sin city showdown rocks sam's townBy AJ Vittone, aj@thefightchronicle.com
Las Vegas, NV - When the fights are this good, both the matchmakers, and the fighters themselves, deserve a raise... A substantial one. Mayweather Promotions did not disappoint with their recent "Sin City Showdown" fight card, which took place inside the Sam's Town Live venue, located inside of Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall in Las Vegas. Fans were given their money's worth, and then some. In a super welterweight contest, Jonathan Steele (9-4, 6 KO) and Maurice Lee (11-1, 5 KO) treated fans to a very competitive eight-round thriller that featured a fourth round for the ages. After taking solid body punches by Steele in round one, and a nice right hook in round number two, Lee came alive in the third round with a nice left hand to the side of Steele's noggin and plenty of relentless pressure against the ropes. Then, in round four, Steele landed a vicious overhand right that stunned Lee but moments later, Lee kept shaking his head in response to Steele's power and the two engaged in a back and forth exchange that sent the crowd into a frenzy, and lasted until the completion of the round. It was more of the same excitement in the seventh and eighth rounds, and when it was all said and done Lee won by majority decision (76-76, 77-75, 77-75.) In an eight-round super middleweight bout, Kevin "The Second Coming" Newman (10-1-1, 6 KO) would rise again with a blistering knock out against Ramon Aguinaga (13-3, 9 KO). In round one, Newman's impeccable hand speed was on display as the Las Vegas native pumped a double jab and landed nice combinations that clearly affected Aguinaga. At the beginning of round two Aguinaga's nose was bleeding from taking too much leather and he began to open his stance and throw wildly. Newman made Aguinaga pay in the third round by going 'downstairs to upstairs' with solid body shots and cracks to Aguinaga's chin. Newman delivered the boom at the 1:19 mark of round number four, when two left hooks to the side of Aguinaga's head resulted in two trips to the canvas... The last of which, would result in a knockout victory for Newman. Andres "Savage" Cortes (12-0, 7 KO) lived up to his nickname after stopping Sergio Lopez (22-15-1, 15 KO) in the third round of their eight round super featherweight contest. Lopez came to fight and countered Cortes nicely off the ropes with a series of straight right hands in round two, but Cortes was able to frustrate Lopez by flicking his jab and landing right hooks with pin-point accuracy. The third round was filled with fireworks as both fighters threw a plethora of haymakers, much to the delight of the Sam's Town Live crowd. Midway through the round Cortes began hunting Lopez down, forcing him to back pedal, and teeing off on him against the ropes. Despite Lopez countering nicely, it was obvious that Lopez had eaten too many shots, forcing him to take a knee at the 2:53 mark of round three. Lopez stayed kneeling in front of Referee Kenny Bayless as he counted to ten and waved the contest off. Cortes, a Las Vegas native, leaped into the air to celebrate his knockout win. In what was arguably the fight of the night, and a fight of the year candidate for that matter, two Las Vegas natives, Cameron Krael (16-14-3, 4 KO) and Keith Hunter (11-0, 8 KO), delivered an instant classic with ten rounds of non-stop, heart-pounding, edge of your seat, action. The two welterweights stood in the pocket for the most of the fight and displayed an absolute clinic on in-fighting and counterpunching. This one was, in a word, eventful. Hunter's lazer-like right hand actually staggered Krael in round two, forcing Krael to get on his bicycle and then, in the very next round, it was a solid right by Krael that staggered Hunter, making him back pedal for a bit. Both fighters, shook their heads and gestured at each other for more volume. The volume of punching increased significantly as fans were screaming in amazement. Krael spent most of the fight in the peekaboo stance, stalking forward, and Hunter met him in the center of the ring as the two went toe-to-toe trading body shots, head shot, upper cuts, you name it. During the fifth round Hunter began to fight with his hands down, switching stances, and using a straight jab to set up his power shots. One of the aforementioned power shots by Hunter, actually grazed referee Robert Byrd at the end of the eight round. Byrd shaked it off like a pro and had a good laugh with Hunter after the bell sounded. The ninth round between Krael and Hunter was one of the best rounds you'll ever see. Midway through the round, Krael rocked Hunter with mult-punch combinations up against the ropes that left Hunter on weak legs but still countering back with looping right hands. Hunter would eat solid uppercuts by Krael near the end of the round and despite the onslaught, still remained standing. In the tenth and final round, Hunter began teeing off in the pocket, throwing everything but the kitchen sink and yet Krael was on his feet, taking everything Hunter threw and still firing back. Hunter was certainly the quicker fighter and boasted a lightning quick jab which ultimately led to a unanimous decision victory over Krael (97-93, 98-92, 98-92). In a ten round super bantamweight main event, Angelo Lee (18-0, 8 KO) and Mark John Yap (30-14, 15 KO) showed us the importance of proper footwork, lateral movement and the lost art of body punching. In the very first round both fighters made a conscious effort to go to the body, lunging forward with straight punches to each other's mid-section. Leo made efforts to cut the ring off in round two but Yap wasn't having it. Yap's speed was puzzling Leo early on as he attempted to pin the journeyman fighter against the ropes. In rounds three and four, both fighters took advantage of opportunities to do body work against the ropes and then, in round five, Leo caught Yap with two right hooks and Yap answered back with some solid shots to Leo's rib cage. Leo would respond with devastating body blows in round six and most of the next three rounds would feature offensive outbursts, against the ropes, by both fighters. The tenth and final round was explosive with Leo's hard left hand being countered by a solid right by Yap and the two would bang right to the final bell. Leo remains undefeated winning a unanimous decision (98-92, 99-91, 99-91).
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