 Chilemba wins bloody battle over Miranda
Ringside by Anthony Springer Jr. & Andreas Hale
Photos by Chris Cozzone
After ten rounds of action, both Edison Miranda and Isaac Chilemba were covered in blood. Fortunately for Chilemba (19-1-1, 9 KOs) it was the blood of the Columbian that splattered across the ring as Chilemba earned a hard fought 10-round unanimous decision victory in the main event of ESPN's Friday Night Fights which took place at the Texas Station in Las Vegas.
It was a rough and rugged battle for both fighters as Miranda (35-7, 30 KOs) came out the gates landing heavy leather as Miranda was in pursuit in the early rounds.  However, a cut over Miranda's left eye from an accidental head butt emerged in the third and drastically changed the course of the fight. The heavy hitting Miranda instantaneously went into panic mode as blood streamed down his face and began heaving punches in desperation. Meanwhile, Chilemba began to find his rhythm and slipped counterpunches between Miranda's wild hooks.
As the bout pushed on, Miranda's blood began to appear everywhere; on his opponent, on the referee and even on FNF commentator Teddy Atlas. But that didn't stop Miranda from trying to land a home run punch as he continued to swing for the fences, but was unable to land anything to change the course of the fight.
Both fighters were docked a point in the fifth round for rabbit punching but it wouldn't make a difference as Chilemba continued to pluck away at Miranda with combinations and counter punches. By the 9th and 10th rounds Miranda appeared weathered and worn as Chilemba scored with power shots up until the final bell. In the end, the judges saw it in favor of the fighter from Johannesburg 97-91, 96-92, 96-92. - Andreas Hale
 Barthelmy stays unbeaten, routes Williams
Rances Barthelmy continued his winning ways, routing the previously unbeaten Hylon Williams Jr. in an eight-round unanimous decision victory.
The larger, Floridian fighter was the bully in the squared circle from the opening bell. Williams was repeatedly walked down and battered from close range. With Williams pinned against the ropes, "Kid Blast" ripped off a series of uppercuts and hooks to the body.
Williams kept it interesting but couldn't back Barthelmy up with his punches. The blows were routinely and visibly shrugged off as Barthelmy shook his head and pushed forward.
A left hook against the ropes late in the eighth provided the perfect punctuation mark to what the judges declared a relatively one sided fight.
Final scores were 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73 for Barthelmy who improves to 15-0. - Anthony Springer Jr
 Abdusalamov Smashes Rodriguez
In a heavyweight attraction, Magmoed Abdusalamov improved to 13-0 with his 13th knockout coming in the 2nd round against previously undefeated Pedro Rodriguez.
Although the rotund-bellied Rodriguez (8-1) came out with his guns blazing, Abdusalamov weathered the early storm and pelted his foe with a number of unanswered blows in the second round before referee Russell Mora came to the rescue at the 1:04 mark. - Andreas Hale |
 Acevedo defeats Malone
Super middleweight Roberto Acevedo (3-0, 2 KOs) defeated Velvet Malone (0-4) via TKO at 1:44 in the fourth round. Acevedo caught Malone with a left-right combination and finished him off against the side of the ring. When Malone failed to return fire, the referee rushed in to halt the contest. |
 Gutierrez Outhustles Kreal
In a battle of Las Vegas upstarts, Jesus Gutierrez (2-0) outhustled Cameron Kreal (0-1-2) to earn a unanimous decision victory in a scheduled four round Jr. welterweight bout.
With a venue full of supporters backing both fighters, Gutierrez was the sharper and more accurate fighter and earned scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 39-37 on all three scorecards. - Andreas Hale |
Russ decisions Yong
 Lamar Russ out pointed Roberto Yong (4-4-1) to stay unbeaten in super middleweight action. Russ (9-0) was sharp in the early going using the jab as a range finder to get inside and do damage with some body shots.
Though he faded fast in the later rounds, he did enough damage to an equally tired Yong to keep the Arizona fighter from mounting a comeback. All three judges awarded the fight to the "Boxing Que" by scores of 58-56, 59-55, and 60-54 - Anthony Springer Jr |
Gradovich stays unbeaten
 Evgeny Gradovich (12-0) outpointed Robert Osiobe (11-4-4) in the night's final match. The Russian had the faster hands and kept the Las Vegan from getting into a rhythm. All three judges scored it 59-55 - Anthony Springer Jr.
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