In the main event at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, former 2-time world champion and #1 contender, Demetrius Andrade 26-0 (16KOs) and #2 ranked Walter Kautondokwa 17-1 (16KOs) were matched against each other to see who would claim the WBO Middleweight title which was recently vacated by Billy Joe Saunders following a failed PED test.
The first round of action had Andrade using his jab and working from the outside. Towards the end of the round, Kautondokwa went down as the result of a trip, to which Andrade fired off a left-hand shot that hit him while he was down. Referee Steve Willis called it a knockdown and Kautondokwa recovered from the shot and got up to finish the round.
The second round was competitive with both men landing, but the third round saw Andrade land a huge counter left hand that dropped Kautondokwa hard and had him badly hurt. Kautondokwa got up from the shot and managed to make it through the round. The fourth round was another huge round for Andrade as he dropped Kautondokwa two more times, but again his opponent made it through the round. The following rounds were a showcase for Andrade who showed superior class and outworked his opponent.
In the twelfth and final round, Andrade controlled the action and landed several hard shots against Kautondokwa, though none of them put the tough Kautondokwa in any additional trouble. The fight would go the distance. When the decision was announced, Demetrius Andrade won with scores of 120-104, 119-105, 120-104.
With the victory and the title win, Demetrius Andrade has a wealth of options at Middleweight. The biggest option is a potential fight with Ring, WBC, WBA champion Canelo Alvarez. Both are signed to the streaming service DAZN and it would be a fight that would unify the belts. Andrade has now won a championship belt three times and has remained unbeaten, so whatever direction he goes next, his status in the sport is clearly on the rise and so are the big fight opportunities.
Under-card bouts
The co-main event of the night featured Ireland’s Kate Taylor. Taylor was defending her IBF and WBA lightweight titles against former champion Cindy Serrano. In the first couple of rounds the action was at a minimal with both fighters feeling each other out and Taylor landing more than her opponent.
From the third through the middle of the fight Taylor picked up her punch output and controlled Serrano with a good jab and solid landing shots. Heading into the championship rounds, Taylor continued her higher output and landing blows, to which Serrano threw little back. In the end, it was the work rate of Taylor that guided her to an easy points win with the judges all scoring the bout 100-90.
In a junior lightweight title bout, Tevin Farmer 27-4-1 (6KOs)defended his IBF championship against contender James Tennyson. In the early rounds Farmer showed superior class and controlled the fight with his jab and counter punching. In the fourth round, Farmer shocked most of the crowd with a solid knockdown over Tennyson with a body shot.
Tennyson was able to get out of the round, but Farmer was now well aware of where to target his punches and went back to the body in the fifth round, delivering a vicious left hook to the body that dropped Tennyson again, causing the referee to call a halt to the bout. During Tervin Farmer’s post-fight interview he called for a fight with Gervonta Davis, a fight that would unify the division.
The IBF Featherweight elimination bout between Kid Galahad 25-0 (15KOs) and Toka Kahn Clary ended after twleve uneventful rounds. The fight was even for the most part with neither man throwing a lot of punches and there was a decent amount of holding. In the end, the fight was close and while one judge had it 118-110, which was not the fight that was fought, the other two judges had 115-113, scoring the bout for Kid Galahad.
In a 10 round Junior Welterweight fight, Hull Englands Tommy Coyle 25-4 (12KOs) won via unanimous decision against Quincy, Massachusetts boxer Ryan Kielczweski. The fight was competitive but saw Coyle getting the better of the majority of the rounds. In round 7, Kielczweski was dropped hard by Coyle but managed to get through the round. In the end, the fight went the distance with the judges scoring the bout 99-90, 98-91 and 96-93
Former world champion Scott Quigg 35-2-2 (26KOs) fought in an 8 round bout against opponent Mario Briones 29-8-1 (21KOs). Quigg, who is now trained by Freddie Roach, saw very little resistance when it came to his opponent Briones, as he dropped the journeyman boxer and got a stoppage win at 1:12 of the second round. Quigg now looks toward moving up in competition and towards another shot at a world title.
Mark DeLuca 22-1 (13KOs), who fights out of Whitman, Massachusetts fought to a 10 round unanimous decision against Walter Wright 17-5 (8KOs). The fight saw many close rounds with Wright giving DeLuca all he could handle late into the fight. DeLuca closed the show strong and ended up winning by scores of 96-94 twice and 97-93
Andrade beat a guy who made a career out of beating cab drivers. But he is a 3 time champion, so props for that
Andrade has always wanted Canelo, while Canelo has never wanted that fight. Interesting to see if Canelo actually takes it.