by Joe Kulyeshie
Friday, January 5 – ESPN2 kicks off the 2007 Friday Night Fights boxing season at the Grand Ballroom at the Beau Ravage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississppi. After being destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, the Beau Ravage has bounced back with a full house ready to watch brothers Anthony and Lamont Peterson continue their rise through the boxing ranks. As usual, Brian Kenny is in the studio and Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas are ringside.
Let’s get 2007 started!
Fight 1
Light Welterweights – Lamont Peterson (19-0, 8 KO) vs. Juaquin Gallardo (17-5-1, 5 KO) – 8 rounds
Set-up: Prospect Lamont Peterson hasn’t faced much stiff competition, but brings an active, technically sound style to the ring. Sparring with his brother Anthony has been his toughest test. Juaquin Gallardo has 9 years of experience as a pro but has only fought 2 rounds in the last 20 months. He has recently been suffering from a string of cuts from head clashes. Can the prospect Lamont Peterson continue his progression against snake-bitten Gallardo?
Round 1
Lamont Peterson stays to the center of the ring as Gallardo circles the perimeter. Peterson is able to get his jab through and land to the body. Most of Gallardo’s offense appears to be blocked by Peterson. Round to Peterson (10-9).
Round 2
First real exchange of the fight occurs 55 seconds into the round. Both guys let their hands go and land some clean shots. The fight picks up some juice after a feeling out round in the first. Peterson lands the crisper shots, and more of them, and takes the round (20-18).
Round 3
In the first minute, Peterson lands 12 of 18 punches. Both fighters continue to increase their activity, but while Gallardo’s punches are blocked by Peterson’s solid defense, Peterson is able to land virtually every punch thrown. Many of Peterson’s punches are directed at the body as he chops down the taller Gallardo. Easy round to Peterson (30-27). Having given the first round to Gallardo, Teddy Atlas has the fight scored 28-27 Peterson.
Round 4
First two minutes are sluggish as both fighters show signs of tiring. That all changes in the last minute as they stand toe to toe and trade shots. Again, Peterson throws the sharper punches and gets the better of the exchanges. Close round to Peterson (40-36).
Round 5
Gallardo turns the tables and lands more body shots. Gallardo is more active, lands more consistently and wins an entertaining round (46-49). Teddy Atlas also has the fight scored 49-46 Peterson.
Round 6
Peterson circles around Gallardo who has stationed himself in the center of the ring. The change of positions does not lead to any action. Neither boxer does much of anything, even round (59-56). Teddy Atlas scores the round to Peterson, 59-55.
Round 7
The punches thrown through the entire fight are nearly identical, but Peterson has landed 20% more punches. A near low blow knocks down Gallardo but is ruled a slip. Much of the round is fought on the inside which favors Peterson’s shorter, crisper punches rather than Gallardo’s more looping shots. Close round to Peterson (69-65). Teddy’s scorecard reads 69-64.
Round 8
Gallardo comes out throwing as he knows he needs a knockout to win. Peterson is willing to exchange and gets the better of the action. Good final round again goes to Peterson (79-74). Teddy scores the round to Gallardo, but the fight to Peterson 78-74.
We go to the cards:
Unanimous Decision
80-72, 80-74, 80-72
Peterson UD over Gallardo
Lamont Peterson showed technical skills, solid defense, and the ability to mix up his attack going to both the body and the head. He stopped using his jab as the fight wore on, but the fight was a solid stepping stone win against a very game opponent.
In the studio, Shannon Briggs talks to Brian Kenny about his upcoming fight against Sultan Ibragimov on March 10th at Madison Square Garden. Briggs says Wladimir Klitschko was supposed to fight him instead of Calvin Brock last November. Briggs says Klitschko is afraid to fight anyone big.
Fight 2 – Main Event
Lightweights – Anthony Peterson (21-0, 15 KO) vs. Juan Garza (30-2, 25 KO) — 12 rounds for WBO NABO Lightweight Title
Set-up: Anthony Peterson is the highly touted 21 year old prospect who may be getting world title shots before the year is out. Juan Garza has won 9 straight, but has not done well when stepping up in competition. Can the aggressive but slow and predictable Garza compete with Anthony Peterson’s speed and power?
Round 1
Garza comes out ultra-aggressively, but he is quite awkward and often off-balance. Peterson is able to block most of Garza’s offense and in the final minute begins to go on the offensive. Peterson lands several solid combos to Garza’s head. Round to Peterson (10-9). No way does this go 12 rounds.
Round 2
Peterson makes a sound with every punch that he throws. It’s not nearly as pronounced as Maria Sharapova’s grunts while playing tennis, but is somewhat distracting. Much like the first round, Garza throws more punches, but his shots are wild. Peterson lands his short, solid punches at a high percentage. Peterson doesn’t land the impressive combinations like he did in the first, but he still takes the round (20-18).
Round 3
Garaza lands his best punch of the night, a straight right about a minute in. The closest round of the fight, Garza lands the best punch and is more active and takes the round (28-29). During the round Teddy Atlas talks about being a guest of coach Eric Mangini and acting as motivator for the New York Jets this season.
Round 4
Zab Judah joins us ringside and talks about looking forward to his suspension being lifted and being able to get back into the ring against perhaps Cotto or Margarito. In the ring, a five punch combination from Peterson drops Garza who is unable to beat the count! In fact, Garza rolls around on the canvas in agony for a few minutes after the fight has ended. Peterson used a left jab, followed by a counter right to the body, left hook to the body, left hook to the head and right to the head to put down Garza. Very impressive ending!
Peterson KO over Garza
Anthony Peterson certainly did nothing to diminish his status. He seems to have all the tools and will be fun to watch as he steps up in competition later in the year.
In the studio, Brian Kenny and Shannon Briggs discuss the upcoming Toney-Peter rematch. Briggs believes the fight will swing on which James Toney shows up, but gives the edge to Peter. Teddy Atlas believes that Toney only has enough left to keep the fights close, but not enough to pull out the win. Conditioning will be a big factor.
Fight 3
Light Heavyweights – Dupre Strickland (17-1-1, 7 KO) vs. Martin Verdin (13-7-1, 8 KO) – 4 rounds
Set-up: Two Lousiana boxers get to do battle. Dupre Strickland is a 37 year old southpaw. Verdin is a taller, lankier 31 year old who is coming off a loss to a southpaw in his last fight. Both fighters have built up their records against suspect competition. Are either of these guys the real deal?
Round 1
The taller Verdin doesn’t throw a single jab and crouches way down completely eliminating his height advantage. Strickland loses his balance as he throws many of his punches and is not able to take advantage of his crouching target. Close, entertaining round to Strickland (10-9).
Round 2
Lots of action as both fighters are unafraid to let their hands go for most of the round. Strickland looks a little more polished and gets the round (20-18).
Round 3
The action slows down as both fighters begin to tire. Verdin does a little bit more, lands the best punches and gets the round (28-29). Teddy Atlas has the fight scored 29-29, splitting the first two rounds and scoring the third round even.
Round 4
Both guys are very tired and sloppy but continue trying. I’ll give the close round to Verdin and call the fight a draw as neither guy seperated themselves from the other (38-38). Teddy Atlas gives the final round and fight to Strickland , 39-38.
To the cards:
Unanimous Decision
40-36, 39-37, 40-36
Strickland UD over Verdin
That does it for this week. The Peterson brothers put on a good show and live up to their hype. They will be worth watching as we move through the rest of 2007.