10.09.07 – By Geoffrey Ciani: Friday night, as I lazily sat in my couch, aimlessly flipping through the televisions stations, I was happy to discover there was some boxing on Showtime. It was a lightweight boxing bout between Antonio DeMarco and Nick Casal. The clash between these two twenty-one year old pugilists proved most entertaining.
There was good action from the opening stanza, where each fighter was landing some solid blows. Casal’s more compact punches seemed to find the mark quicker and more accurately, and the first round ended with a nice exchange. In the second round, DeMarco did a better job maintaining his distance, enabling him to establish his jab, which in turn, enabled him to land a nice variety of punches, including some wicked hooks to the body.
Casal came out charging to start the third, and was more successful in closing the distance, enabling him to land some nice shots on the inside. DeMarco landed a great counterpunch midway through, and an exciting third round ended with clubbing blows from each fighter.
In the fourth, both fighters continued landing telling blows, with neither seeming overly phased from the hard shots he was absorbing. Things weren’t quite as explosive this round, but even with a more measured pace, each unleashed at opportune moments.
Things began slowing down to start the fifth. Casal landed a telling right hand, which highlighted the round before things began picking back up towards the latter third. DeMarco landed a big left hand near the end, but it wasn’t quite enough to steal it.
In the sixth, it started becoming obvious that DeMarco was unable to create space as he had been earlier. For the majority of the round, DeMarco was being out-hustled by Casal. Once again, DeMarco turned up the heat as the round neared its conclusion, and once again, it just wasn’t enough.
The seventh started with Casal charging out like a bull again, while DeMarco attempted to rediscover his jab. Whenever DeMacro maintained a proper distance, he had success with his jab which created other openings for him—most notably, hooks and uppercuts. Casal was trying to work the body, and as the round progressed, both fighters were bleeding and badly swollen. Towards the end, DeMarco landed a nice uppercut and followed it up with a beautiful straight left. This time, it was enough to take the round.
Casal’s nose was bleeding badly to start the eighth. The blood flow seemed to distract him and almost certainly was causing him difficulties breathing. DeMarco once again began opening up with a nice variety of punches. Casal landed a strong left hook which staggered DeMarco near the bell, but it wasn’t enough for Casal to steal the round.
In the ninth, Casal seemed to have gotten a second wind, as both fighters stood toe-to-toe. It was a very competitive round, much like those which preceded it. As it concluded, DeMarco had to replace his mouthpiece, after which he was viciously attacked by Casal leading to a sensational exchange to end the round.
Both fighters were exhausted by the final stanza, but each continued to exhibit tremendous heart, with both giving it their all. Powerful exchanges throughout the final twenty seconds of the round personified this exciting action-packed fight.
In the end, DeMarco was awarded a unanimous decision victory. Scorecards read 97-93 on two of the judges’ scorecards and 96-94 on the other. Incidentally, I scored the bout a draw at 95 apiece.
It was an exciting little scrap for a Friday night between two hungry young fighters, each looking to make his mark on the sport. I look forward to seeing each of them in the ring again sometime in the near future.
To read more by Ciani please go to The Mushroom Mag:
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geoff@eatthemushroom.com