Midway through the fourth, it appeared Nicklow’s plan was coming all apart as Guerrero began to walk him down easily, landing uppercuts in rapid succession and the mixing in right hands. Nicklow tried to get inside his guard and shoot punches out of it but Guerrero caught him with a hook and Nicklow kept his ear muffs on as the round ended.
In the fourth, a battered Nicklow tried to turn the tide by marching forward behind a tight guard and peek-a-booing his way into fight. But Guerrero was ready for it and he stayed inside his own guard while waiting for his moment to strike. It didn’t take long to come. As Nicklow tried to shoot a hook out of his guard, Guerrero landed one his own first that mirrored the hook from the previous round. Only this time, Nicklow caught all of it and fell face first into the ropes. Nicklow rose shakily but fought gamely as he tried to move forward on Guerrero who threw punch after punch. With about a minute left, Guerrero appeared a little punched out and Nicklow tried to capitalize but it was a mirage. Guerrero unloaded about six clean hooks from both sides as the stood toe to toe with Nicklow getting the worst of it. Both men were tired but Nicklow was clearly buzzed and taking hard shots to the head repeatedly which prompted referee Mark Nelson to wisely halt the bout. It was an impressive win for Guerrero who is still a bit raw but definitely one to watch in 2010.
Shawn “Showtime” Porter Lives up to his name with TKO of Lamar Patterson
Shawn “Showtime” Porter (12-0 with 10 KOs) wasted no time in round one of his showdown with Jamar Patterson (8-1 with 4 KOs) as he stormed out of the corner in aggressive fashion. Porter, the chief sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao’s last camp, landed a right hand behind a jab that Patterson took well as he worked behind a shell defense and waited to gauge what the shifty, active junior middleweight Porter would do next. . Porter bounced in and out, landing an occasional one-two and surveying the landscape. Porter was a ball of energy, bouncing on his toes and moving side to side. Patterson stayed calm, tried to box behind his guard. But Porter’s aggression and quickness seemed too much for him. Every time they clinched Porter would use his free hand to wail away and Patterson seemed a bit overwhelmed and unsure of how to deal with the constant assault. Porter landed a nice right hand followed by a few lefts to end the round.
In round two, both men came out and tried to get the jab going. Patterson landed a nice left hook and right hand on Porter but the shorter man took it well. Porter answered with a combo of his own but it seemed both men could handle the others power and the fight might end up being a war of attrition. Porter got Patterson along the ropes and roughed him up a bit but Patterson came right back with the jab. Both men seemed unsure of how to keep the proper inside range which led to a lot of tying up. Luckily the ref broke them early. Porter worked well to the body and got off several good shots at the bell.
Again in the third they both try and get the jab going. Patterson is game but Porter’s output is hard to handle. Triple left hooks and right hands from Porter inside rounded out the all out assault. A big left hook from Porter rocked Patterson but he came back with his own attack. A nice left hook off a feint from Porter landed and then he jabbed down to the body and again upstairs. Patterson got in a nice right hand as Porter leapt in but didn’t follow with anything of note.
In the fourth and fatefully final round, Porter upped his output, shooting multiple rights and left hands that shot through the guard of Patterson. Porter unloaded a multi-punch combo filled with right hands and left uppercuts. Another combo in close and Patterson had no answer. As they circled around eachother midway through the round, a leaping left hook from Porter dropped Patterson like a sack of wet hammers and he amazingly rose at 8 on shaky feet. Porter waded in and landed a one-two and two hard left hooks that send Patterson wobbling back on his heels and referee Celestino Ruiz had no choice but to stop the bout. The official result was a TKO of round four. The time was 1:51.
Lanard “The Fireman” Lane Lights up El Harrak
Philly prospect Lanard Lane (10-0 with 7 Kos) scored an impressive second round TKO of Said El Harrak (8-1 with 3 KOs) to start off the telecast.
Lane came out jabbing while looked to El Harrak answer. It was a more of a feeling out round with the shorter Lane working to the body. Both men worked the jab and right hand but missed just short. El Harrak backed up Lane into a corner but they tied up before anything of note landed. Lane landed a hard one-two, followed it with another and El Harrak seemed a bit buzzed. Moments later, El Harrak ate a flush right hand after a missed jab that dropped him hard on his back for the first time in pro career. He got up on wobbly legs with a minute to go and Lane jumped on him in economical but aggressive fashion. Moments later another right hand dropped El Harrak again. Rising wobbly at the count of six, El Harrak was chased around the ring and worked over for his trouble down the bell.
Between rounds, El Harrak’s trainer, the great Mike McCallum, tried to regroup his charge but it was to no avail. Lane wasn’t about to let his opponent off the hook as he came forward, worked in right hand leads and left hooks while keeping the tempo high with his jab. El Harrak fought back gamely if not awkwardly. It was clear that he had no idea how to handle such adversity much less slip a punch He awkwardly held and pushed at Lane but never effectively slipped shots, moved his head or simply blocked the incoming fire from the Fighting . A flush right hand lead landed hard and snapped back the head of El Harrak and referee Mark Nelson inexplicably topped the fight. A devastated El Harrak complained loudly, realized he had lost for the first time and fell to the canvas inconsolable. The official result was TKO round 2 at 1:38.
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