Four fights tonight from both HBO and Showtime, headlined by Arthur Abraham and Edison Miranda in a rematch of a very controversial fight from two years ago on Showtime. Also on Showtime and what would prove to be the best fight of the night, Raul Marquez takes on Giovanni Lorenzo for the right to face Arthur Abraham for his Middleweight title. HBO offers a doubleheader of prospects as Chazz Witherspoon battles Chris Arreola while Andre Berto and Miguel Rodriguez fight for Floyd Mayweather’s vacated welterweight title.
Chazz Witherspoon vs. Chris Arreola (Heavyweight)
This a great matchup. Both are young heavyweights with championship potential. They are also both undefeated. It’s rare for prospects to take chances like this on their way up the championship ladder so it’s nice that every fight doesn’t have to be of the crossroads variety. Chazz is the cousin of former world champion Tim Witherspoon. Arreola comes out the aggressor in the first. He hurts Witherspoon late in the first and swarms him but Witherspoon makes it out of the round. Witherspoon is fighting much more methodically whereas Arreola is swinging more freely.
A left from Arreola stuns Witherspoon in the third. Arreola comes in for the finish and lands some more good shots but Witherspoon is hanging in there. Arreola lands a right as Witherspoon fails a clinch attempt. Witherspoon backpedals to get away but Arreola lands another shot that puts Witherspoon down. Arreola gets Witherspoon into a corner and unloads as the round comes to a close. Arreola drops Witherspoon again as the bell sounds to end the round. The fighter cannot be saved by the bell so the knockdown counts. Witherspoon is struggling to get to his feet. He makes it up but his corner has already come into the ring as the bell sounded to end the round. The corner is not allowed to enter the ring before the round is over and the referee awards the fight to Chris Arreola via DQ.
That was a strange ending. The bell had rang and Witherspoon had beaten the count, but the referee didn’t realize the round was over. Witherspoon’s corner was trying to attend to their fighter as soon as they could.
Andre Berto vs. Miguel Rodriguez (WBC Welterweight Title)
Berto is a young stud in the welterweight division. He has a deadly combo of power and speed. Rodriguez looks like he would be the Latin exchange student on Beverly Hills 90210. I wish I had more flattering boxing-related things to preface about Miguel but that’s what you get when you come to the ring with hair gel and sideburns. Berto goes to work in the first two rounds and it already seems to wearing on Rodriguez.
Each round is one in the same here. Open scoring is also being used, making the fight even less dramatic. Berto brings the goods in the 7th round and drops Rodriguez with an uppercut that was set up by a thudding right hook. He drops Rodriguez again in the round. The referee calls the fight after Rodriguez takes unanswered shots following the second knockout. Berto wins by TKO at 2:13 of the seventh round. Berto gains the WBC Welterweight title that was vacated by Floyd Mayweather Jr’s retirement.
Giovanni Lorenzo vs. Raul Marquez (Middleweight)
This fight is an IBF Middleweight Title Eliminator. Lorenzo is an undefeated, hard-hitting prospect whereas Marquez is trying to get a title that he has already held. The first two rounds are all Lorenzo. He overwhelms Marquez in the 2nd round and has the former champion in trouble against the ropes. Marquez comes out more aggressive in the third and fourth rounds. The fourth round in particular is much more competitive. It seems that Marquez is getting more comfortable with Lorenzo and perhaps less concerned with Lorenzo’s power.
Lorenzo is succumbing to the will of Marquez. After a strong start, Lorenzo now has let Marquez take control of the fight. Marquez is bullying Lorenzo and controlling the fight from the inside. Lorenzo is crushed by a straight left against the ropes in the 8th. Lorenzo takes the punch well and retaliates with a shot of his own moments later.
Marquez gets cut in the 10th and Lorenzo takes advantage in hopes of turning the momentum into his favor. He ties Marquez up on the ropes and lands some shots but Marquez clinches with ten seconds to go. Lorenzo grinds his head into Marquez’ cut intentionally. The ref catches it and deducts a point from Lorenzo. They restart with just a few seconds remaining and Marquez goes after Lorenzo. They exchange punches well after the bell and Lorenzo even seems to go for a takedown. They pick up right where they left off in the 11th, trading knockout blows in the center of the ring. The crowd goes crazy.
The 12th and final round begins. Marquez looks a mess as blood is smeared all over his face. He has a total of three cuts on his face. One minute remains and both fighters are trading haymakers. Marquez is hanging in there although I’m sure his corner would like to see him display some tighter defense. The fight goes to the scorecards and Raul Marquez wins by unanimous decision. All three cards were 114-113. Shouldn’t have been a dick and intentionally headbutted, Lorenzo.
Arthur Abraham vs. Edison Miranda (Super Middleweight)
This is a rematch of one of the craziest fights in boxing in recent memory. Abraham won a unanimous decision over Miranda two years ago. The fight was horribly refereed. Abraham had his jaw broken in the 4th round and spat blood as his jaw swelled for eight more rounds. Miranda had a total of five points deducted throughout the fight for headbutts and low blows. Abraham showed a lot of heart and courage in the fight but he should not have been allowed to take that punishment given the state of his jaw. Thus, a rematch is born.
This bout is being fought at a 166 pound catchweight. Abraham’s 160 pound Middleweight title will not be on the line. Incidentally, Abraham is the champion that Raul Marquez qualified to face earlier in the evening. Miranda lands a low blow in the second round that pauses the fight. Here we go again. Abraham has a good round 3 and momentarily stunned Miranda with a right hook. He does more than stun Miranda in the fourth as he knocks him down with a left early on. Abraham presses forward and puts Miranda down again with two minutes left in the round. Miranda is up again yet goes right back down to the next punch from Abraham, a looping left hook. The referee waves off the fight. Arthur Abraham wins by TKO at 1:13 of the fourth round.
Abraham looked good and called out both Oscar De La Hoya and Kelly Pavlik after the fight. A fight with Pavlik is inevitable but Abraham can go ahead and let go of those thoughts of De La Hoya. That’s not going to happen.
