By Evan Korn

“Snoozefest in Verona”

Before welterweights Joshua Clottey and Marlon Thomas got down to business, Thomas Hearns entered the ring to a standing ovation.  That would be the last ovation of the evening.

Clottey (28-1 20 KO’s) scored a wide unanimous decision over Marlon Thomas (35-6-1 21 KO’s) in a fight that saw more clinches than punches.

The opening round was a precursor for the rest of the fight, as the combatants hugged so often that they made the audience nostalgic for John Ruiz. By the final minute of the round, the crowd was restless. 

In the second round, the referee finally warned the fighters for excessive holding.  Thomas landed the first punches of consequence, a left hand combination to the head and body.  That would one of the few meaningful punches Thomas landed all evening.

Clottey would control the rest of the fight with a tight, high handed defense, causing the Detroit native to become even more tentative.  By the eight round, the crowd booed every clinch, as Clottey seemed content not to risk his points lead, and Thomas didn’t want to throw any punches at the risk of being countered. 

In the ninth round, there were short spurts of action that made one believe the clinch-fest had ended.  But the hugging parade would indeed continue into the final round, where the referee finally took a point away from Thomas for excessive holding.  At that juncture, Thomas was so far behind on the scorecards, rendering the penalty useless.

When the final bell sounded, Clottey and Thomas embraced, causing many in the audience to shout, “you’ve done enough hugging already this evening!”  After the insults had subsided, most in the arena filed out before the announcement of the scorecards, which would prove to be as anticlimactic as the bout itself.  Judges Frank Adams and Don Ackerman scored the fight 99-90, while Tom Shreck scored the contest 98-91.  Boxing Scene scored the bout 100-89. 

With the victory, Clottey, the seventh ranked WBC welterweight contender, moved closer to a title shot.

 

“The Mechanic” Back in the Win Column” 

Chris “The Mechanic” Smith (20-2-1 13 KO’s) ended his two bout losing streak with a TKO over Tomas Barrientes (27-9 17 KO’s) at the end of fifth round.

The opening round saw Smith landing the cleaner blows, including a crushing uppercut that stunned Barrientes.

The fight was fought mostly in close quarters, although neither combatant landed too many blows of consequence.  Most of Barrientes’ punches were easily blocked by a seemingly rejuvenated Smith.

The forth round saw Smith taking control of the fight, as the Queens native landed multiple lead left hands, causing the mostly subdued crowd to “ooh” and “aah” in unison. 

The fifth round was the most action packed of the fight, as Smith continued to dig the body and land his sharp left hook at will.  At the end of fifth, the bout was stopped on the advice of the ringside doctor, as the Barrientes camp claimed their fighter had broken his left hand.  Barrientes, who put forth a spirited effort, left the ring to a chorus of cheers.

At the time of the stoppage, the scores read 50-45 (2X) and 49-46.

Smith’s victory propels him back up the Welterweight hierarchy after setbacks at the hands of David Estrada and Sharmba Mitchell.

Undercard Results:

Vincent Arroyo (2-0 2 KO’s) outclassed Shane Gierke (1-5 1 KO), scoring a TKO over the Youngstown, Ohio native 44 seconds into the second round.

Rochester, New York native Kenny Abril (4-2-1 3 KO’s) knocked down Philadelphia’s Shane Culver in the opening stanza en route to a unanimous decision victory (1-2).  All three judges scored the bout 40-35.

Utica, New York product Jamar Patterson (4-0 3 KO’s), scored a dubious first round technical knockout over Terrance Thomas (4-5-1).  It was a competitive stanza, as Patterson was tagged with multiple left hands early in the round.  Patterson would roar back, tagging the Newburgh, New York native with furious combinations.  Thomas wobbled a bit from the onslaught, causing the referee to stop the bout with only two seconds remaining in the round.  The sparse crowd, which had lustily cheered Patterson when he entered the ring, booed the stoppage.  Even Patterson’s promoter, Lou DiBella, could be heard protesting the referee’s decision.

In the fight of the evening, Russell “Spiderman” Jordan (11-2 7KO’s) scored a fifth round TKO over Henry Humphrey (7-5 6KO’s).  Jordan had Humphrey down in the fourth and fifth rounds, yet every time the Buffalo native would appear finished, he would roar back with bruising power shots of his own.  Humphrey’s valiant effort wasn’t enough, as referee Ken Zimmer halted the bout at the end of the fifth round.