Luis Upsets Undefeated Dargan; Barrera Batters Lacy

By Cliff Rold

27-year old Lightweight Tony Luis (19-2, 7 KO) of Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, scored two knockdowns, got credit for one, and outclassed previously undefeated 29-year old Karl Dargan (17-1, 9 KO) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a clear 10-round unanimous decision.  Luis has been on the receiving end of questionable decisions in the past. Friday night at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut, the judges nailed it.

And Luis nailed Dargan.

Luis weighed in at 134 ¼, Dargan at 135. The referee was Johnny Callas.

Moving and boxing, Dargan appeared to control the first two rounds. In the third, a leaping shot from Luis ended with Dargan spilling to the floor. Referee Johnny Callas ruled it a slip but replays showed otherwise.

Luis kept that offensive momentum in the next two rounds. Staying close, Luis went to work and controlled Dargan at close quarters. Dargan tried to counter in spots but Luis had seized a clear edge as the fight hit the halfway mark after five.

With his nose bloodied from earlier in the fight, Dargan was more assertive to start the sixth.  He had no answer when Luis began working in combination. Using his legs, Dargan had somewhat of a rebound round in the seventh, landing cleaner then he had and limiting Luis’s output.

Dargan responded badly to a head clash in the eighth, walking away and holding his left eye.  It was that sort of night for him. As the last two rounds approached, Luis looked like all he had to do was stay the course. In the 10th, he did more than that, dropping Dargan for what should have been the second knockdown of the night.

With a minute to go, Luis was working and Dargan was covering up. Loading with the right, Dargan prayed for a salvaging blow. It wasn’t to be and they went to the scorecards. The judges got it right at 99-90 and 97-92 twice.    

32-year old Cuban light heavyweight prospect Sullivan Barrera (15-0, 10 KO), 172 ½, of Miami, Florida, spent four rounds picking the bones of badly faded 37-year-old former Olympian and super middleweight titlist Jeff Lacy (27-6, 18 KO), 168 ¼, of St. Petersburg, Florida in a pathetic display.

Lacy was there for little more than target practice, dropped with a hard right at the end of the first and taking a steady drum of blows in the second.

Lacy would occasionally launch a big left hook off the ropes but it was to little effect.  In the fourth, Barrera lost a point for a low blow.  His attacks were predictable enough for Lacy to defend and keep his feet but the sustained beating became enough for referee Michael Ortega.  Lacy, taking punishment in the corner, was saved from further leather at 2:05 of round four.

- The televised opener got the night off to an exciting start in the middleweight division.

In a minor upset, 26-year old Thomas Falowo (13-3, 8 KO), 158 ½, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, used an aggressive approach to outwork and outfight previously undefeated 32-year old Russell Lamour (11-1, 5 KO), 159, of Portland, Maine, for a unanimous decision victory.  Falowo brought the fight to Lamour throughout.  As the fight wore on, it increasingly moved to the trenches where Falowo maintained the advantage.  Both men acquitted themselves well in an all-action affair with Falowo winning at scores of 78-74 and 77-75 twice.

The referee was Johnny Callas.

The card was broadcast in the US on ESPN2 as part of its “Friday Night Fights” series, promoted by Main Events.