Vera Defeats Larbi To Retain Title

By Ron Valderrama: John Vera (16-0, 10 KOs), defeated a tough and determined Salim Larbi (20-7, 7 KOs), retaining his WBA-NABA super welterweight title last night in Phoenix. The featured bout was presented by Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions in association with Fight Hard Promotions.

It was a hard-fought battle for both fighters, Vera landing a majority of the precision blows. Larbi was at times frustrated, often clinching while trying to keep the fight in the center of the ring. Vera made use of his blistering left much of the night, cashing in when moments of opportunity arose. Larbi kept up the pressure in the later rounds, landing a few punches that caught the attention of Vera.

A low-blow thrown by Larbi would end up costing him a point, further frustrating the forward moving fighter. The fight would go the distance, but not before finishing out a very entertaining 10th and final round. Both fighters went toe-to-toe, exchanging a high number of punches on each other. Vera appeared to have the better punches as the judges score the bout a split decision with scores of 95-94 X 2 and 97-92 in favor of Vera.

In the co-main event, a featherweight bout scheduled for eight rounds, Keenan Carbajal (13-2, 7 KOs), defeated veteran Mexican fighter, Gustavo Molina (23-14, 5 KOs) by TKO. It didn’t take Carbajal long to set the tone of this fight as he quickly found openings and delivered some punishing combinations on Molina. Fighting inside, Molina repeatedly paid the price, developing a cut over his left eye in round three. In round four, Carbajal remained patient and began firing a series of punches that dropped Molina for a count. Molina beat the count and survived the round, but was clearly hurt from the punches thrown by Carbajal. The end for Molina would come in round five, an onslaught of stinging punches had the Mexican veteran pinned on the ropes. Referee Chris Flores wisely called a stop to the fight as Molina could take no more. The official time of stoppage was 1:32 of round five.

Ilay Usachev (2-0) of Russia, remains undefeated after pulling off a unanimous decision win over Clifford Jordan (2-2). The welterweight fight was a seesaw of action for the entire bout which was scheduled for four rounds. A low-blow thrown by Usachev temporarily stopped the action while Jordan recovered. The bout was exciting, Usachev fought really well in the final round, landing some well-placed punches. In the end, the judges all score the bout 40-36 in favor of Usachev.

After the fight, Secondsout.com caught up with RJJ Boxing’s, Keith Veltre to find out what’s in store for 2017. Veltre said they have over thirty fights planned for this year, many of them will be televised. Veltre also said RJJ Boxing has plans to come back to Phoenix for at least a few shows, dates are currently in the works.

Be sure to "LIKE" the SecondsOut Facebook page.

January 27, 2017