Farmer Punishes Carroll over 12 Rounds in St. Patrick's Day Showdown

By Luis A. Cortes III, Ringside

The opening two rounds between Tevin Farmer (29-4-1)(6 KO's) and Jono Carroll (16-1)(3 KO's) were a bit slow as Farmer tried to get a feel for the type of fighter Carroll was.  In the third round, both fighters opened up as Farmer started to counter punch Carroll moving from side to side in order to avoid the punches from Carroll's high work rate.  These heated exchanges continued into the fourth round, but Farmer started to move away from Carroll until they started to exchange on the inside again.  

Farmer had a big fifth round landing clean counter punches that were powerful.  At one point, Farmer knocked the mouth piece out of Carroll's mouth.  The follow-up rounds saw Carroll bring a lot of activity to the fight, but he was constantly getting hit by the more accurate counter shots from Farmer.  Round eleven saw Carroll get beaten up by Farmer around the ring.  A huge right hook that Carroll didn't see rocked him, and he was a few more shots from being dropped.  

After twelve rounds of action all three judges scored the fight for the champion Farmer, 117-111 twice and 117-110.     

Taylor adds another belt to her impressive resume 

Unified featherweight champion Katie Taylor(13-0)(6 KO's) of Ireland and Rose Volante (14-1)(8 KO's) started fast as Taylor was able to land a short straight right that dropped Volante.  Following the knockdown, Taylor was able to control the early rounds with her skillful combination punching and footwork.  She caused a cut on the nose of Volante and punished her to the body with a left hook that stopped Volante's movement.  

Taylor came out in both rounds eight and nine throwing fast combinations in order to put a hurting on Volante.  She kept landing a beautiful left hook to the body that clearly was taking a lot out of Volante.  At the 1:40 mark of the ninth round, the referee stopped the fight.  With the victory, Taylor is now the unified WBA/WBO/IBF Featherweight Champion, and continues to move up the pound-for-pound ranks.    

Sulecki beats Rosado after he wars back in ten round battle

Things started out slow between Gabe Rosado (24-12-1)(14 KO's) and Maciej Sulecki (28-1)(11 KO's), until Sulecki caught Rosado bending down with a right to the ear that dropped him and wobbled the Philly native.  Rosado rose to his feet and finished the round, but as was the case in the second round,  Sulecki controlled the tempo and range of the fight with the harder punches.  In round three, Rosado was able to find a home with an overhand right that allowed him to control the round. 

Several of the next set of rounds started off with both fighters trying to use their jabs to establish control.  With the fight getting close in terms of the fighters exchanging winning rounds,  Rosado came out in the eighth round to try and get control of the fight.  As he threw a pair of power shots, Sulecki countered with a powerful left hook right hand combination that dropped Rosado.  Although he got up, Rosado was dazed and wobbled into a corner where he did his best to avoid power punches and make it out of the round.  

Round nine set the Liacouras Center on fire, as Rosado connected with a huge right hand that dropped Sulecki.  Rosado jumped all over his hurt opponent and mugged him with punches until he went down a second time.  They both warred in the tenth round, but it was Rosado landing upper cuts in close range that came away with the last round.  Sulecki was awarded the decision 95-91 twice and 95-93.  It was a great fight, that once again showed Rosado's warrior heart by making it an interesting ending.     

2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Luke Campbell (20-2) (16 KO's) stopped Adrian Yung (26-6-2) (20 KO's) in the fifth round, after overpowering him with a great body attack.  

Former amateur standout Raymond Ford (1-0) won his professional debut over Weusi Johnson (3-11) with all three scoring the contest 39-36.  Ford landed a big left hand that floored Johnson in the first.    

Daniyar Yeleussinov (6-0) (3 KO's), the Olympic champion, remained unbeaten by beating rugged veteran Silverio Ortiz (37-24)(18 KO's).

Sparrow wins majority decision over Lundy in grudge match 

In the Philadelphia grudge match between lightweights Hank Lundy (29-8-1)(14 KO's) and Avery Sparrow (10-1)(3 KO's), it didn't take long for the action to heat up.  Lundy had a good first round, landing a big left hook that stopped Sparrow in his tracks and shook up his back leg to win the round.  Sparrow answered with a huge second round, by landing powerful over hand rights.  Lundy's glove touched the canvas for the first knockdown.  The second knockdown came from a fierce right during an exchange that dropped Lundy flat on his back.  He rose to his feet and finished the round.  

