Boxing
Undercard Results: Puello Pushes Back Martin to Retain Title
WBC Super Lightweight World Champion Alberto Puello of the Dominican Republic (24-0, 10 KOs) escaped from New York with a split decision victory over mandatory challenger Sandor Martín of Barcelona (42-4, 15 KOs) on the Tank vs. Roach undercard from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The scores read 116-112 and 115-113 for Puello and 115-113 for Martin. For Martin, it was déjà vu all over again after a similar narrow loss to Teofimo Lopez, also in New York. Two of the three judges had Puello winning the last three rounds to pull away with the win. He simply nodded his head hearing the results.
Judges were handed a tough task scoring as every round was close. Martin fought more aggressively in early rounds and looked sharp despite being out of the ring over 400 days waiting for this title fight opportunity.
Puello was landing the harder shots and frequently backed Martin into the ropes with bodywork. But Martin was more aggressive than he has been in fights at this level.
The two traded lead right hooks in the third round, and it was game on. Martin kept Puello guessing with footwork and getting inside to deliver taps to the body and getting out.
But Puello’s work was showing as a trickle of blood came from Martin’s nose halfway through the fight. It became a battle over setting distance, with Martin setting up and bringing the fight to Puello. Puello tried to drill Martin and then crowd the Spaniard to smother his shots.
Martin had the advantage of speed, but Puello had an edge in power and in the impression those harder shots made, especially as he felt the pressure to win the championship rounds.
Puello stepped it up when it counted, briefly rattling Martin in the 11th round with an uppercut combination. Martin used every trick in the book to try and keep Martin off.
In the final round, Puello was under pressure to score the knockout. Martin played it safe, engaging only when necessary to keep Puello honest. But he lost the round on all three cards, and it was the difference between hearing “And the new!” rather than “And still!”
Martin landed 162 of 441 total punches (37%); Puello 150 of 526 total punches (29%). Puello had the edge in jabs 67 to 31, but Martin led in power punches, 131 to 83.
Tellez Takes Out Williams
Emerging welterweight star Yoenis Téllez of Cuba (10-0, 7 KOs) fought his way to the full ten-round distance against former unified world champion Julian “J-Rock” Williams of Philadelphia (29-5-1, 17 KOs) to a unanimous decision victory.
Scorecards were 119-109, 118-110, and 117-111.
Williams came into the fight in phenomenal condition and showed plenty of toughness against Tellez. But Williams didn’t have enough firepower to keep the hard-charging 24-year-old Cuban off him. Williams counterpunched and kept himself in the fight. But when trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards implored Williams to land a left hook to Tellez’s body to take the steam out of him and turn the fight in the final rounds, the 34-year-old Williams couldn’t do it.
As predicted, youth prevailed. In a show of class, Williams was the first to congratulate Tellez on his win. Tellez, trained by Ronnie Shields, is headed for title contention soon despite just ten pro fights.
Gonzalez Gets Past Hurd; Hurd Retires
In the Premier Boxing Champions featured undercard bout, Johan Gonzalez of Venezuela (36-4, 34 KOs) got a split decision win over veteran “Swift” Jarrett Hurd of Maryland (25-4-1, 17 KOs). Scores were 98-92 and 96-94 for Gonzalez, and 96-94 for Hurd. It wasn’t truly that close, as Gonzalez had Hurd’s number throughout the fight. Hurd couldn’t muster enough offense to make it a contest.
Hurd has been on a rough road. Since his loss in 2019 to Julian Williams, he’s 3-4. He said prior to the fight he would retire if he lost. True to his word, he announced this would be his last fight.
With his voice breaking, Hurd said, “God is good. Both fighters made it out healthy. I’m a man of my word,” wishing his mother and niece happy birthdays. “This will be the last time y’all see me, man. I thank each and every one of y’all for the love and support. I had a wonderful career.”
Prospect Watch: Whitmire, Davis Win
Welterweight David Whitmire of Washington DC (9-0, 6 KOs) pitched a decision shutout on all three cards in his six-round fight against Angel Munoz of San Bernardino, California (7-1, 5 KOs). Munoz made Whitmire do the work, which is exactly what a young prospect needs.
Lightweight Deric “Scooter” Davis of Fort Washington, Maryland (6-0, 6 KOs) wasted no time drilling and taking out Jamal Johnson of Baltimore (2-2, 1 KOs). Good to his nickname “The Body Snatcher,” Davis went early and often to the body of Johnson and finished his night at 1:56 of round one.
