Chris Byrd Decisions Fres Oquendo

By Don Deane @ Ringside

21.09 - Don King, HBO and Mohegan Sun Casino teamed up to bring this installment of HBO Boxing to us live from Uncasville, CT. The card was a marathon, with over 6 hours of fights climaxing with the not so spectacular Heavyweight Championship main event

Chris Byrd vs Fres Oquendo- 12 round IBF Heavyweight Title Fight

Was this fight boring? Yes. But was it a typical Chris Byrd fight? Not at all. Byrd stuck to his word when he said after the Evander Holyfield fight that he would attempt to go head up with some guys and maybe take somebody out. He was very aggressive and even though I think his natural style fits him much better, he did acquit himself well in there. Oquendo, on the other hand, looked like the small kid who realizes that in order to stop getting picked on he has to take a swing at the bully. He clinched a lot, turned his back a lot, cowered against the ropes often. You get the picture. So, since I just ruined it for those of you who didn't see the fight, here is the recap. Round 1, as is often the case, was a feel out round where Chris Byrd came out stepping forward and Oquendo went to the ropes. I thought this would be the other way around. It seemed like Oquendo may have been trying to counter Byrd and make him force the action. But after 2 rounds of this cat and mouse play, it just seemed like Oquendo was content to let it be a slow, easy night for Byrd. Oquendo came out and threw some good punches in round 3. Byrd seemed to have a bit of trouble adjusting to Oquendo's new found inspiration. It took Byrd the majority of rounds 4 and 5 to settle things back down and establish himself. He landed a nice, albeit feather-fisted, flurry near the end of round 4. Round 5 was where Oquendo started the clenching. He looked like Henry Akinwande and even scored a nice take down later on. Round 6 saw the best action of the fight, with Byrd landing a nice combo and Huggin' Henry, I mean Floppin' Fres, coming back with the harder return volleys. Through the middle of the fight, Byrd worked the jab and tried to control the fight. He found it easy to maneuver Oquendo around the ring. Oquendo tried to grab Byrd as often as possible, but did manage to land some wild right hands. In the Championship rounds Byrd tried whatever he could to make a boxing match out of it, but fatigue on Oquendo's part kept that form happening. Fres was able to land a big left in round 11. After all was in the books, Chris Byrd kept his belt with a 115-113, 116-112, 117-111 unanimous decision win. Eastside scored the bout 117-111 for Byrd. Byrd improves to 37-2 with the win and Oquendo drops to 24-2.

Alex Garcia vs Rhoshii Wells- 12 round WBA !54lb Title Fight

This was the best scrap of the night. Evenly matched boxer vs puncher always makes for the best match ups. Round 1 started off with Wells landing the jab and moving. Garcia followed him around and tried to drop the stiff right on Wells on a few occasions. More of this continued in round 2 with Garcia landing a huge punch to end the stanza. Garcia picked the pace up a bit in rounds 3 and 4, and Wells responded by showing more movement and working behind the jab. The two threw some big punches in round 4 with Garcia getting the better of the exchange. Wells also connected with a wild left at the end of the round. In round 5, Garcia landed 3 big time right hands causing Wells to think better of going toe to toe. He settled back in to a boxers role in round 6 and used the jab. Garcia controlled rounds 7 and 8 with the right hand and chased Wells around. This was followed by two exciting rounds ending with a hard knockdown of Wells as the bell rang to end of round 10. After the count, moronic referee Frank Capuccino let the two square back off causing the time keeper to wack the bell 3 or 4 more times. That guy never ceases to amaze me. For you gamblers out there, I am willing to give even money that half the time he doesn't even know what state he is in. Ok, I am kidding with the gambling part, so don't go emailing me offers here. So, after the gaff, the fight doctor decides that Wells is unfit to continue, which was what Capuccino probably would have figured out if he was watching Wells' corner men drag him back to the corner instead of arguing with the timekeeper about how long 3 minutes really is. With the TKO win, Garcia moves to 22-0 with 21 KO. Wells falls to 17-1-2.

George Arias vs Owen Beck- 12 round FEDELATIN Heavyweight Championship

Bonus coverage for you. The Fedelatin heavyweight title, whatever that is. Judging this fight was probably difficult so I am giving the boys a free pass on this one. More on that later. Anyway, the early part of this one was slow and fought in spurts. Beck spent a lot of time on the ropes with his hands hanging at his side. Arias spent a lot of time with his hands slapping himself in the face as he stared at Beck. Arias has a really weird style where he adjusts his hands a lot and always seems to get himself in the head as he is doing it. When the pace picked up in rounds 3 and 4 it was Beck who got busier and landed the jabs and a nice third round right hand. Both men seemed to take round 5 off and then Arias came out with the second wind first. In rounds 6 through 8, Arias was able to move Beck around throw a few shots when the came together against the ropes. Beck wasn't very busy during this time, but neither was Arias. A lot of pushing and jostling for position here. Beck landed a nice right hand in a very even round 9. Rounds 10, 11 and 12 were fairly sloppy, both men had their moments. Arias, again got his shots in when he got Beck pinned to the ropes. Beck was able to catch Arias on occasion as he tried to walk in. At the end of the fight the judges had it unanimously for Beck at 117-111, 118-110 and 119-109. A chorus of boos erupted from the crowd. You would think judges would get sick of hearing that and just call the fight how it actually happened. But like I said, gritty, sloppy fight so they get a free pass. Eastside had it 114-114. Beck improves to 19-0 while Arias drops to 31-7.

Under Card Results

First up, Manny Siaca earned a fourth round TKO win over Demetrius Jenkins at Light Heavy. Jenkins was cut in the first round by a punch and was unable to continue past four rounds. Siaca looked like he hit the cake instead of the weights to get up to 175 from 168. He did perform well in the 4 rounds he got in. Siaca moves to 17-4 with stoppage number 16. Jenkins falls to 21-12-1.

Rafael Pineda cruised to victory over Tybius Flowers in a Welterweight tussle. The scores were 100-89, 97-91, and 98-92. Eastside had it 98-92 for Pineda. Pineda improves to 37-5 and Flowers gets demoted to 17-6.

Steve Cunningham, a good Philadelphia cruiserweight prospect, improved to 14-0 with a good 8 round win over tough Terry McGroom. All 3 cards that matter as well as Eastside's had this one 79-71. McGroom fell to 19-6-2. Cunningham really looks like he has the skills to go far. He showed poise and good patience and maturity when he had McGroom in trouble.

The night's opener was Quentin Smith knocking out Floyd Williams in the third round. Smith improves to 18-0 with KO number 12. Floyd tumbles to 30-14-1.

Be safe, see you all next time.