By Joe Kulyeshie
Firday Night Fights is live from The Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood, Florida. Juan Urango takes on Naoufel Ben Rabah for the vacant IBF Junior Welterweight Championship. Brian Kenny is in the studio with Oleg Maskaev, and Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas are ringside.
Let’s get to the action!
Fight 1
Cruiserweights – Dale Brown (34-4-1, 21 KO) vs. Shane Swartz (17-4, 12 KO) – 10 Rounds
Set-up: Dale Brown is #7 in the Ring Magazine rankings for cruiserweights and would be higher but for a disputed loss to O’Neil Bell. Brown has 11 years of experience and has fought much better competition. Swartz comes from Colorado where he has compiled a pretty good record. He has lost everytime he stepped up in competition. Will this time be different?
Round 1
“Brown is like an NFL quarterback who doesn’t have a great arm.” – Teddy Atlas
Both boxers exchange jabs and fight out of their clenches. Brown lands a nice jab followed by straight right with 30 seconds to go. In the end, Brown scored better inside and takes the round in a nice start to the fight (10-9).
Round 2
Swartz lands a left 30 seconds in. Swarz triples up his jab to good effect one minute in. While Brown looks more graceful, Swartz is more aggressive, coming forward and landing stronger punches and winning the round (19-19).
Round 3
Swartz lands a crisp body shot at 2:00. With 1:15 to go the boxers are trading punches with Brown getting the better of it. Swartz has a cut below his right eye. A left hook rocks Brown with 30 seconds to go. Brown had been winning the round, but the left hook pushes the round to Swartz (29-28).
Round 4
Brown triples up his jab and lands a right to the body 45 seconds in. Swartz loses his mouthpiece halfway through the round. Brown has been moving straight back after punching and regularly gets caught by Swartz. Swartz hurts Brown with a combination in the last 15 seconds. Once again, Brown looks smoother and more polished but is getting hit with better, stronger shots. Round to Swartz (39-37).
Round 5
Brutal clash of heads early in the round and a huge gash is opened over Swartz’s left eye that is gushing blood. The ref stops the fight! Do we have a huge upset here? Teddy Atlas has it 39-37 for Swartz.
We go to the cards:
Technical Decision – Florida Rules – Judges score the partial 5th round
49-46, 50-45, 50-45 for Swartz
Swartz Unanimous Decision over Brown
Swartz came forward from the beginning and his quick start gets him a well-deserved upset victory.
In the studio, Brain Kenny discusses Oleg Maskaev’s decline after a nice start to his career. Maskaev says after his loss to Kirk Johnson, he wasn’t mentally or physically prepared to fight because of the loss of confidence and the pregnancy of his wife. However, his management team forced him to take matches he wasn’t prepared for.
When Maskaev joined a new management team including trainer Victor Valle Jr., he regained his confidence and focus. They worked on his defensive issues that were allowing him to be caught with big punches. They also improved his overall boxing ability. Now he’s a better boxer as he prepares to take on Hasim Rachman.
Fight 2
Junior Welterweights – Richard Abril (3-0) vs. Troy Harden (4-0, 3 KO) – 4 rounds
Set-up: Two upcoming prospects take on each other early in their career. Abril is from Cuba and Harden hails from Florida. Harden has spent time in jail and has rebounded from drug problems with the help of Pinklon Thomas. Abril is the taller man while Harden has more punching power.
Round 1
Abril opens up using his jab to maintain distance. Harden has trouble getting inside and reaching Abril. Abril connects on 29 of 66 punches. Round to Abril (10-9). Good quality action for a 4-rounder.
Round 2
Abril knocks down Harden 30 seconds in. Harden was more off-balance than hurt, but a knockdown is a knockdown. Harden ups the aggression after getting up, but Abril remains composed and takes a two point round (20-17).
Round 3
Harden tries to get inside and get back into the fight. Abril stays outside and lands his share of punches on the pressing Harden. Close round that we give to Harden because of his aggression (29-27, Abril). Teddy Atlas has it 30-27 for Abril after an even 1st round.
Round 4
Abril lands pretty consistently against the desperate and tiring Harden. Harden unable to find Abril. Round to Abril (39-36).
