Holiday Havoc November 29, 2008 Photos: This content is protected ESTRADA vs BRYANT By Michael Parente This content is protected LINCOLN The ugly fights, like the one Jason Big Six Estrada found himself in Saturday night against Derek The One Man Riot Bryant, tend to leave their mark, as evident by the noticeable gash over Estradas right eye. They also build character. After cruising through the first four rounds of the main event on Classic Entertainment & Sports Holiday Havoc card at Twin River, Estrada persevered through tremendous adversity in the form of a vicious headbutt midway through the fight and held on for a satisfying 80-72, 80-72, 79-73 unanimous decision victory. Saturdays card also featured wins by Irish Joey McCreedy, Jason Schoolboy Pires, Eddie The Puerto Rican Sensation Soto and Providence Olympian Demetrius Boo Boo Andrade, but Estrada stole the show with a gritty performance despite barely being able to focus after taking a headbutt to the nose toward the end of the fourth round. It was worse than a damn punch, said Estrada, who improved to 15-1. I swear I have never dealt with that in my life, but I had use my head, take my time and just back up, get my squint on and go back to work trying to use that jab [to] keep him off me until my eyes cleared up. Through the first four rounds, Estrada kept the veteran southpaw off balance with a combination of right jabs and left uppercuts. After the headbutt, which clearly affected Estradas concentration, the fight began to shift in the opposite direction. You see that dome on him? Estrada said. Hes probably about 6-2, but he had a 7-3 mans head. As the pain worsened, Estrada stopped jabbing, which allowed Bryant (20-5-1) to get close and soften up the former Olympian with a series of damaging body blows. I was planning more to try to throw my right hand to his chest so he can duck into it, but I kind of got away from it for a second, Estrada said. Really, the one thing that changed this fight and changed maybe me stopping him was that headbutt. After that, I was trying to focus on breathing and I kept getting these chunks of blood down my throat, so I was trying to work through that. A true fighter works through any adversity. I was ready for it. [My trainers] killed me in the gym. They prepared me for this. It was nothing I wasnt ready for. With each hard right hand from Bryant, Estrada began to stray from the center of the ring and tried to fight against the ropes. Bryant began the sixth by yelling Come on! Come on! as Estrada fought his way out of the corner and then landed a clean left that opened a small cut over his opponents right eye. That type of little thing doesnt even bother me, Estrada said. Actually, the nose bothered me more just for the simple fact Ive never been hit with a clean headbutt directly to the nose. Ive been caught with a couple of elbows in a fight where my eyes watered a little bit, but this was actually kind of stunning. Showing more poise toward the end of the sixth, Estrada finished with a strong left hook that momentarily rocked Bryant and then turned the tide in the seventh to regain control of the fight. He really didnt hit me with too many clean lefts. They landed, but Im always rolling and turning, Estrada said. A lot of his shots grazed me and he more or less hickeyed my face up. I wont take anything away from the guy. The guy came to fight, but he lost. He lost decisively. It wasnt like it was a gift. I beat him. I beat him fair and square. Ill give him one round out of eight. Bryant turned into the aggressor toward the latter half of the fight, which forced Estrada to ditch his original strategy of trying to outbox the veteran and let his fists fly with an array of combinations. His performance down the stretch should momentarily silence the critics who suggest Estrada lacks the power to become a world champion. I was a little more rough tonight than I usually am, but that was because people question me sometimes because I like to clown people and make them look stupid, Estrada said. Tonight, I decided when it gets rough out there Ive got to show them what Im made of and I showed them. Some of these guys dont even come forward after getting hit a couple of times, but he came forward. That made me work more. If he wanted to work more, then I had to work more. I wasnt going to let this slip away. Estradas next move is still under wraps, though he promises a major announcement is looming on the horizon. Until then, he can take solace in the fact he fought through adversity against a tough veteran and showed the critics hes more than just a one-trick pony. I dont know who my biggest critic is, Estrada said. It might be some of those internet geeks those guys who are thugs on the keyboard. These guys that got picked on in high school and elementary school and got their lunch taken probably some guys I took lunch from but thats just the way it is. Youre going to have some people that love you and some people that hate you. That comes with the territory. Im used to it now. Ive been getting this since I was six when I first started boxing. It really doesnt mean anything to me. It was a good victory for me. It was a great fight and a great learning experience. If I get hit with a headbutt again, Ill be able to shake it off even faster. The undercard featured Andrade (2-0, 2 KOs) making his Providence debut by stopping Eric Marriott (0-2) 50 seconds into the fourth and final round of their super welterweight co-feature. Marriott absorbed most of Andrades shot, but began to back off in the fourth. After slipping to the canvas early in the round, Marriott got caught with a flurry along the ropes, prompting the referee to mercifully end the fight. I wanted to put on a show, Andrade said. Everybodys been waiting for me to fight. They dont want to see me fight for one round, so basically I just worked my skills and gave the people what they wanted. He was a tough fighter. I guess he did a little bit of [mixed martial arts], so theyre probably used to taking a beating in the face. I just worked my jab and hit him with some good power shots. He took them, but after a while I was just wearing him down. Thats the plan wear him down. Andrade tried to work the body, but Marriott protected his ribcage with his elbows, forcing Andrade to work upstairs. Im not trying to hurt my hands on his elbows, Andrade said. If Im going to hit my hand, its going to be with a body shot. I was working the straight left trying to go around his elbows and it was working. It was slowing him down, as you could see. My whole game plan is to try to let someone know mentally and physically they cant hang with me. He was probably physically stronger than me, but mentally he didnt have it, so I kept breaking him down and breaking him down until I broke him.
