MARYLAND MADHOUSE
Russell shines in his home state, but chaos ensues in co-feature
WHAT was expected to be a happy homecoming for the Russells turned into a night marred by controversial endings. Nevertheless, the 2,345 folks at the MGM National Harbor got what they came for: wins for all three Russells, capped by Gary Russell Jnr’s seventh-round stoppage of Oscar Escandon.
Tough Colombian Escandon brought the best out of Gary, who was making the second defence of his WBC featherweight title after a 13-month layoff. They engaged in a phone-booth battle until fight’s end. Russell established his left cross in the first, setting Escandon up for the right hook that dropped him in the third. The challenger somehow survived the ensuing onslaught.
Escandon was game, but Russell was levels above him. He fought comfortably at every range, switching speeds and angles on his shots as he set up the finale. It came in the seventh, when two right hooks crumpled Escandon to the floor. He climbed to his feet but referee Harvey Dock had seen enough at 0-59.
The controversial ending in the Andre Dirrell-jose Uzcategui co-feature – and the subsequent scrum – will dominate headlines on this card. Venezuela-born Uzcategui controlled the early rounds, hurting Dirrell with two hard rights towards the end of the second. A third landed after the bell, prompting referee Bill Clancy to issue a stern warning.
It took Dirrell several rounds to shake off 13 months of ring rust. The Flint, Michigan product took over during the fourth, using the jab to keep Uzcategui at bay, and landing a strong left whenever he closed the gap.
Uzcategui found his second wind in the eighth, which inspired him to commit his second foul. As the round came to an end, he landed two lefts, one preand the other post-bell. Dirrell dropped face-first to the mat. He rose to his knees seconds later and answered affirmatively when Clancy asked him if he was OK.
Dirrell’s cornermen shouted at him to stay down, which he did by returning to the face-first position. Team Dirrell is no stranger to disqualification protocol. In 2010, Arthur Abraham was disqualified for decking “The Matrix” when he had slipped to his knees. Sure enough, Clancy disqualified Uzcategui, citing his earlier warning in the second. Uzcategui was up on two cards at the time of the stoppage.
“I was throwing a combination and didn’t hear the bell,” Jose explained. He’s in the wrong business if he goes deaf when throwing punches. The fighters exchanged hugs after the disqualification announcement. Leon Lawson Jnr, Dirrell’s uncle, wasn’t so forgiving, walking over to Uzcategui’s corner and slugging him twice, the first a vicious left to the jaw and the second grazing his shoulder.
Team Uzcategui filed charges afterwards; police were searching for Lawson’s whereabouts at the time of writing. As for Dirrell, he’s now the Interim IBF super-middleweight titlist, meaning a rematch with full champion James Degale could be next.
Rances Barthelemy survived a stiff challenge from Belarus’ Kiryl Relikh to win a too-wide 12-round unanimous decision. The cards read 117-109, 116110 and 115-109, which elicited a chorus of boos from the fair but firm crowd.
Barthelemy began the first stalking Relikh with his arms arrogantly at his sides. Relikh then landed an overhand right that forced a wobbling Barthelemy to grab his opponent’s waist until they both hit the canvas. When action resumed, “Kid Blast” had his gloves firmly glued to his face.
Barthelemy threw efficiently early on, but Relikh’s activity and power were more effective. He dazed the Cuban with a counter left hook in the fifth. As Relikh unloaded on Barthelemy, referee Kenny Chevalier stepped in and administered a standing eightcount, claiming that the ropes were holding Barthelemy up. This might’ve stopped Relikh from decisively finishing him off.
Barthelemy concentrated on Relikh’s midsection down the stretch. It paid off in the eighth, when an uppercut to the solar plexus forced Relikh to take a knee. The see-saw action continued, but Barthelemy’s cleaner work proved to be the difference. He’s now the mandatory challenger for Julius Indongo’s WBA super-lightweight title.
THE VERDICT A good night for the Russell family, but the disgraceful scenes after the Dirrell-uzcategui fight leave a sour taste.