said ?He doesn?t look like he knows how to do that?. The official time was 2:02 of round 1. Ironically for Evans, it was his opponent that threw the ?money shot?. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rey Anthony.  |
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