21-year-old prospect Xander Zayas emerged victorious in his first ESPN fundamental occasion, outclassing former champion Patrick Teixeira over 10 rounds.
Zayas (18-0, 12 KO) seemed poised for an early end, snapping Teixeira’s (34-5, 25 KO) head again with most of his photographs and complementing them with heavy physique blows. Teixeira, who had not weighed in beneath the middleweight restrict in over three years, simply appeared awkward and powerless. He landed lower than 10% of his energy photographs within the early going whereas consuming most of what Zayas despatched his manner.
By some means, although, Teixeira simply continued to stay round. Zayas was correct, continued to focus on the physique, and landed a formidable variety of energy photographs spherical after spherical. He simply couldn’t eliminate Teixeira; he acquired moderately shut in the previous couple of rounds, however each time, Teixeira threw sufficient photographs and moved effectively sufficient to remain alive.
Zayas walked away with two shutouts and a 99-91 on the playing cards. It was, on paper, a really robust efficiency. He simply appeared to be lacking that additional gear, that ferocity or real thudding energy that he’d must standout in an more and more scorching division.
Afterwards, he known as out Erickson Lubin, Josh Kelly, and the lately signed Vito Mielnicki Jr. Unsure I see him getting any of these anytime quickly; promoter conflicts will maintain up the primary two and I don’t see Prime Rank cashing out on Mielnicki that shortly.
Carrington breaks down recreation De Gracia
Prime Rank darling Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington as soon as once more proved himself among the many greatest featherweight prospects within the recreation by stopping a really gutsy Brayan De Gracia.
De Gracia (29-4-1, 25 KO) formally took this combat on a number of days’ discover after Jose Enrique Vivas bumped into visa points, however the commentators declare that he’d been getting ready for a number of weeks. He definitely seemed prepared within the first couple rounds, if not successful them then at the very least getting Carrington’s (12-0, 8 KO) consideration with regular stress and strong photographs within the pocket.
It didn’t take lengthy for Carrington to determine him out, although. Combating out of a decent shoulder roll, Carrington punished De Gracia’s lunges with sharp left fingers and persistently prevented De Gracia’s photographs within the pocket whereas sneaking in heavy blows of his personal. Whereas De Gracia continued to swing warmth, Carrington discovered increasingly more success earlier than lastly sitting him down within the fifth with a chopping proper behind the ear.
De Gracia made it to his ft, and to Carrington’s credit score, he didn’t sit on his lead. With De Gracia’s output dropping, Carrington acquired extra comfy sitting down on heavy punches, and a few strong physique work within the seventh lowered De Gracia’s guard sufficient for Carrington to hammer him with a pair of vicious rights that pressured De Gracia to carry himself up with the ropes.
De Gracia once more beat the rely and remained recreation within the eighth, however Carrington was totally in gear, marching after him along with his fingers down, avoiding the whole lot that got here his manner, and tattooing De Gracia with energy photographs till a prolonged flurry within the last seconds pressured the ref into motion.
Total, very robust efficiency in opposition to Carrington. It was in opposition to somebody he was imagined to beat, sure, however he confirmed off spectacular timing, accuracy, and killer intuition en path to a violent end. That mentioned, his subsequent callout of the close by Naoya Inoue was greater than a bit untimely.
