Ardreal “Bossman” Holmes relied on his superior peak, boxing chops and motion to win a break up determination that didn’t appear as shut because the scores indicated in opposition to the aggressive Ismael “Maelo” Villarreal in a 10-round tremendous welterweight contest Friday stay on SHOWTIME from Stormont Vail Occasions Middle in Topeka, Kan.
After he stood within the pocket and absorbed too many photographs in his March win on SHOBOX® in opposition to Vernon Brown, the undefeated Holmes, an newbie standout, took a safer path to victory on Friday, or so he thought, tying up the aggressive Villarreal when he bought too shut and banking on his jab to pile up factors.
Holmes of Flint, Mich., gained by scores of 96-94, 97-93 and 94-96 to maneuver his document to 13-0 with 5 KOs, whereas Villarreal (12-1, 8 KOs) turned the 224th undefeated boxer to maintain his first loss on SHOBOX, an indication of the aggressive matchmaking of the long-running sequence. Holmes’ jab was the distinction as he out-landed Villarreal 50-8 and total, 422 punches to 269 in a present of authority that wasn’t actually mirrored within the scorecards.
“I felt like he gained two, three rounds,” Holmes mentioned. “I don’t know the place that one card got here from. I really feel like I dominated the struggle and felt like he may need gotten two or three center rounds, however that was the max. I felt like I out-jabbed him and out-fought him. I felt like this was a step-up from final time I fought, and this was a more durable struggle. I’m solely 13 fights in so I’m going to maintain enhancing.”
The primary occasion was a traditional matador vs. bull contest because the six-foot-two Holmes saved his distance together with his jab and proper hand and Villarreal tried to bully his approach inside with extensive, looping photographs. Each had success however Holmes appeared to manage the tempo of the struggle and frustrate his hard-charging opponent.
Villarreal of the Bronx, N.Y., landed a flush proper a minute into the sixth as Holmes was bullied into the nook, however Holmes timed Villarreal with an uppercut to again him up and comfortably fought on the within when he selected to. Villarreal landed a brief proper a minute into the seventh, however Holmes danced away. At that time, the southpaw Holmes started to come back ahead and again up Villarreal together with his jab.
Villarreal landed a tough proper that briefly shook Holmes with a minute left within the eighth spherical. However he by no means adopted up, and Villarreal, who had simply boxed previous the sixth spherical as soon as earlier than this struggle, appeared to tire a bit down the stretch. Holmes linked with a left hand within the last minute of the ninth, however Villarreal rammed dwelling a proper hand that appeared to stun Holmes as he lay in opposition to the ropes to finish the body. Within the last spherical, Villarreal went for broke with a barrage of punches as Holmes lined up. After knocking out undefeated LeShawn Rodriguez final July in an upset, Villarreal couldn’t duplicate these heroics on Friday as Holmes boxed his option to victory.
Within the co-feature, Edward Vazquez confirmed his superior conditioning and energy as he dropped Misael Lopez and captured a break up determination in a high-speed, spirited 10-round featherweight bout. Vazquez gained by scores of 96-93, 95-94 and 94-95 to enhance to 14-1 with 3 KOs as Lopez, in his third look on SHOBOX, misplaced for the second time on the unforgiving prospect sequence to run his document to 14-2 with 5 KOs. The lone blemish on Vazquez’s document got here one 12 months in the past when he misplaced a controversial split-decision to undefeated former Nationwide Golden Gloves champion Raymond Ford. This time it was Vazquez getting the sting.
“I clearly thought [the scorecards] have been wider than that,” mentioned Vazquez of Fort Price, Texas, who mentioned he deliberate to run a half-marathon on Saturday. “I believed he was doing a bit showboating and that doesn’t imply he’s doing something efficient. That’s what skilled boxing is about is being efficient in your punches and he didn’t do any of that. For essentially the most half he was simply throwing a couple of pitter-patter photographs.”
