VERONA, NY — Last night’s HBO “Boxing After Dark” card was a triple-header card from the Turning Stone Resort & Casino that featured three fighters from the Gary Shaw stable: lightweight Miguel Vazquez, junior welterweight Karim Mayfield and welterweight Tomas Dulorme. Although the “stars” of the card went 2-1, it was far from the showcase event Shaw likely hoped for to build fan demand to see this trio again. Here are the highs and lows of the card.
CARLOS ABREGU TKO7 THOMAS DULORME: Things already got off to a dubious start when the prefight video package compared the young Puerto Rican prospect Thomas Dulorme (16-1, 12 KOs) to legend Felix Trinidad. Dulorme definitely has talent. He showed a consistent strong jab and had some success picking off the slower Abregu (34-1, 28 KOs) with right hand counters. In addition, Dulorme showed good versatility by being able to go southpaw and land good power shots with the left hand. But with Abregu being the cagey veteran, he got the timing down and dropped Dulorme hard with his own counter right in the third. Dulorme barely made it out the round but seemed to bounce back over the next two stanzas by working on the outside. However, every time Abregu connected he shook Dulorme badly, an omen for what was to come.
Abregu proceeded to walk Dulorme down in the seventh, force exchanges, and drop his foe hard with a sharp left hook counter. That was all she wrote.
“He was too young and maybe with time he’ll become a better fighter,” said Abregu. “He couldn’t get away from my right hand and I knew at some point he was going to get caught with it. As you can see he did and his corner stopped the fight.”
“I didn’t want them to stop the fight but I respect their decision because they were looking out for me.” Dulorme stated. “I was controlling the fight but he caught me with a good punch but I came up and I was ok. I’ll take this experience and learn from it.”
Abregu got outclassed by Timothy Bradley back in 2010 on HBO, but those who had seen him previously on ShoBox know he has talent and is a threat to anyone in the welterweight division. He wants a Bradley rematch, but I’m sure Timmy is still hoping for a name opponent when he comes back from injury early in 2013. It’s not likely any of the Golden Boy welters (Alexander, Malignaggi) will look his way, but let’s hope Abregu gets to capitalize on this win soon. It’s been a damn good year for fighters from Argentina.
KARIM MAYFIELD UD10 MAURICIO HERRERA: This was an ugly fight early on with lots of clinching. Herrera (18-2, 7 KOs) had a higher punch output and was doing decent work to the body. Mayfield (16-0-1, 10 KOs) landed the harder and flus eye-catching shots. As the fight went on, Mayfield began landing more frequently and stifling Herrera’s offense with mauling. Mayfield is a late starter in boxing and it showed; his offense was at times clumsy but his athleticism got him by here. The final scores were unanimous for him: 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94.
“My conditioning was good and I neutralized his punch output with my smothering,” said Mayfield. “I didn’t get hit with too many big shots and I’m happy with the win. Next time I step into the ring I’m going to pick up my punch count.”
“I felt I was landing the better shots on the inside,” Herrera said. “I felt I won the fight but the judges weren’t scoring the body shots I was landing in the trenches. I’ll be back.”
The HBO team was pushing for Mayfield to take on Mike Alvarado, which would definitely be an action fight. You’d have to favor Alvarado big in that one though; Mayfield’s inside game leaves a lot to be desired and Mile High Mike would eat him up in there. Nonetheless, Mayfield is 31 years old, has six years as a pro under his belt and holds a fringe title. It’s time to roll the dice and see where he’s truly at.
MIGUEL VAZQUEZ SD MARVIN QUINTERO: This was a tough one to sit through, especially early, due to Vazquez’s (32-3, 13 KOs) spoiling methods. Many times he’d literally skate and run away from Quintero (24-4, 21 KOs), who couldn’t cut off the ring effectively for any sustained period outside a brief flurry on the ropes in the seventh. Quintero did find success in several rounds when he fired off the southpaw straight left, which would land right down the middle through Vazquez’s guard. But whenever it seemed like Quintero might have found the answer, Vazquez would come back for the next round or two and end the momentum with long jabs and potshots. Although Vazquez got the nod and retained his IBF lightweight title, the crowd heavily booed him afterward for his tactics. If Vazquez gets another TV date, he needs to be in there with someone who can effectively pressure and in a much smaller ring. As Harold Lederman pointed out, the 24 feet ring feet allowed Vazquez to run with impunity most of the night.
What are your thoughts? Did you enjoy last night’s card? Who do you want to see again on HBO?
Filed under: Fight Reports
