Dusty Harrison Surges After Early Scare From Michael Balasi

by Gautham Nagesh

Southeast D.C. welterweight prospect Dusty Hernandez-Harrison overcame a shaky start against Michael Balasi of Hawaii to stay unbeaten on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights from San Diego.

Balasi (10-4, 7 KOs) dropped Harrison (21-0, 11 KOs) with a left hand in the second round and had him in some trouble, but Dusty recovered and wound up dominating the later rounds. Dusty, 19, showed admirable heart to come back and win after facing such adversity, which will probably serve him well in the long term. Still, this was probably not the performance his team was hoping for in his second consecutive fight on ESPN.

Lightweight Rustam Nugaev won in the main event when a hand injury forced Marvin Quintero to quit after the 4th round. Quintero had been acquitting himself well until that point. Roman Morales floored Khabir Suleymanov five times in the co-feature, on his way to an easy decision victory in the eight-round super bantamweight bout.[[MORE]]

Dusty started smartly, using his big height and reach advantage by boxing on the outside. His punches looked sharper and quicker than Balasi’s, and he appeared to be keeping his hands up at first. That changed in the 2nd round, when Dusty’s love of fighting got the best of him. Balasi appeared to stagger Dusty first, finding home with a left hand. Dusty came back and swept Balasi to the ground with a left hook, which the ref scored as a knockdown.

From here it looked more like a push than a knockdown, and Balasi seemed unhurt when he rose. Dusty still came after him, unloading right hands and combinations in quick succession. He grew too casual in his attack, because Balasi wasn’t close to being finished yet. Dusty reached with a half-hearted jab late in the round, his right hand held uselessly low, and the southpaw Balasi responded with an overhand left to the side of his head.

Dusty went down hard, and sprang up, but he was clearly hurt by the punch. He wisely tied up, holding Balasi close and moving away to gain a few seconds to recover. But Dusty was soon firing back, seemingly OK despite taking such a hard shot. Balasi gained some confidence from the knockdown, but the round was still a dead heat, with both fighters having tasted the mat.

Dusty found his jab again in the 3rd round, and went back to boxing on the outside. His footwork improved as the fight wore on, and his lateral movement made Balasi look slow and plodding. Balasi cornered Dusty in the final minute, but Dusty landed some hard shots to force the smaller man back.

It was more of the same in the 4th, Dusty moving and boxing while Balasi trudged forward, hoping to land another lucky shot. Dusty stood at times and fired combinations, which gave Balasi a small window to respond with his clubbing blows. But for the most part Dusty was content to box, and use his extreme advantage in quickness over his opponent.

By the 5th Dusty was smacking Balasi easily from the outside, eventually forcing him to the mat with a barrage of rights. Balasi rose and fought on, but Dusty rewarded his courage with another series of powerful right hands to the chin. Balasi looked seriously hurt, but he managed to stay up and avoid any more serious damage for the rest of the round.

Dusty coasted through the 6th round, firmly in control. The judges awarded him a clear unanimous decision, and his father Buddy embraced him in the corner, seeming happy with his effort. At the end of the day, a win is a win, and this is the 21st win Dusty has registered before his 20th birthday.

I first watched the fight at Rosecroft Raceway during the intermission at Friday’s Keystone Boxing card. In that venue, the shock of Dusty getting dropped seemed like a disaster. In the cold morning light from the comfort of my couch, it felt more like a speed bump. Balasi is a grown man and Dusty is a teenager still growing into his body. Anyone can get knocked down. The key is how one responds, and Dusty handled it with aplomb.

If there is a criticism to be made of Dusty, it’s that he did give up his height too easily, and like many young fighters, he inexplicably keeps his hands low while within punching range. Simply put, Dusty needs to use his jab a lot more, especially when he’s half a foot taller than his opponent. Keeping his hands up the whole fight, instead of just the first round, will also be crucial. It’s a bad habit, and uncorrected it could cost him again down the road.

But overall Hernandez-Harrison is better off going through fights like this, and finding out what happens when you give your opponent an opening. This will be an invaluable learning experience, and hopefully it will give him additional motivation when he gets back in the gym. Balasi was a useful opponent, and a reminder that in the Fight Game, any opponent can catch you sleeping and make you pay.

Against Morales, Sulemanov looked out of his depth from the opening bell. Morales had some early success with his left hook, then turned it on in the 2nd round. Morales floored Suleymanov twice in that stanza, first with a right hand, then a clubbing left hook to the head for the second. That set the tone for the rest of the fight: Morales was bigger, stronger, and more skilled. He scored three more knockdowns in the 5th and 8th rounds, but to his credit, Suleymanov never looked interested in quitting.

Unfortunately the same can’t be said for Quintero, who retired on his stool after the 4th round due to an injured left hand. The Mexican had been boxing well and holding his own against the aggressive Nugaev, when he landed a left hand to the Russian’s temple at the end of the 4th round. Quintero’s reaction was immediate, and in all likelihood his hand is broken. We can’t fault him for quitting, but it was an opportunity lost. Nugaev appeared there for the taking.