To the cards:
Unanimous Decision
39-36, 39-36, 39-36
Abril Unanimous Decision over Harden
Both boxers showed good skills for early in their careers. Abril looked especially polished, though his strait-up style and lack of punching power are two possible weaknesses. Harden got behind the 8 ball with the flash knockdown in the second. He had to force the action but it was just too much to overcome in the few rounds available. Great filler.
Fight 3 – Main Event
IBF Junior Welterweight Championship
Juan Urango (16-0-1, 13 KO) vs. Naoufel Ben Rabah (24-1, 13 KO) – 12 Rounds
Set-up: This fight is for the vacant IBF JR. Welterweight Championship created when Ricky Hatton moved up to 147 pounds and the IBF decided to strip him of his belt. Urango is a very aggressive power-punching southpaw who hasn’t fought since last August because of surgery to his left hand. Ben Rabah is an athletic, unconventional boxer who is looking to use his smarts and skills to counter Urango’s aggression and power. Ben Rabah hasn’t fought since last September waiting for his title shot. Should be interesting, let’s get to it!
Round 1
Urango looks huge. He weighed-in in the morning at 150 pounds and looks much bigger than Ben Rabah. A very tentative first round is controlled by Urango who keeps coming forward and landsthe best punch, a right cross with 45 seconds to go. Round to Urango (10-9).
Round 2
Ben Rabah wins an exchange halfway through the round. The action is picked up considerably from the first round with several more exchanges. Urango comes forward and Ben Rabah meets him as he comes. Close round with more exchanges won by Ben Rabah, so he gets the round (19-19).
Round 3
Ben Rabah lands a nice straight right followed by right uppercut. Urango continues to just come forward but he refuses to throw any jabs. Ben Rabah catches him as he comes in, and catches him as he is moving away. Round to Ben Rabah (29-28).
Shannon Briggs is ringside. He may have a fight with Klitschko in the fall.
Round 4
Another close round like the third. Urango comes forward but is not able to land his punches consistently. Ben Rabah scores and gets out of the way. I’m going to cop-out this round and call it even (39-38).
Round 5
Urango wins more of the exchanges and takes the round (48-48). Teddy Atlas has it 49-46 for Ben Rabah.
Bernard Hopkins speaks during the round and mentions he may come out of retirement if the money and opponent are right.
Round 6
Intensity level picks up a bit. Close round, however Ben Rabah wins more of the exchanges much like Urango did the previous round. Round to Ben Rabah (58-57).
Round 7
Ben Rabah lands a right uppercut halfway through the round. The fight is not living up to its billing. There are not the fireworks expected from Urango. He just chases Ben Rabah around the ring, but because he will not throw any jabs or work Ben Rabah’s body he can’t catch him. I find myself pulling for Urango to catch Ben Rabah to slow him down and make this more of a fight, but it’s not happening. Round to Ben Rabah (68-66).
Round 8
Exact replay of the 7th round. Same result (78-75).
Round 9
Another replay of the previous two rounds, though Urango does land some more punches. Teddy Atlas has the fight clearly in the favor of Ben Rabah, 89-82. I’m not sure if the fight is that clearly in his favor, but Ben Rabah is landing more and Urango just can’t seem to actually get to Ben Rabah. Round to Ben Rabah (88-84).
Round 10
Urango continues to step forward without using a jab. Ben Rabah continues to hit him on the way in, then Ben Rabah runs out of the way. The fight has become a broken record. Would somebody please do something different to liven this thing up! Round to Ben Rabah (98-93). Teddy Atlas has it 99-91.
Round 11
The fans have turned on the fight and are booing. I find myself throwing tomatoes at the television screen as well. This is like watching the movie Groundhog Day, minus the jokes. The round is a carbon copy of the previous four (108-102).
Round 12
Same as usual with Urango coming forward ineffectively. This time Ben Rabah is just running and clenching. Round to Urango (117-112). Teddy Atlas finsihes with the score 117-111 for Ben Rabah. What shaped up to be an interesting clash of styles proved to make for a fight that was tough to watch.
To the cards:
Unanimous Decision
116-112, 115-113, 117-111
Urango Unanimous Decision over Ben Rabah
Teddy Atlas is outraged over the decision. While I saw the fight closer than Teddy did, I find it hard to see how all of the judges scored it as they did. Ben Rabah landed more punches at a higher connect percentage (32% to 17%). Urango did nothing the entire fight except come forward and miss. Ben Rabah had the perfect plan against the knockout artist Urango who could never figure out his opponent. A poor ending to a poor fight.