Breidis Prescott’s new nickname “The Khanqueror,” ensures that every time he’s announced, fight fans are reminded that he was the man who beat Amir Khan. While Khan has recovered from the loss and gone on to bigger and better things, Prescott seems to have faded into the background and furthered the claim that he simply got lucky and caught Khan cold. Prescott’s fight tonight against the unheralded junior welterweight Bayan Jargal did little to convince anyone otherwise. If Prescott was looking make a case for a rematch with Khan based on this fight, perhaps those viewing it should only watch rounds one through five.
The bout took place at the Mohegan Sun Hotel and Resort in Ledyard, Connecticut
Admittedly Prescott did look good for the first half of the fight. He came out wild in round one, clearly trying to take Jargal’s head off. Although a bit sloppy, many of Prescott’s punches landed hard and a left hook near the end of round one wobbled Jargal a bit. Prescott settled down in round two and began to put his punches together; stringing left hooks and uppercuts in with straight right hands. Rounds 3 and 4 were more of the same as Prescott upped the intensity and landed some beautiful combos on the charging Jargal. Prescott also let loose a great jab that disrupted Jargal’s forward momentum time and again.
Perhaps frustrated he couldn’t take Jargal out Prescott went all out in a wild round 5, unleashing nearly 50 punches in a row in the center of the ring. Jargal ate a surprising number of the punches in the exchange but refused to go down. If one thing can be said of Jargal in this fight, it’s that his chin must be cast of pure granite. Had the fight stopped at the end of the 5th, perhaps Prescott could have generated some buzz about a potential Khan rematch. Instead, a tired Prescott set himself on cruise control and did little over the final 5 rounds. Although Prescott was clearly winning the rounds, he allowed himself to be trapped on the ropes far too often and looked exhausted over the final two rounds.
Jargal, for his part never stopped fighting and managed to win a few cheers from the crowd as he threw punches with reckless abandon. But heart is often not enough in boxing and scores at the end of the fight were 99-91, 99-90 and 100-90 all for Prescott (now 24-2 19KOs.) Jargal drops to 15-2-3 9KOs. Perhaps one day Prescott will get his rematch with Khan. But showings like tonight’s won’t make it a must on any fight fan’s list.
Junior Middleweight prospect Demetrius Andrade notched another easy win as he dispatched under-whelming opponent Omar Bell in less than two rounds. Andrade calmly worked his southpaw 1-2 throughout much of round one and landed easily on the 32 year old Bell; whose previous fight was over a year ago. A little over a minute into round two, as Bell ducked down and forward in anticipation of a punch, Andrade slipped in a chopping left hand that landed on Bell’s chin and put him on the canvas. Though the punch didn’t seem particularly powerful, it was enough to ensure that Bell stayed on one knee as referee Dick Flaherty tolled the ten count above him. The bout was over at 1:31 of round two. For all Andrade’s Olympic pedigree, it seems he’s being moved quite slowly and it’s questionable how much he can be learning from wins such as these. Regardless, he runs his unblemished record to 13-0 9KOs. Bell records his second loss and is now 8-2 5KOs.
In a 4 round junior middleweight bout, Kevin Rooney Jr. (son of famed trainer Kevin Rooney) made a successful pro debut by battering fellow newcomer David Navarro en-route to a wide unanimous decision victory. It looked as if Rooney would make an early night of things as he came out and dropped Navarro early with a sweeping left hook along the ropes; but Navarro rose and was able to survive the follow up from Rooney by covering up and retreating. In round two Navarro continued to cover up behind a high guard and a slightly frustrated Rooney began to look for counter punches instead of creating the openings. It paid off as Rooney dropped Navarro hard with a counter left hook along the ropes midway though the round. It looked like a fight ending shot but Navarro (who was also making his pro debut as well) acquitted himself well and rose to absorb more punishment. Navarro made it though round two but was easily out-punched over the final two rounds. Scores at the end of 4 read a unsurprising 40-34 on all three judges scorecards, giving Rooney his first pro win and Navarro his first pro loss.
Undefeated heavyweight Joe Hanks battered journeyman Terrell Nelson into submission over 4 one-sided rounds, forcing Nelson’s corner to stop the fight between rounds. Hanks bludgeoned the listless Nelson around the ring with left hooks and right hands, dodging what little Nelson threw in return. After seeing enough, Nelson’s corner pulled the plug before round 5 started, giving Hanks the TKO victory. Hanks improves to 16-0 11KOs while Nelson slips to 8-12 5KOs.
Making his professional debut, light heavyweight Kevin Cobbs destroyed the previously unbeaten Nicholas Lavin in under a round. Cobbs wobbled Lavin with a hard right hand in the corner and put him down with a follow up barrage of punches. Lavin managed to make it to his feet but was put down under another assault from Cobbs and referee Steve Smoger called off the fight at 1:30 of round one. Cobbs is now 1-0 1KO while Lavin drops to 2-1 2KOs.