Noel Murphy vs. Mikkel LesPierre RBR

Not a pretty fight, but pretty satisfying little Wednesday night main event. I originally only had interest for Jonfer on this card, but this ended up worth tuning in for. Murphy has plenty to work on, needs to sharpen up and try and boost his power, but the engine and heart are there for him. LesPierre, obviously not a top welterweight prospect, and probably unlikely to even become top 15 in the US at this stage (he's 32) but he's skillful enough for this level. I'd project his optimistic ceiling as grabbing a NABF title or getting blown out by a world class guy on the mend in a Showtime or HBO tuneup.

 

Anybody interested to catch a glimpse of Ukrainian-Canadian heavyweight prospect Sasha Teslenko, you can find his match from last night in the video link in the OP

Oleksandr Teslenko vs. Keenan Hickman, 8 rounds @ heavyweight - at the 1:29:30 mark.
Noely Murphy vs. Mikkel LesPierre, 10 rounds @ welterweight - at the 2:13:30 mark.

 

Ah, so Mercante did take one.

 

Rabbit punch on the break in the eighth, yeah, I just read that. There were many instances where he was chirping at both fighters and holding one's hand (usually Murphy's) while giving instructions or admonishments during his snits. On mute it was hard to determine when he was just doling out warnings and when he was hacking off points. Mercante isn't great about remembering the universal 1 finger high in the air signals.