10.01.04 – By Don Deane: Dibella Entertainment and Mohegan Sun Arena brought ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights to Uncasville, CT. The card proved to be knockout filled as five of the seven bouts ended early, including four first round knockouts. The card was headlined by Jermain Taylor keeping busy against for title challenger Alex Rios. The co-feature was Daniel Attah against Nate Campbell in an IBF eliminator for their #2 130lb ranking.
Jermain Taylor vs Alex Rios—10 round Middleweight Main Event
This one was quick and painless…for Jermain. The fight took a little less than a minute as Taylor dropped a hooking right hand to the top of Rios’s head which left him flat on the canvas. The fight was immediately declared over and Taylor improved his record to 19-0 with his 14th KO. Rios falls to 23-4-1 and was taken to the hospital for observation. Taylor was able to throw his jab and get some good body shots in before the final jab-right hand combo did its damage. To Rios’s credit, he had the guts to come back from a year and a half layoff and get in there with the former Olympian. Eastside wishes him a speedy recovery from any injuries he may have sustained.
Nate Campbell vs Daniel Attah—12 round Junior Lightweight IBF #2 eliminator
Campbell came into this one with the more impressive knockout ratio, but Attah seemed content to get inside and press the action. Campbell was able to drop Attah in the first round with a nice body shot near the ropes, and he got his right arm free for a few nice crosses on the inside while he was held. In the second round, Attah touched the canvas again and it seemed that Campbell was going to cruise to an early win. Attah was able to get up and give the crowd some rounds and landed a nice right hand in the corner during round three. Campbell opened up with a good right hand lead followed by a jab during round three as Attah seemed content to hold and throw fast, arm punch combos on the inside. The middle of the fight was dominated by infighting and sloppy holding. Finally, referee Michael Ortega had seen enough and took a point from Attah for holding in round number seven. After a left hook put Attah to the canvas for the third time during round eleven, the fight was all but decided. Campbell ended the show with a smooth counter right hand in the last stanza which helped him earn a unanimous decision by scores of 116-108, 117-107, and 116-109. Eastside had the bout a little closer at 115-109. With the win, Campbell improves to 24-1-1 and becomes the IBF #2 contender at 130lbs. Attah fought tough and fell to 21-3-1.
Undercard Results
In the opening bout of the evening, former Belorussian Olympian heavyweight Sergei Liakhovich earned a 1st round TKO win as journeyman Ron Guerrero failed to answer the bell to start round 2. Liakhovich displayed a disciplined and quick left hand as he battered Guerrero with nice body shots and hooks to the head. Liakhovich progresses to 20-1 with KO number 14. Guerrero falls to 16-9-3.
Fight number two had promising New Haven, Connecticut middleweight prospect Elvin Ayala cruising to a 39-36, 39-36, 40-36 win over tough fighter Keith Sonley in a four round fight. Ayala got tested by Sonley, who is much better than his record indicates. Ayala looked polished for a fighter in his third pro fight, especially considering he only had 14 amateur fights. Ayala moved to 3-0 with the win, and Sonley becomes 4-9-5.
Ireland’s latest junior middleweight prospect, John Duddy, looked very impressive as he kept his perfect KO slate intact. Duddy got win number 4 and stoppage number 4 with a fourth round TKO over Ken Hock. Hock took a beating over the four rounds and was frustrated due to a huge size and skill disparity. Hock drops to 10-5-1.
Another 154lb. prospect, New Yorker Sechew Powell, beat the stuffing out of James Johnson for the majority of one round earning the 1st round stoppage. Powell looked good and was able to push Johnson all over the ring and lay the beating on him. Powell becomes 10-0 with KO number 7. Johnson drops to 14-9-2.
The last fight of the night featured New York light heavyweight Aneudi Santos improving his slate to 10-0 with KO number 7 as he knocked out Johnny Taylor with a nasty body shot in round 1. Taylor fell to 4-3 and is probably experiencing painful inhalation as this piece is being written.