The IBO Light Heavyweight Champion, Antonio ?Magic Man? Tarver, 26-4, 19 KO’s, came to the ring in Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, with the intentions to destroy his opponent and send a message to the rest of the light heavyweight division that he is still the man to beat. Prior to the bout, Tarver stated that: ?On December 1st, we’re going to be ready to seek and destroy. That’s my mission.? Well, mission accomplished, but the level of the challenger, Danny Santiago, 29-4-1, 19 KO’s, was certainly questionable. Most of his victories had been over fighters with losing records and, on paper, he didn’t belong in the ring with Tarver.
Santiago came into this fight with all three of his losses knockout defeats and without anything really notable on his record. He had fought Zsolt Erdei for the WBO Light Heavyweight Title but would be stopped in the eighth round. The only really notable win on his record was over Elvir Muriqi, who he had stopped in 2004 by TKO in four rounds. Muriqi was in attendance and took some time to speak with RSR, noting that he would fight anyone and that he would fight Tarver or anyone else in a ?winner take all? fight. There was also the crowd who had the next opponent for Tarver lined up: undefeated WBC Light Heavyweight Champion and Connecticut native, Chad Dawson. Dawson was also in attendance and was getting quite the response from the audience. The light heavyweight super fight is in the making between these two.
Both Tarver and Santiago stood in their corners awaiting the opening bell, and this was the best that the ?Magic Man? has looked in a while, physically. He was in top shape. When Santiago came out of his corner throwing wide and sloppy punches, it was obvious that this was going to be a relative walk in the park for Tarver. The first round really showed the difference in class, easily going to Tarver on the RSR scorecard: 10-9.
In the second round, Tarver began landing a straight left to the stomach of Santiago and breaking him down. There was nothing that Santiago could do in there and he knew it as the round went on. This was another easy round to score, giving Tarver a two point lead: 20-18 going into the third.
Tarver came on strong in the third round, beating Santiago from pillar to post, and in the fourth, it would all come to an end. A fantastic left half hook/half uppercut to the body of Santiago against the ropes was the punch that decided this fight. Some head shots sent him into the ropes and down. Tarver flurried again to cause the stoppage at 2:53 of the fourth round. Tarver would successfully defend his IBO Title and mention names like Chad Dawson and Jeff Lacy as possible future opponents and added: ?Set them up and I’ll knock them down. This is my division.?
This was the main event in a triple header presented on Showtime. In the co-main event, 2-Time Welterweight Champion, Vernon ?The Viper? Forrest, 40-2, 29 KO’s, faced the game and tough Michele ?The Gentleman? Piccirillo, 48-4, 29 KO’s, in a twelve round, WBC Super Welterweight Title match. Going into it, Forrest noted that: ?I’m always trying to make a statement, and I’m always trying to look impressive.? He was coming off a very good performance over Carlos Baldomir and is still one of the few men to have beaten Shane Mosley. He was actually the first man to defeat the Sugar man and he did it twice. His two defeats came to the same man: Ricardo Mayorga, which is a man that Piccirillo had also lost to.
Piccirillo was not a stiff, at one time holding the IBF Welterweight Title, the European Welterweight & Junior Middleweight Titles, and the Italian Junior Welterweight Title. He holds a victory over Cory Spinks and is a very awkward fighter with a lot of heart. He showed his guts in this showing against Forrest.
From the outset, Forrest tried to impose his strength on the weaker foe, pushing him into the ropes and landing some nice punches. One particular overhand right got the attention of Piccirillo at the ending of the first, and the bullying continued in the second round with Forrest pressing the action. The right hands that were hitting Piccirillo seemed to shock him as he nearly would leap back whenever they landed. He also had this strange leg movement that he was doing that gave the impression that he was hurt when he wasn’t.
As the rounds went on, the bout became more competitive, mainly because Forrest went into his sleepwalk mode, which is part of his problem. James McGirt, the trainer of Forrest, kept on telling him to keep up the pressure and the pace, which is exactly what he needed and helped him go on to beat down his opponent. Forrest would knock down Piccirillo in the sixth and ninth from overhand rights. In the eleventh, with Forrest well ahead on the scorecards, Piccirillo went for it, trading punches with the bigger and stronger man. He would pay dearly for it.
A right hand would place Piccirillo down again for the third time and the referee stopped it at 2:21 of the 11th round. According to the ringside physician, Piccirillo injured his leg, and although he wasn’t sure, he thought that it was broken above the ankle.
This win puts Forrest on a collision course with the man that had twice defeated him, Ricardo Mayorga, although there are many options out there for him, including a bout with the winner of Floyd Mayweather, JR., vs. Ricky Hatton next weekend. At the time of the stoppage, the judges had the bout: 98-90 across the board. RSR had it 97-91, all for Forrest.
