ESPN Friday Night Fights Report
Posted by Joe Roche on 02.05.2010
Knockouts galore in South Florida.
When you tune into Friday Night Fights you're never sure what you're going to get. This past Friday (Feb. 5) ESPN 2 broadcast from South Florida and what we got was a collection of great knockouts.
The broadcast opened with former 2x Olympic Champion and the man who has been called possibly the greatest amateur boxer of all time Guillermo Rigondeaux (5-0, 4KO) improve his undefeated record with a first round knockout of Adolfo Landeros (20-12-1, 9KO). The fight was originally scheduled for 8 rounds but a left hook to the body from Rigondeaux twenty eight seconds into the first round put Landeros on the canvas and out for the count.
The second bout of the broadcast was an IBF Light Heavyweight title eliminator between Glen "The Road Warrior" Johnson (50-13-2, 34KO) and Yusaf Mack (22-3-2, 17KO). The fight opened very close with the first five rounds being essentially even. Johnson, the 41 year old former light heavyweight champion and one time Fighter of the Year started slow and looked to show some of his age during the bout but he was able to overcome the odds and put on a punishing display in the sixth round to score a TKO victory. Johnson sent Mack to the canvas with three knockdowns in the sixth, the first two coming on overhand rights and the third coming on a straight left to the head. Johnson who was coming off a disappointing one sided beating at the hands of "Bad" Chad Dawson last November is now in line for an IBF Light Heavyweight title fight against Tavoris Cloud sometime in the future.
Our third bout of the evening was a rematch between two fighters who genuinely did not like each other heading into the bout. Ed Paredes (24-3-1, 15KO) may not have been a name you knew before tonight but he scored an early Knockout of the Year short left hook to the head that will be replayed on YouTube and ESPN for weeks to come. In the second round Hernandez was winding up and loading up his punches which left him wide open to the short left hook that Paredes put perfectly on Hernandez buckling his legs and sending him to the canvas in a heap. It was a very impressive knockout and one that we'll be talking about for the rest of the year I am sure.
The final fight of the broadcast was another fight involving former Cuban amateur standout as Yudel Jhonson (5-0, 3KO) scored a stress free first round TKO over Dorien Beaupierre (12-6-2, 6KO). Jhonson (and no that's not a typo) knocked Beaupierre down in the first round and then closed the show with a flurry of punches in the corner against a defenseless Beaupierre. It was an impressive performance though if we were handing out awards for the least impressive KO of the night Jhonson would take home the award.
