In this midwest state where Minneapolis is located there’s an old slogan to describe the local population “Minnesota Nice”, and that’s exactly what we got in 3 or 4 early TKO calls by the referees. On paper this Showtime tripleheader was thought to be full of fun matchups with lots of back and forth. Don’t get me wrong the 4,120 in attendance at the armory in Minneapolis got a good show but a few of the outcomes left a sour taste. Boxing isn’t nice and there’s no room for “Minnesota Nice”. Let’s get right into the main event post fight thoughts.
Carlos Adames left hand to the midsection in a feel out first round was enough to win it. Hooks to body, straight lefts & great work with his free hand saw Adames win round 2. In the third frame J-Rock came out more aggressive with right hands landing flush while Carlos shelled up not throwing back. Powerful left hooks to liver and just overall body work on the inside was a thing of beauty and it helped Adames dominate round four. In that round Julian Williams looked a bit wobbly as he was in ear-muff mode on the ropes.
However Julian began to pivot enabling him to score the cleaner punches in the 5th. That continued from Williams as he landed the better shots early in the 6th at range. Adames placed his head in J-Rock’s chest digging to the body the last 30-45 seconds to possibly steal the sixth. Increasing the body attack Carlos started to find openings to Julian’s head in the 7th. The 8th was competitive but Williams did enough, circling around Adames behind a jab.
Near the beginning of the 9th round, Adames hurt J-Rock and with plenty of time left in the round Carlos went for the kill at times landing flush shots. While other times he missed punches and with just 15 seconds left to survive an experienced ref in Mark Nelson stopped the fight. Even a pro-Adames fan could see the fight ended too early which was such a buzzkill after an entertaining tussle. Not only that, it took away a highlight reel knockout opportunity from Carlos Adames. Fighter safety no doubt is at the forefront but former unified champion Julian Williams, Carlos Adames, and the fans deserved a better outcome.
The co-feature between Erickson Lubin and Luis Arias saw Lubin
use his rangy jab & straight left hands. Erickson fought at the perfect range in complete control throwing efficiently accurate punches the whole night. Another “Minnesota Nice” stoppage occurred after Lubin scored a knockdown from a flurry in 5th round. Although Erickson was clearly up in this one it would’ve been better to allow the fight to end organically. A strange count that Luis Arias appeared to beat ended the fight abruptly as the armory crowd rang boos.
The opener for the Showtime Tripleheader pitted Fernando Martinez against the unheralded Jade Bornea. In an even opening round Bornea was the sharper of the two avoiding looping shots from Fernando. Jade’s footwork was on point jabbing effectively and counter punching Martinez’s mistakes. Fernando was able to land his jab a little more as he slowly but surely turned the tide his way. Martinez also found his timing but still got caught to the body & multiple head shot to close the 4th.
In the fifth Martinez’s body work early & late matched with right hands to head & compact hooks up close were enough to take the round. In the 6th and 7th Bornea pushed Martinez on the back foot, Fernando wasn’t follow up with punches after landing clean. The 9th round was a big one for Martinez as he landed leaping left hooks, upper cuts, and right hands. Bornea’s cauliflower ear popped and was bleeding very badly. The fight would be stopped in the 10th from heavy punches by Martinez, who got a hard-earned victory after an uneven start.
The main event portion of the Showtime YouTube Prelims stream Caleb Truax vs. Burley Brooks was a good battle over 10 rounds. Some two-way action in round 1 with Truax landing shorts hooks & uppercuts on inside in the second. The 3rd round featured decent back & forth, neither boxer separated. In the 4th round Burley’s two-punch combos aiming to head & body along with an accurate jab did the trick. Truax seemed to be winning on the inside of a highly competitive fight
Truax possible hurt took a beat, continued surprisingly stealing the 5th round off the strength of big lead right hands & short uppercuts. Burley’s mouthpiece came out 5 or 6 times, both men were landing flush but Truax’s seem to have more effect. Brooks managed to close off the seventh round strong until Caleb connected with yet another right, snapping Burley’s head back. Rounds 8 thru 10 Burley was stronger down the stretch. One judge inexplicitly scored it 98-91 while the other two saw it 96-93 in what appeared to be a razor-close affair. Burley was deducted a point meaning that judge only saw 1 round for Truax.
Former champion, Jerwin Ancajas 33-3-2 (22KOs) faced Wilber Soto in a super bantamweight bout. A measured pace to start, Jerwin landed clean punches to Soto’s body. In the third round Ancajas winged left hands up top & thudding hooks on both sides of Wilber’s body. Flurries of two-punch combos resulted in a 4th round knockdown. Jerwin’s lead & counter step-back left hands landed flush followed up by nasty body punching. The referee called it off 2 minutes and 43 seconds into the 5th round as Jerwin Ancajas picked up the win.
A super lightweight bout Mickel Spencer vs. Lyle McFarlane ended in a No Contest due to an accidental head butt. Mickel Spencer’s upper cuts, left hooks, & straight right hands had McFarlane in some trouble in the first. Spencer increased his pressure in the second round landing several heavy shots placing McFarlane on the move doing his best to avoid damage before the halt in the action.
Ray Robinson’s laser left hand scored a knockdown, not longer after the referee prematurely put a stop to the bout after Ryan Raglin went to the canvas from a push/pull down. The featherweight bout featuring Ray Robinson vs. Ryan Raglin had a bad ending, an unfortunate theme for the night.
Robert Meriwether III (2-0) used jab/right or left hook/right combinations & upper body movement to win a unanimous decision over Ezra Rabin. An impressive left hand knockdown from the southpaw stance in the second by the now the 4-0 prospect. In the 3rd round Meriwether was getting the better of multiple exchanges. However, Bo Gibbs Jr. proved be a game fighter in the 4th round landing several good shots while Meriwether pivoted nicely with the jab & shoeshines to the body.
Shawn McCalman moved to 13-0 (7KOs), timing his jab in the early going and attacking the body with both hands. McCalman’s left hooks to head & body along with right hands to the head resulted in two knockdowns in the 2nd. A left hook stiffened Bo Gibbs Jr. legs in that second round, more body work & left hooks to the head forced the referee to stop the fight via TKO, 37 seconds in to the 3rd round.
Side Note: Even with the bad stoppages & questionable scordcards I enjoyed the fights from press row. By the way make sure to follow @_BroadwayJoel on Twitter & Subscribe to his YouTube Channel for all the latest news when it comes to Dominican Boxing.
Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast Available at www.blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio