Felix Sturm vs. Giovanni Lorenzo live free on ESPN3.com @ 4:30pm EST - RBR here

Now they're saying 4:30 EST. :conf

 

Maybe the original plan was to show an undercard fight first, but they changed their mind. :think

Is the German TV coverage starting with the main event?

 

I'll be doing a RBR here in a couple of hours. :thumbsup

 

:deal

 

Ring walks are concluding for the co-featured bout.

Local prospect Benjamin "Iron Ben" Simon 18-1 (17) takes on Russian-Czech Magomed Abdurakhmanov 15-4 (8.) over eight rounds at middleweight.

 

Round 1

Simon swats with hooks from a high Abraham-style guard, calmly pressuring MA back. MA pins his elbows together beneath his sternum, looking the more tense of the two and flurrying off the back foot as he is walked the length of the ropes. Hammering jab from Simon. Pitty-pats from MA as he circles out of a corner. Finally MA lands a somewhat significant shot, snaking a right hand around the left glove of Simon. MA gets battered against the ropes with a couple of hard but blocked shots.

10-9 Simon

 

Round 2

MA flurries until he is cornered and then clinches. Simon knocks aside the gloves of MA with a lead hook and then nails him with a hard right that has him scrambling to recover. MA is dropped by a steady outpour of power punches to the head and body. MA is back on his feet and starts trying to get some space with a suddenly hard-snapping jab. Simon misses a wild hook and gets countered. MA begins to look a bit more confident and stands his ground to throw a 1-2 every few steps. Simon bangs the body with both fists and pins MA on the ropes. Simon comes forward with his turtle shell and lets MA flurry against it.

10-8 Simon

 

Round 3

MA clubs with his right hand on the side of Simon's cranium in the clinch, and the referee warns him for rabbiting. Simon taunts him with half-force hooks and 1-2s. MA is very spindly and straight-up in his stance, with no head movement, just bunny-hopping and trying to tap Simon enough to slow his advances and get an extra step. Simon just walks him down and throws combos from the bottom up, using a mix of head movement and recoiling into a turtle shell after punching to defend. A few clinches end the round, and MA spanks Simon with a hip shot just at the bell.

10-9 Simon

30-26 Simon