TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA – Super welterweights Justin DeLoach (17-1, 9 KOs) of Augusta, Georgia and Chris Pearson (14-2, 10 KOs) of Trotwood, Ohio had a date set to face each other last year. The September 2016 scheduled bout was the co-main feature along with Ishe Smith versus Frank Galarza in Las Vegas, Nevada. An unfortunate cut late in training camp caused Pearson to pull out, and DeLoach went on to defeat Dominique Dolton by unanimous decision.
The winner of the initial bout would have likely found himself amid the other big names vying for title shots at super welterweight – Jarett Hurd, Erikson Lubin, Julian Williams, and Demetrius Andrade.
Pearson entered the fight at the lightest weight of his career, seemingly in great shape to offset DeLoach’s movement, but DeLoach got off to a fast start landing with a few lead right hands over Pearson’s pawing jab. After round one DeLoach walked back to his corner with a heightened sense of confidence.
DeLoach continued to move well scoring around Pearson’s jab in round two. Although the right hand was working DeLoach connected with a left hook that staggered Pearson, but he quickly recovered to reengage. DeLoach believed that he saw a hurt fighter in front of him, and he moved in with a flurry of punches as Pearson tried to regain his composure behind his guard, but he couldn’t fend off the attacking DeLoach whose flurry eventually resulted in the first knock down.
After the action resumed DeLoach swarmed the southpaw immediately, and a straight right hand busted through Pearson’s guard to score the fight’s second knock down. This time Pearson failed to beat the count, and at 2:30 the ref waved the fight off making Justin DeLoach the new USBA super welterweight champion.
This definitely wasn’t the same DeLoach that easily dominated Dolton in the first two rounds, and then seemed content cruising to an easy victory. This DeLoach made a statement to the rest of the 154-pound division.
DeLoach connected with 16 power punches in round two, per PunchStat Report, while Pearson only landed two power punches. Pearson wasn’t credited with any power punches in round one but scored with a pair jabs. DeLoach connected with 10 power punches to underscore his hot start.
The loser of this bout expected to find himself in a challenging position in terms of where to turn next. Pearson’s assessment of the fight was, “I felt lackluster. He came out he was explosive, he was busy. He didn’t do anything I didn’t expect.
“Things happened the way they did, you gotta take the good with the bad. He hit me in the eye which got me a bit disoriented.
“He fought like I thought he would, he did what he had to do. His performance didn’t surprise me.”
Andrew Tabiti (14-0, 12 KOs) vs Quantis Graves (11-1-2, 4 KOs): Tabiti and Graves faced off for Tabiti’s NABF cruiserweight title. Tabiti immediately seized control of the fight working behind his snapping jab, which quickly allowed him to capitalize on his 4 1/2-inch reach advantage. Tabiti bloodied Graves’ nose early in round one, the result of the champion’s busy left jab which connected often up top and below.
Graves attempted to move inside on Tabiti early in round two, but he failed to land much of anything even with Tabiti forced into the ropes. In the round’s final minute Tabiti’s jab returned along with some upper cuts.
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The champion stepped it up at the end of round three as he closed out the round with a huge right hand that knocked out the challenger’s mouthpiece, but the action was halted by the referee before Tabiti could land anything else.
Tabiti’s class continued to reveal itself through the fourth and fifth rounds, and it looked like Graves was ready to go over the final :30 of round four after a body shot set up a right hand to Graves’ head. Graves buckled and staggered a couple of times but managed to survive the round.
The fight went into a lull in round five as Graves continued to stay outside looking to avoid taking further damage from Tabiti’s right hand. The champion finally hurt Graves to the left side of his body in round six, and while down on both knees he spit out his mouth guard, but made it back to his feet at the count of nine. Graves survived the final part of the round but his corner advised the referee that their fighter would not continue.
After the fight Tabiti said, “As soon as I got in the ring, I knew it was game over for him. Figuring out his game plan was easy money. The only thing I feel I could have done better was get him out of the fight quicker.
“He was talking a lot before the fight, but I didn’t let that get in my head I just came out and did what I was supposed to do.
“I think I had a pretty good performance tonight. There’s definitely things I could tune up on. I wouldn’t grade myself as an A plus, but I know what I gotta fix in my next fight and the only thing I can do at this point is get back in the gym with my team and continue getting ahead in my division. “
Graves confirmed what his inactivity after round four suggested.
“Tabiti is very fast. I’ve been boxing for 19 years and I’ve never fought anyone as fast as him.
Saul Rodriguez (21-0-1, 15 KOs) versus Oscar Bravo (22-7, 10KOs): After a slow start in round one by Rodriguez he started flashing his power in round two. The veteran Bravo maintained his pressure on the young prospect all night. He stayed close to Rodriguez and constantly touched him with both hands while the prospect mainly through single punches.
Rodriguez also saw Bravo walk through several of his best punches without relenting the slightest. Early in the fight Bravo’s left hook found plenty of openings as Rodriguez repeatedly backed away with his hands lowered.
In round five Bravo’s pressure paid off as an overhand right dropped the young prospect. Rodriguez assured his corner he was good, and then finished the round, but Bravo’s determination grew.
Bravo’s pressure continued to trouble Rodriguez in round six. The prospect responded to the veteran’s pressure by sitting down to fire off some of his best combinations, but he continued to back straight away, and with his hands lowered.
Sensing that he was getting the best of the prospect, Bravo continued to do everything he needed to do to win the fight, including connecting with a right uppercut in round eight while Rodriguez was pinned in the corner. Rodriguez appeared to be in trouble, but the replay showed that he defended the subsequent flurry well.
Bravo took the power shots from Rodriguez well all night, and by remaining busy for the entire ten rounds it seemed like the 10-8 was going to be difficult to overcome by the prospect. However, Rodriguez never wavered under the veteran’s combination of constant pressure and body punching, and he closed out the fight with a 19-punch advantage in total punches landed – 174 to 155 for Bravo. Consequently, judges Jerry Cantu scored the fight 97-92 for Rodriguez while judges Carla Caiz and Tony Crebs scored the bout 95-94 for Rodriguez and Bravo, respectively.
Rodriguez collected his 21st win by split decision, but the crafty veteran proved that he’ll likely need to rely on more than just his power to be successful at the top level.
After the big win, Rodriguez sounded like he was cognizant of some of the flaws Bravo revealed.
“I was pretty happy with my performance, but I know there are a few things I need to work on and really just stay focused.
“When you’re fighting a wild opponent like Bravo, it gets tough, he head-butted me a few time which affected my visual, but I didn’t let his wild style interrupt my plan.
“I was definitely going for the KO throughout the night, but I was still boxing with him. I just gotta go back in the gym and continue developing as a fighter, I am just happy to bring the win home to my hometown and my home stable [Mayweather Promotions].”
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