ARLINGTON, Texas – It is said a fighter becomes 20-percent better upon winning a world title. Undefeated junior welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford appears to have gained an additional 20-percent by winning 2014 fighter of the year.
Saturday at College Park Center, before a crowd that compensated with passion for what it lacked in density, Crawford (26-0, 18 KOs) showed his trademark composure while waiting for Puerto Rican challenger Thomas Dulorme (22-2, 14 KOs) to overestimate his own talent, conditioning or chin. At nearly the midway moment of the 12-round match, Dulorme did just that, Crawford caught him with a signature combination, and at 1:51 of round 6, the match was over.
“That’s why he’s fighter of the year!” cheered promoter Bob Arum.
“I had a great training camp,” Crawford said afterward. “I was ready for anything he gave me tonight. It was just a matter of time. I feel very strong in this weight division.”
The match began tentatively. Neither man landed many meaningful punches in the first two rounds, and if there were a surprise it was how widely Crawford’s misses went – how easily Dulorme timed him and pulled back from peril – and how otherwise inactive the Nebraskan appeared, contenting himself with waiting for Dulorme to make errors that did not come initially.
A Crawford left hook to the body in round 3, though, began a transformation of the fight’s complexion.
Showmanship and closing rounds effectively gave Crawford whatever scoring advantage he enjoyed after four – as Dulorme got increasingly hesitant the more demonstratively confident Crawford acted.
“He did exactly what we wanted him to do,” said Crawford’s trainer, Brian McIntyre. “We knew (Dulorme) was going to gas out. He’s too tight, he gasses out.
“We call him ‘Sugar Chin’.”
At the beginning of round 6, Crawford landed a left hook, right cross combination, 3-2, that ruined Dulorme. Three knockdowns followed, as Crawford calmly laid waste to the man in front of him.
There may be more popular fighters in the world right now, but it is doubtful there are better or more complete ones.
ISMAIL MUWENDO VS. ROLANDO CHINEA
When two undefeated prospects face-off, brutal affairs often result. That was the case in Saturday’s co-main event, when Uganda’s Ismail Muwendo (17-0, 12 KOs) and Pennsylvania’s Rolando Chinea (10-1-1, 6 KOs) traded fists for eight rounds that were not even as their majority decision for Muwendo indicated: 76-76, 78-74, 79-73.
In the opening rounds, the Ugandan’s speed and reflexes appeared to overwhelm the Pennsylvanian; but for some quick body work in round 2, Chinea looked like a young man tapping away at a grown man. As the fight progressed, Muwendo began to raze him, opening a cut over Chinea’s left eye in round 4, one that garnered a ringside physician’s appraisal before round 5 began.
Chinea’s subsequent idea was a good one – smother the Ugandan and keep him from building forward momentum – but ultimately Chinea did not have the power or accuracy to dissuade Muwendo’s onslaught.
After taking a beating in round 5 that made his corner tell him to win big in the next, with the implication they’d not allow another round if he didn’t, Chinea went out and absorbed blows enough to tire Muwendo a bit in round 6.
Ultimately, Chinea surprised most in attendance by not just making it to the final bell but winning the eighth round on any honest scorecard.
UNDERCARD
The evening’s final undercard bout saw San Antonio welterweight Benjamin “Da Blaxican” Whitaker (9-1, 2 KOs) provide a stiffer-than-expected test for undefeated Kosovar Skender Halili (8-1, 8 KOs), blemishing Halili’s record with a unanimous decision judges scored 80-72, 78-74, 79-73 for the San Antonian. Whitaker’s speed gave Halili trouble from the opening bell, and Whitaker’s clever combinations and willingness to trade on even terms at unexpected moments, too, troubled the undefeated Kosovar. Halili showed a lack of power that belied his sparkly record, failing to dent Whitaker the times he did connect with his chin.
Saturday’s third match, a tilt between undefeated Russian cruiserweight Medzhid Bektemirov (16-0, 13 KOs) – a physically strong man’s whose total lack of urgency is offset by broadcaster HBO’s recent fascination with all things former-Soviet Bloc – and Ghanaian Michael Gbenga (16-19, 16 KOs), ended in a wide unanimous decision for the Russian by official scores of 80-72, 80-72 and 79-73. Menacing as Bektemirov may look, he failed to imperil Gbenga even once, in 24 minutes of stalking, scowling and launching long, slow left-hook leads.
Before that, Michigan super middleweight Anthony Barnes (8-0, 6 KOs), a man who wears Kronk on his trunks but fancies himself a small and slow Muhammad Ali, easily decisioned Arlington’s own Martinez Porter (3-4-4, 1 KO) by unanimous scores of 59-55, 59-55 and 58-56. Wheeling to his left and throwing few meaningful punches, Barnes benefited from an opponent with poor offense and porous defense. A good closing round, in which Barnes landed a smattering of right crosses, improved their otherwise lackluster affair.
Saturday’s first bout, a middleweight scrap betwixt Texans, Dallas’ Mike Tufariello (4-2-2, 4 KOs) and Schertz’s Eddie Tigs (1-5-3), was the sort of honest effort one expects from otherwise hopeless local fighters on an undercard. Though neither man has much of a future in the sport, it was heartwarming to see two men epitomizing the verb “to fight” – an increasingly rare occurrence. The match ended in a questionable draw, with all three judges scoring 38-38, and Tigs having dropped Tufariello in round 1 – a knockdown omitted from all three judges’ tallies, somehow – and then having dropped the two middle rounds on official cards.
Opening bell rang on a cavernous College Park Center at 5:45 local time.