In the third title fight of the night, the Filipino sensation, Nonito Donaire, 19-1, 12 KO’s, from General Santos City, Philippines, returned to the ring after his destruction of Vic Darchinyan, with the IBF & IBO Flyweight Titles around his waist and prepared to defend against the talented Mexican warrior, Luis ?Titi? Maldonado, 37-2-1, 28 KO’s. This promised to be the fight of the night and it delivered with Donaire showing his power and timing while Maldonado showed his heart and grit in his effort to take home the title.
What was so impressive about Donaire in this bout, as it was in his bout with Darchinyan, was his timing. He waited for Maldonado to reach in and and leave himself open after a punch and then retaliate with a hard counter punch. The second round would be one of the toughest of Maldonado’s professional career as he was beaten to a pulp, cut over both eyes, and taking some of the hardest shots that Donaire could throw. The third round was more of the same and there was some question as to whether or not Maldonado’s corner was going to let their man come out for the fourth.
In the fourth round, the Mexican warrior made a statement and had his moments, hitting the Filipino champion with some telling shots. Round five and six would bring some more heated exchanges, but the blood dripping down the beat red face of Maldonado was an example of the punching power of Donaire. An overhand left put Maldonado down after an uppercut stunned him in round seven, and the bout would be stopped from a barrage of punches in round eight, at the 1:16 mark.
Donaire stated that this fight ?validated him,? and it was a great performance, as he controlled it from start to finish, for the most part. With Manny Pacquiao’s career heading toward its end, Donaire seems to be the man that will take his spot in the hearts of the Filipinos. He is a wonderful fighter.
On the un-televised under card, cruiserweight Chris Mcinerney, 9-0, 6 KO’s, faced Tim Flamos, 19-4-1, 7 KO’s, in a six round bout. Flamos, the smaller man, came right out of the gates and attacked, hitting the taller opponent with power punches to the body and head. Flamos had controlled the entire bout from the opening bell with his aggression and seemed to be on the verge on a knockout victory, but stamina issues would end up causing his demise. In the fifth round, Flamos was less active and was breathing heavy, giving Mcinerney the opportunity to pounce and pounce he did, landing right hands to destroy Flamos. It was a great fight. At 2:39 of the fifth round, Flamos found out that it’s not over until it’s over and this is why boxing is the best sport of them all. At any point in time, a bout can end, and Mcinerney showed that you can never count him out.
In a four round female super lightweight bout, Adelita Irizarry, 3-1, 2 KO’s, took on Nicole Woods, 1-1, in a four round bout. It seemed that Irizarry learned much of her skill from Evander Holyfield as she bashed her head into the face of Woods over and over again. This was really a brawl with both giving as good as they were getting, but when the dust settled, the work rate of Irizarry was the difference. At the end of four rounds, all three judges had it 39-37, which was the same score that RSR had for this bout.
Heavyweight Tony Grano, 13-0, 11 KO’s, faced the much smaller John Battle, 14-19-1, 7 KO’s, in a six round bout. There was a 27 pound weight difference in favor of the Connecticut native, Grano, and he exploited it, bullying the smaller man around the ring. The body work by Grano crumbled Battle to the canvas twice in the opening round, and nearly ending it. This was a mismatch from the word go and it wouldn’t go much further than the first round, ending at the :34 second mark of the second. Battle was able to show that Grano can be hit, which may cause him some troubles when he picks on somebody his own size and/or more skilled than the parade of mediocrities that he has been spoon fed so far in his career.
My favorite gimmick of the night came from Jason ?Friday the 13th? Douglas, 2-0, 2 KO’s, came out to the ring wearing a bloody hockey mask like the famous horror character, Jason Voorhees. He was pitted against Anthony Cannon, 4-8, 1 KO, in a super middleweight bout. Much like Jason Voorhees, Douglas wildly chopped away at his defensive opponent, hitting him anywhere he could find, including the kidneys and back of the head of his opponent. Douglas would do enough damage to prompt the corner of his opponent to jump up and stop the fight at the :55 second mark of round two. It was a good win and a great mask.
Mark ?The Italian Bazooka? DeLuca, 3-0, 2 KO’s, faced the no-hoper, Donyell Dukes, 0-4, in a four round contest. The southpaw, DeLuca, controlled the action and maintained it from the opening bell, cruising to an easy decision, winning 40-36 on all three cards, and that was the same score that RSR had for this bout.
Wrapping up the card was heavyweight hopeful, Cedric Boswell, 25-1, 20 KO’s, was back in the ring against Josh Gutcher, 18-8, 13 KO’s, and showed no signs of ring rust as he beat his out of shape opponent without mercy, blackening both eyes and administering a horrible beating that would thankfully be stopped at the 2:18 mark of the second round, courtesy of a left hook. Boswell showed a lot of promise and might still be a player in the most open division in boxing.
It was a great night of boxing in Connecticut.
