Mauricio Herrera vs Mike Dallas Jr
Great opening 140-lb. bout on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. Both men fought on the show in January with vastly differing results: Mauricio Herrera (17-1, 7 KOs) (right) upset unbeaten Russian Ruslan Provodnikov while Mike Dallas Jr. (17-1, 7 KOs) was stopped by Josecito Lopez in his first 10-rounder.
We couldn’t help but admire the courage Herrera showed in hanging in against the Russian despite a nasty cut that completely closed his right eye. Neither guy is really a big puncher so we’re expecting this fight to go the distance. Round-by-round updates after the jump:
Round 1: Dallas is the bigger man but also has the weaker chin considering how much punishment Herrera absorbed going the distance with Provodnikov. Mauricio rocking the farmers tan to great effect. Both men mostly jabbing and feeling each other out.
Early returns indicate this is not going to be a pretty fight to watch. Herrera looks more confident, while Dallas Jr’s physical advantages are obvious. Very tough round to score. We have it even.
Round 2: More clenching this round as Herrera is forcing the action more. He stays active inside while Dallas doesn’t seem to handle himself as well in tight. This fight is boring. Give the round to Herrera.
Round 3: Herrera’s style is not pleasing to the eye but he is effective. He never lets his opponent rest and avoids trading on the outside where his lack of size and speed would be a factor.
Dallas catches Herrera square with a left hook and Mauricio barely flinches. It’s still the best punch of the fight, give Dallas the round. Fight is even after three.
Round 4: Herrera comes forward at the bell and soon finds himself back inside pounding Dallas with right hands. They break and go back to fighting on the outside, where Dallas uses his feet to maintain distance and catches Herrera with a straight right. But Mauricio keeps coming.I don’t think Dallas has enough power to keep Herrera from advancing.
Dallas is going to have stay busy if he wants to be anything more than an opponent at this level. He’s doing well to keep things on the outside this round and pot shot but he won’t get many TV offers by running this much. 39-38 Dallas.
Cool feature from ESPN showing the judges’ differing views of the action inside the ring. People that haven’t been ringside don’t realize how much difference positioning can make in how someone scores a fight. With HD and DVR everyone can get things right after seeing a dozen replays but keeping up with the action in real-time is another matter.
Round 5: Great action to start this round. They’re trading as Herrera stalks Dallas and Mike responds by landing some quick shots of his own. They must have gotten the message from the crowd and decided to give us a show. Dallas is punching more when they are tied up and he’s landing more on the outside as well.
Whoa, they just called the bell for the round with 30 seconds left. What is going on here?? That round was only 2 and a half minutes long. It was probably the best round of the fight too. There’s something fishy in the water at the Pechanga. I don’t know how you pull this shit on national television. Teddy Atlas just said he thinks this helps Dallas and I have to agree.
Not going to score that round because it was bullshit. Will review if it ends up mattering to the score.
Round 6: Herrera comes out throwing big left hooks, jabs his way in and starts landing rights on the inside. He’s pissed about missing half a minute he could have used to punish the man with the questionable chin. Herrera is doing good work on the inside but Dallas appears to have caught him with a couple low blows. One might have hurt him a bit.
Dallas is definitely starting to stray a bit with those shots and the ref addresses it. Herrera comes back with another left hook and jabs his way in again, gets Dallas against the ropes. Mike responds with a left to fight his way off. Herrera is still pushing him around the ring though. We’ve got this fight even after six rounds, scoring the 5th even and the 6th for Herrera.
Round 7: Herrera comes out gunning again and quickly clenches. Dallas is too content to fight on the inside where he is getting beaten convincingly. When they step back and box he usually has the advantage but he isn’t quick enough to tie up. Dallas slips and gets back up only to catch a combination from Herrera. Mauricio is starting to look marked around that right eye that was badly swollen in his last fight. 68-67 Herrera.
Round 8: Much like Herrera’s last TV fight this one is very difficult to score, but he appears to have gotten the best of it to this point. Dallas is showing a lot more determination in the past few rounds; he starts this round boxing on the outside and landing some decent shots. Herrera handles himself OK on the outside but he’s clearly at a disadvantage.
Dallas unloads a combo on Herrera, who is starting to look a little bit sluggish. Meanwhile Dallas is looking stronger as the fight goes on. The kid may be growing up right in front of our eyes. He’s letting his punches go in bunches now and Herrera is starting to cover up a bit. Dallas is the one forcing the action. He lands a few good shots but gets caught on the inside again. Still, probably his best round yet. 77-77.
Round 9: Dallas came on strong last round but Herrera is back at it this round. Both of these guys know exactly what’s at stake. Dallas Jr. is throwing the punches with more snap at this point and catching Herrera cleanly with his jab when he throws it. Even when they get inside Dallas stays busy. He needs this fight and is not going to give up without leaving it all inside the ropes. 87-86 Dallas Jr.
Round 10: Huge stakes in this final round. Both men come out throwing big shots; they fall back into the clench quickly. Dallas is letting those flurries go from close range and hitting Herrera in the body. He may not be a natural inside fighter but he’s forcing it tonight to save his career. He’s just letting those hands go and seeing what comes of it. Herrera shoves Dallas down and the ref tells him to stand up.
Herrera is still throwing but he looks gassed. Dallas going to the body with shots that are scoring and slowing Herrera down. They tie up a bit more and Herrera lands a late left hook but we’ve got Dallas Jr. squeaking out the final round and the fight by a score of 97-95.
Judges: Zach Young scores it a draw 95-95, Fritz Warner scores it 98-92, and the third judge has it 96-94; majority decision for Herrera.
Teddy Atlas has it 97-93 for Dallas, an understandable card. We can see a draw or even 96-94 for Herrera, but 98-92 from Fritz Werner is a travesty. A definite candidate for our scorecard Hall of Shame.
“I won this fight, it’s just sad they do you like this is this sport,” Dallas Jr. afterward. “I came back, I fought hard, threw more punches. I landed better punches, it’s just sad in this sport you get did like this. They make it not even fun no more.”
“Clear victory,” he added. “A good fight but I won that clearly.”
Speaking of shame, what an incredible disappointment after a game effort from Dallas Jr. Between the scoring and the shortened sixth round there is plenty for the authorities in California to look at starting with Fritz Werner.
Here’s hoping someone gives Mike the credit he deserves and finds him another decent fight because he shouldn’t have taken his second loss tonight. We like Herrera and wish him well but his opponent is the one that deserves another shot on ESPN this year. Mike showed enough growth in this one fight to make us want to see what he can do next.