FNF Recap: Brinkley Defeats Stevens
Posted by Matt Knowles on 01.31.2010
A new #2 contender in the IBF super middleweight rankings is established, and we also receive news on a blockbuster bout for May 1st!
ESPN's Friday Night Fights, January 29th, 2010
From the Theatre at the Grand Sierra, Reno, NV
* The telecast begins with our good friends Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas breakin' down the main event, as we see both Jesse Brinkley and Curtis Stevens warming-up in their respective locker rooms. Brinkley looks focused and relaxed, while "Showtime" is attempting to shatter the lens of the camera with a vicious glare. In a shocking development...it didn't work.
* We get a quick break-away to the studio, where Brian "Please Someone Call Me Cosell" Kenny is joined by former Solo Boxeo lead commentator Bernardo Osuna. I always have mixed emotions when my main man Bernardo is on my TV screen these days. On one hand, I feel happy, since he is still able to make a decent living in the fight game; on the other hand, I feel sad, since I believe that Solo was the most consistently competitive and exciting boxing program on US television. Ah the good 'ole days....(Matt begins to daydream about the Paez, Ayala, Tapia, and Castaneda fights of yester-year...little tear down the cheek...OK back to business....)
**** MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT: it appears that Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley have agreed to meet on May 1st at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas!
I believe a road trip is in order....let's go ahead and have a media cred set aside for your boy....sound good Ramon? Thanx brother....
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Bout #1, 8 round welterweight contest
Ray Serrano (11-0, 6 KO's) vs. Ronnie Warrior Jr (13-2-1, 4 KO's)
- The bout begins with Serrano landing pot-shots from the outside, while Warrior plods forward in an attempt to...well ya know, I don't know what the heck he's tryin' to do here....
- as I somehow snooze through rounds 2 through 6, I am awakened in round 7, to see that...nothing has changed. Serrano is scoring from the outside, and Warrior (ironic name, ain't it?!?!) is doing very little.
- scorecards are 79-73 across the board, as I've never been so happy to have slept through the majority of a bout.
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* Back to the studio for ANOTHER MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT: Roger Mayweather has pleaded not guilty...wait, is anybody shocked by this??? Not I said the fly....
** Brian Kenny is now joined by Dan Rafael on the Skype line to dicsuss Mayweather-Mosley...or is it Mosley-Mayweather? Either way, I'm pretty excited about this one!
*** Camera angles are a funny thing: Dan Rafael's gut-throat is being tapered-out of the TV shot, kind-of like how the TNA cameras only show The Hulkster from the waist up (burn)
* This week's "30 years of Boxing on ESPN" feature fighter is the one and only "Sugar" Shane Mosley. We see clips of Shane in an early lightweight bout (man were his hands fast!). Osuna continuously refers to Mosley as a "classy" fighter. I couldn't agree more!
*** Jones-Hopkins II will take place on April 3 at Mandalay Bay's brand-new AARP shuffleboard room, and Amir Khan may face Juan Manuel Marquez on May 15 in a "let's start milkin' this kid" showdown. Did we learn nothing from the David Reid debocle, people?
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Bout #2, Main Event, 12 round IBF super middleweight eliminator
Jesse Brinkley (34-5, 22 KO's) vs. Curtis Stevens (21-2, 15 KO's
- Round 1 is a scorcher, as Stevens is looking to fulfill his prediction of a 50 second KO. "Showtime" lands hard counter left hooks, seemingly at will, as Brinkley tries to weather the storm. Jesse is already swollen under both eyes, ala Arturo Gatti in his classic bout vs. Wilson Rodriguez. Draining yourself before the weigh-in does have its side effects kids...
- Stevens continues to fire away in round 2, but the shots have much less steam behind them now. Brinkley is slowly looking more confident and comfortable in the squared circle.
- Stevens becomes discouraged in rounds three through five, as Brinkley begins to dial-in the counter right cross, along with crisp 1-2's to the head.
- Following round five, the two fighters TRADE AFTER THE BELL, and Brinkley's trainer Peter Manfredo Sr. nearly tackles Stevens to end the melee. In a travesty of a sham of a mockery of a robbery, Manfredo is banished from ringside from here on out, for making contact with the opposing fighter...keeping the peace just isn't the way to go these days, especially in a boxing ring....
- The madness must have triggered something in Brinkley's noggin', as he starts to really crank up the output in round six. The 1-2 combos just can't miss now, and Stevens is in trouble! Brinkley lays it on thick, as Stevens hits the canvas! He gets up at 9, and the bell saves him from a potential KO loss.
- after both guys simmered down a bit in round 7, Stevens tried to mount a comeback in the 8th stanza with his trademark counter left hooks. Very brave effort by Showtime in this round.
- Rounds 9 through 12 are all Brinkley, as he continues to land hard counter rights, followed by his picture-perfect 1-2 combo to the head. As round 12 winds down, Brinkley scores another KD, sealing the deal on a career-best win for the Northern Nevada native. Scorecards when 117-109 (same as the card from yours truly), 118-108, 119-107, all for Brinkley.
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*** Next week, FNF takes place from South Florida, in the same region as "Tha Big Game" as Glen Johnson and Yusaf Mack square-off in an elimination bout, for a future shot at Tavoris Cloud's IBF light heavyweight title
