Darley Perez Edges Baha Mamadjonov, Chris Avalos Wins
by Gautham Nagesh
Colombia’s Darley Perez edged Baha Mamadjonov in a battle of unbeaten lightweights on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights from Cabazon, Calif. Super bantamweight Chris Avalos handed Yenifel Vincente his first loss by unanimous decision in the televised co-feature.
Both fights featured good action and ended with a young prospect experiencing his first loss. Perez recovered from a slow start against the awkward Uzbek to register an eighth-round knockdown on a beautiful counter-right uppercut to Mamadjonov's chin. The knockdown proved to be a difference, as Perez squeaked out a split decision by scores of 96-93, 95-94, and 94-95. We had the fight 95-94 in favor of Perez.
A cautious first round was followed by an intriguing second, which saw the southpaw Mamadjonov land an overhand left that shook up Perez. After tasting his opponent’s power, the Colombian grew noticeably more reserved. Baha continued to box and move, touching Perez to the body and banking the next few rounds on the scorecards. He managed to confound Perez by stepping to his left and moving his head, leaving the Colombian looking inert.[[MORE]]
Both fighters showed skills reflective of their extensive amateur backgrounds, but Perez simply refused to let his hands go until the 6th. That round saw him finally stalk Mamadjonov with authority and look to trap him against the ropes. Perez managed to land a few combinations and win the round, but he also ate some left hands for his efforts. No matter, as the bigger man Perez appeared mostly able to withstand his opponent’s best shots.
Perez kept coming in the 7th, landing hard shots to the body and a nice right to Baha’s chin. It was more of the same in the 8th, until Mamadjonov gave up the slightest of openings and Perez delivered. A picture-perfect right uppercut to Mamadjonov’s chin sent the Uzbek down for a count, but to his credit he rose, seemingly in good shape. Baha kept dancing in the 9th, but rallied a bit in the 10th in hopes of stealing the decision. He gave a game effort, but the knockdown by Perez had sealed his fate.
Two of the judges saw it the same way, while one must have seen Baha sneaking one of the last two rounds. Perez was not as impressive in this bout as his last TV fight, but much of that may be chalked up to the awkward, scientific Mamadjonov. We might have underestimated how much work Perez has left before becoming a contender, but we remain confident he will reach that level. His skills are clearly world-class, and he doesn’t lack for physical gifts either. Mamadjonov is similarly well-schooled, and too young in the fight game to be written off after one close defeat.
Chris Avalos has been on the wrong end of two split decisions himself lately, so he fought with more than a touch of desperation against the unbeaten Vincente of the Dominican Republican. Avalos also benefitted from being the bigger man in the ring; he used his height to great effect by popping his jab and picking off his shorter opponent for most of the fight. The first round saw Avalos keep the fight outside and land shots from long range. Vincente looked to counter with the right uppercut, and gamely dove inside at times. But he repeatedly got caught with hard shots for his efforts.
Vincente had more success with his clubbing right hand in the second, but Avalos in turn began landing hooks and uppercuts in combination. Vicente appeared staggered by a right hand, but still came back to close the round with furious action. Despite his disadvantage in height and experience, the Dominican refused to stop trying to win.
The third round followed the same script, so Vincente began taking more risk to land his shots in the 4th. It worked, but cost him when he continued the approach in the 5th. Avalos beat Vincente to the punch on an exchange of left hooks, and the Dominican went down hard. He rose and spent most of the round retreating, as Avalos chased him around the ring. The 6th saw Avalos in cruise control with the decision firmly in hand, barring a late disaster.
That disaster almost happened in the 7th, as Avalos went downstairs to Vincente’s body and got caught with a right hand that wobbled his legs. The pair spent the rest of the round in a phone booth, with Vicente appearing to get the better of it. But Avalos never stopped looking for the stoppage via the big right hand. His desire to close the show was justified, given his opponent and setting, but also left the door ajar for a late miracle by Vincente.
Avalos landed a big right to start the 8th, but was soon the victim of a foul when Vicente hit him on the break. Avalos looked a little hurt, and claimed he was hit in the throat. But he came out firing once the action re-started, before Vincente commenced holding for much of the round. Avalos kept firing shots inside and claimed the round on the cards with a couple hard combinations near the close. The 9th was close, and Vincente appeared to make some progress. But at this point it was clear he needed a knockout.
Comfortably ahead heading into the 10th, Avalos inexplicably charged his opponent and got caught with punches as a result. He began holding, and repeatedly lost his balance in the final round. Vincente took advantage at times, but not enough to land a shot to change the fight. The Dominican gamely fought until the final bell, but he appeared out of his league on this night. We scored it 97-92, and all three judges agreed.
Avalos has seemingly righted his trajectory for the moment, though he still doesn’t look like a world beater at 122 lbs. There’s enough competition in the division that he should be able to find a good fight, but I don’t see him posing a threat to the likes of Nonito Donaire or Guillermo Rigondeaux. Perhaps a rematch with Chris Martin or a battle with former titlist Rico Ramos would be more his speed. Avalos would stand a good chance in either fight, and may show enough growth to help him finally take the next step in his career.