GIVING HIS ALL
Farmer and Carroll make peace after their bruising battle, writes Sean Nam
Challenger Jono Carroll’s brave effort is repelled by Tevin Farmer in Philadelphia
IT is one of the stranger contradictions in sport: time and time again two men who fling slanderous insults at each other leading up to their fight and trade spiteful punches during it, applaud each other afterward, their malice seemingly jettisoned next to the blood and sweat on the canvas. This phenomenon could be observed once more at the Liacouras Center, where the hometown IBF superfeatherweight champion Tevin Farmer and Dublin’s Jono Carroll waged a spirited and closely contested scrap that lived up to their pre-fight trash talk and ended with a conciliatory shake of the hand.
In a matchup of southpaws, the rugged Carroll took command early on by slipping Farmer’s jab and whipping thudding shots to his body. It took a little longer for Farmer to get on track, but by round three, the Philadelphia native settled into the pocket and began landing counter hooks and uppercuts as Carroll charged forward. In round five, Farmer landed a crisp right uppercut that sent Carroll’s mouthpiece sailing through the air, much to the delight of the partisan crowd.
What Carroll lacked in clean punches, he made up for it by maintaining a consistent fusillade of blows, as evidenced by the more than 1,000 he threw. While Farmer was far more selective with his offence, he made sure his punches counted when they mattered
In round 11, Farmer landed a right hook that shook Carroll to his knees, hurting him for the first time. Dazed and hurt, Carroll tottered around the ring until the bell. Entering the final round, Carroll would come out with the same bullishness he showed all fight long. Which is perhaps why it was a surprise that the final scorecards were so widely in favour of Farmer. Judges Dave Braslow and Sylvain Leblanc both had it 117-111, and John Poturaj, who gave a 10-8 to Farmer for round 11, had it 117-110. In defeat, Carroll’s stock went up, while Farmer continued to make overtures to facing WBA super-featherweight beltholder Gervonta Davis. Gary Rosato refereed. Not to be upstaged on the undercard (Matchroom Boxing), Bray’s Katie Taylor impressed once more in a dominant beatdown of Sao Paolo, Brazil’s Rose Volante in a lightweight unification bout – for Taylor’s WBA/ IBF and Volante’s WBO straps – that referee Benji Esteves Jnr waved off in the ninth round (scheduled for 10-twos). Criticised in some corners for lacking power, Taylor demonstrated her pop when she dropped Volante with a left hook one minute into the first round. Though Volante took it well, she had no answer otherwise for the Irish star’s speed. Taylor turned it up in the fifth when she landed a hard left to the body that made Volante wince, and followed it up with stiff double rights and left hooks. Outgunned in the eighth, Volante nonetheless refused to back down and
looked to trade as Taylor fired off one blistering combination after another. But as Taylor continued to lay into her opponent in the ninth, an accidental headbutt opened up another cut on Volante’s ruddied face, convincing Mr Esteves to halt proceedings at 1-40.
Post-fight, Taylor expressed her desire to completely unify the lightweight division by defeating Delfine Persoon for the WBC title. “I would take Amanda Serrano or Cecilia Braekhus [next],” said Taylor, “but I really want that last belt.”
Middleweights Maciej Sulecki of Warsaw, Poland and Philadelphia’s own
Gabriel Rosado engaged in a largely one-sided fight (set for 10) that took a dramatic turn in the ninth. Having been outboxed by Sulecki through eight rounds, not to mention getting knocked down in the first and eighth stanzas via the straight right, Rosado roared back in the ninth by dropping Sulecki with his own right. With 10 seconds left and with both fighters tied up, Rosad hammered right hands to the side of Sulecki’s head and landed an uppercut that forced Sulecki to take a knee, as those in attendance went wild.
It was a courageous comeback by Rosado, but not enough to change the official verdict. Apparently swayed by the crowd, the judges saw a tighter contest than most: John Mckaie and Mr Braslow scored it 95-91, while Lynne Carter had it 95-93, all for Sulecki. The victory sets up a fight with WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade, who was sitting ringside. Shawn Clark officiated.
Hungry for another world title shot, Hull’s Luke Campbell dispatched Los Mochis, Mexico’s Adrian Yung in five breezy rounds (slated for 10). The 2012 Olympic gold medallist was never troubled as he diced up Yung with a panoply of punches. In round four, Campbell connected with a right hook that made Yung touch the canvas. Referee Eric Dali saw no reason for the fight to continue after Campbell rocked Yung with a straight left and stopped it at 1-37. Campbell is the mandatory for WBC lightweight champion Mikey Garcia, but it is unclear if boxing politics will allow that match to happen.
Fighting for city bragging rights, prospect Avery Sparrow outpointed gatekeeper Hank Lundy by majority decision in a clash of Philadelphian lightweights. Mr Braslow (95-93) and Mr Poturaj (96-92) scored it for Sparrow, while Dewey Larosa had it a draw (9494). Lundy dug himself into a hole when Sparrow knocked him down twice in the second, both courtesy of the right hand. Mr Clark refereed.
THE VERDICT Farmer and Carroll earn each other’s respect.