The distinction in scoring was the knockdown. Vazquez, 27, dropped Lopez with a winging left to the highest of Lopez’s head that landed behind the ear halfway by the second spherical. Lopez rose rapidly however absorbed a number of extra blows because the body ended. Lopez didn’t assume it was a knockdown.
“I didn’t really feel the punch,” mentioned Lopez, a Denver resident. “I believed it ought to have been dominated a slip. I didn’t really feel something. I began a bit late, however I believed I out-classed him the remainder of the best way and simply out-boxed him.”
It was an entertaining bout that pitted Vazquez’s aggressive, fixed come-forward strain in opposition to Lopez’s boxing skill in Lopez’s first struggle with extremely revered coach Manny Robles. Each time Lopez appeared to flurry with punches, Vazquez would time his opponent with strong left hooks as the 2 typically traded within the heart of the ring.
“The left hook knockdown within the second was the important thing,” Vazquez mentioned. “He was off-balance for positive, however I hit him with the left hook and that’s the sport. In my final struggle, the identical factor occurred, they usually didn’t name it. So, you simply by no means know.”
Within the telecast opener, Kurt Scoby ran over John Mannu of their 140-pound bout, flooring the Australian 4 occasions and ending issues at 1:40 of the second spherical with a left to the physique for his sixth straight stoppage. Scoby improved to 11-0 with 9 KOs, whereas Mannu, in his U.S. debut, fell to 7-1-1, changing into the 223rd undefeated fighter to endure their first defeat on SHOBOX.
“I don’t receives a commission for extra time, so I needed to get him out of there,” mentioned Scoby, a former highschool and faculty soccer standout operating again who tried out with 4 NFL groups however by no means caught on. “The sport plan was at all times to stick with the jab. You probably have a powerful group and also you consider, you are able to do something on this world. You realize what I would like subsequent? I need to simply return dwelling and be capable to perceive myself a bit bit extra. That’s my subsequent opponent.”
It was a surprisingly dominant and fast efficiency for Scoby, who confronted principally gentle opposition earlier than this bout however confirmed he’s prepared for extra superior competitors. Scoby, who weighed as a lot as 215 kilos when he performed soccer, dropped Mannu with a straight proper hand simply seconds into the second spherical. Moments later, one other proper hand from the muscular Scoby floored Mannu, who once more rose rapidly however wouldn’t stay upright for lengthy as he was felled by one other proper hand. This time when he rose, he bought up on shaky legs. The tip got here when Scoby, 27, unloaded a proper to Mannu’s head and adopted up with a dagger of a left to Mannu’s rib cage that dropped him for the fourth time, inflicting referee Jacob Villa to wave the bout off.
Scoby is a former highschool and NCAA Division I soccer star who rushed for two,206 yards and 35 touchdowns in his senior 12 months for Monrovia Excessive College in Duarte, Calif. He signed to play at Fresno State College as a prison justice main and red-shirted his freshman season. He transferred to Azusa Pacific College within the San Gabriel Valley southeast of Los Angeles the place he rushed for two,703 yards and 16 touchdowns from 2015-2017. Now he’s producing numbers in boxing which will quickly rival his dominance in soccer. His trainers name him the “11-dollar man” as a result of on the peak of the pandemic he purchased an $11 one-way economic system airline ticket from California to New York Metropolis the place he walked into the famed Gleason’s Gymnasium to concentrate on boxing.
Tonight’s SHOBOX tripleheader will re-air on Monday, February 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME®.
The cardboard was promoted by Lou DiBella’s DiBella Leisure.
Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Famer Barry Tompkins known as all of the blow-by-blow motion for SHOBOX with fellow Corridor of Famer Steve Farhood becoming a member of the group remotely because the unofficial scorer. Former junior middleweight world champion Raul Marquez and veteran fight sports activities reporter and MORNING KOMBAT co-host Brian Campbell served as ringside analysts. The manager producer of SHOBOX: The New Era was Gordon Corridor with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
