Fox Sports 1: Jermell Charlo vs. Jose Rodriguez & Errol Spence vs. Emanuel Lartey RBR

Top of the hour. :good

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Just ended:

Rau'Shee War'ren vs. Jhon Alberto Molina, 6 rounds @ featherweight

 

Final stats:

War'ren 77 of 200, 38%
Molina 39 of 18, 25%

 

Official cards:

40-35
40-35
40-35

UD for Rau'Shee "Baby Pit" War'ren

 

Paulie Malignaggi interviews Rau'Shee, who says he felt good but acknowledges he probably didn't look good.

Malignaggi commiserates and extends his empathy with having difficulty against shorter opponents, and southpaws to boot.

Rau'Shee laments that he didn't counter more instead of just relying on volume combinations. Rau'shee says he thought his defense was slick but he spent too much energy offensively. He wants to do better next time.

 

:nod It's a positive sign that he isn't delusional about how much work is left in refining his style in the pros and wants to actively work on it - but I'm just not sure how much he can with so much tread on his tires and so long being set in his amateur-flurrying ways already. (remember, he was a 3-time Olympian and has spent half of his life boxing).

He is only 26, however, so maybe he does have time. :conf

 

Errol Spence Jr. vs. Emmanuel Lartei Lartey, 8 rounds @ welterweight

 

Emmanuel "Ice Cold" Lartey is something of a color-by-numbers Ghanaian fighter, but he is a high-grade one as he showed on FNF this past April when he upset mildly hyped Jonathan Batista (who recently got robbed against Kermit Cintron). Of course, I had that bout a draw and Teddy Atlas had Batista narrowly ahead, but Lartey was a pretty big underdog and didn't act like it.

Of course, he should be a huge underdog tonight just based on the pedigree of Spence from the amateurs...not to mention the aptitude for destructive body punching shown in the pros so far.

 

Round 1

Spence is catching the high right jab of Lartey with his forearms pushing out in time with them. Body jabs by Lartey as they circle rapidly. Spence is sprinkling in his own right jab, smoothly ducking and leaning to get it above Lartey's waistband. Hard left hand lead by Spence. Lartey holds and sinks to his knees while clutching onto Spence's thighs. Not a knockdown. The ref pushes them apart. Hard chopping left by Lartey as Spence is crossing his feet, knocking him slightly off balance.

10-9 Spence

 

"Do you want to win this fight? Huh? DO YOU?"

- Lartey's trainer

He is maybe overreacting a bit. Lartey did everything correctly after getting hurt and was game and up for it down the stretch. :think

 

Round 2

Spence lands a left hand and Lartey again clinches immediately. Lead left by Spence, right hook to the body by Spence. Lartey covers up and backs into the ropes. Spence blasts some combinations into his chest but they are blocked, Lartey crossing his arms and burying his face behind them. They drift out to center ring, jabbing cautiously at each other with their rights. Spence braves a Lartey jab, rushing past and letting it scrape his throat as he wings a big right hook. Lartey backs up. Spence is walking Lartey down, jerking away and bending over backward from Lartey's jab before snapping back in with his own.

10-9 Spence

20-18 Spence

 

Stats in the 2nd:

Spence 21 of 76, 28%

Lartey 17 of 57, 30%

 

Round 3

Spence is jabbing high on Lartey's head while sliding forward, widening and shortening his stance instead of peeling his feet up off the canvas. Spence walks into a HARD short overhand left, stunned momentarily. Spence shakes it off and immediately comes forward with hard combos of his own. Lartey is backed into a corner as Spence unloads hard 1-2s from outside, maintaining range while piercing through Lartey's guard. Right jab by Spence making Lartey duck straight down, where Spence goes after him with a left hand and right hook but only grazes.

10-9 Spence

30-27 Spence