At the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL, Friday night Hitz Boxing and Round 3 Productions over CBS Sports Network put on a 10 bout card.
Light heavyweight Mike Lee, 21-0 (11), of Chicago, IL, won a 10 round decision over Jose Hernandez, 19-4-1 (9), of Lancaster, CA, for the NABO title.
In the first round Lee is swinging for the fences as Hernandez uses his jab. Lee landed a solid right to the left ear of Hernandez. Halfway through the round Lee landed a right to the head of Hernandez. In the second round a Lee right to the chin rocked Hernandez. Halfway through the round Hernandez went to the body of Lee. Hernandez landed the last flurry of punches prior to the bell.
In the third round Lee opened up missing two punches but the third landed on the chin of Hernandez. Hernandez used an effective jab. Too many clinches as Referee Ruiz has his work cut out for him. In the fourth round Hernandez continues landing his right hand to the chin of Lee. Just under a minute Lee landed a left hook and right to the chin rocking Hernandez. Half a round left in the round Hernandez landed a flurry of punches until Lee came back with a combination to the head.
In the fifth round things slowed down with Lee looking for a one punch while Hernandez kept boxing well. There was little action. In the sixth round Hernandez landed a short right and a left uppercut to the chin of Lee. The round ended with a flurry from Lee.
In the seventh round Lee rocked Hernandez with a flurry of punches to start the round off. Inside Hernandez landed a right uppercut to the chin of Lee. Half a minute left in the round Lee landed a 3-punch combination to the head of Hernandez. In the eighth round both fighters looked exhausted due to too much wrestling. The fans were chanting “Mike Lee, Mike Lee” trying to get Lee motivated. Lee ended the round with a 3-punch combination to the head of Hernandez.
In the ninth round Hernandez landed a solid right to the chin of Lee. A minute into the round a Lee left hand to the chin stunned Hernandez. Just over a minute left in the round Hernandez landed a short right to the chin of Lee. Lee landed half a dozen punches to the head of Hernandez just prior to the bell. In the tenth and final round Lee landed half a dozen body punches on Hernandez. Hernandez landed a flurry with half a minute left in the fight. Hernandez had a cut across his nose at the end.
Judges scores were 97-93 with this writer having it 96-94.
Former Olympian Cruiserweight Tervel Pulev, 11-0 (10), of Sofia, Bulgaria, stopped late sub southpaw Armando “Winter Hawk” Ancona, 8-8-2 (5), of Columbus, OH, at 2:06 of the first round.
In the first round Pulev landed close to a dozen punches and backed off Ancona. A left hook dropped Ancona face down. He beat Referee Dave Smith’s count. Pulev went after him landing several punches when the referee wisely stopped the fight.
Super Middleweight Tommy “White Lightning” Hughes, 6-1 (3), of Chicago, IL, lost on a cut to Damar Singleton, 10-2-1 (6), of Toledo, OH, at 2:30 of the sixth round.
In the first round Singleton was the aggressor while Hughes was countering. Singleton landed the first solid punch, a right to the chin of Hughes. Hughes landed a 3-punch combination to the body of Singleton finishing with a right and left to the chin. In the second round Singleton landed a lead straight right to the chin of Hughes. Hughes worked on the body with rights to the mid-section of Singleton who was throwing bombs but missing.
In the third round Lee landed five unanswered punches to the body and head. Halfway through the round Hughes went to the body and ended with a right to the head of Singleton. Hughes landed a flurry putting Singleton backing into the ropes. Singleton fought his way off the ropes. In the fourth round Hughes comes in low with the jab to the body and gets clipped by a Singleton right to the head. Singleton landed a right behind the ear stunning Hughes. Hughes landed a 3-punch combination to body while Singleton countered with a right to the head of Hughes.
In the fifth round Hughes used his jab effectively. Singleton halfway through the round landed another right to the head. Singleton near the end of the round landed a 3-punch combination to the head hurting Hughes causing a cut over the left eye of Hughes. The ring physician checked out the cut Hughes had. In the sixth and final round it took half a minute for anyone to land a punch. Hughes was on his bike while Singleton looked drained throwing little. Singleton finally landed a right re-opening the cut with half a minute left in the fight causing referee Lou Hall to suddenly wave the fight off instead of bringing in the ring physician.
Singleton was behind on this writer’s scorecard.