Rounds three, four, and five saw the pace slow down a bit, as Lundy turned a war into a boxing match.  It was back to exchanging bombs at the end of the sixth round, with both fighters landing big right hands.  After six rounds, the fight was close in terms of rounds won by each fighter.  However, Sparrow had the huge second round.  

Rounds seven and eight was a return to a boxing match.  With the fight entering the final two rounds, the fight was closer than the second round would have suggested it would be.  After the ten rounds of good action, the decision would be up to the three judges.  One judge scored the fight 94-94, while the other two scored it 96-92, and 95-93 in favor of Avery Sparrow.  

D'Mitrius Ballard (20-0) (13 KO's) stopped Victor Fonesca (17-10-1)(14 KO's) in the fifth round of a super middleweight fight to start the show.

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When Irish Eyes Smile on Philadelphia

By Luis A. Cortes III

This Friday night from the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University marks the return of big-time boxing to the city of Brotherly Love.  Last April, Top Rank Promotions and ESPN put on a big show at Liacouras Center that featured plenty of hometown fighters in key matchups.  This year, while there have already been some compelling local shows that have all had great attendance, it’s time for Matchroom Boxing USA and DAZN to host a show in the city. The upstart streaming application that has taken the boxing world by storm, will broadcast their first show from Philadelphia on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.  Granted the St. Patrick’s Day Parade has come and went in the city, this Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day, which means that the city will be a buzz with plenty of festivities for Philly to indulge in.  A Friday night at the fights is the perfect way to kick things off.

Since signing a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing USA, IBF Junior Lightweight Champion Tevin Farmer (28-4-1)(6 KO’s)(1 NC) has gotten what he has asked for, an active schedule.  Eddie Hearn has made good on his promise to Farmer that if he did sign with Matchroom, barring any injuries, he would constantly get him fights.  Which means that when he defends his championship in the main event on Friday night, it will be his fourth fight in seven months and his third title defense.  What makes this title defense interesting for Farmer is not only will he be fighting for the first time as champion in his hometown, he will be facing the tough and rugged challenge of undefeated Irishman Jono Carroll (16-0)(3 KO’s).  On a weekend like the one approaching, it’s the perfect sell for a main event.  Hometown champion versus the tough challenge of a native Irishman during the city’s celebration of the latter’s heritage.

This is a huge fight for Farmer, even though it may seem that Carroll may not have the same experience to really test Farmer.  Carroll is in fact a durable fighter that has had to fight his way from the bottom to reach this opportunity.  Both fighters have exchanged barbs over social media, calling each other everything in the book.  Farmer has stated his pleasure with fighting under the Matchroom banner and has also let it be known that after this fight he would love the chance to unify the division titles in a fight against the WBA champion Gervonta Davis.  This is the fight that most hardcore fight fans have been asking for a couple of years already from a stylistic standpoint would be fun to witness.  Although the future looks bright for Farmer with a victory on Friday night, nothing by any means is guaranteed in terms of a victory.  Carroll for his part is planning to spoil those future plans as well as reach a point in his career that he has admitted only he dreamed could happen.

In the co-main event, WBA and IBF unified featherweight queen Katie Taylor (12-0)(5 KO’s), looks to add the WBO title to her growing collection when she battles Brazilian Rose Volante (14-0)(8 KO's).  Taylor, an Olympic Champion from the 2012 London Games, is quickly working her way up the pound-for-pound rankings in women’s boxing.  She already retains celebrity status in her native Ireland, and having fought already in Boston and New York, adding Philadelphia to her resume will continue to add to her rising popularity.  If she were to get by Volante, she already has stated that she would love to battle Amanda Serrano, a fellow pound-for-pound ranked fighter in a super fight.  Taylor is open to fighting the best in the world and along with Carroll, her fellow countrymen, adds yet another Celtic flavor to the fight card.

On the undercard two matchups look to shine a spotlight on the world of Philadelphia boxing.  Middleweights Gabriel Rosado (24-11-1)(14 KO’s) of Philadelphia and Maciej Sulecki (27-1)(11 KO’s) will battle in a pivotal matchup for both men.  Earlier this week, Eddie Hearn went on the record and stated that the winner of this matchup would be in line for a world title shot against WBO Middleweight Champion Demetrius Andrade.  That statement put an added incentive to the already motivated mind of Rosado, who will be fighting in front of his hometown crowd for the first time in several years.  During the pre-fight promotion, Rosado’s trainer Billy Briscoe stated that he was indeed impressed with the skills of Sulecki and in no way was Rosado going to take this fight with anything but a serious approach.  This is a solid fight that should please both the crowd in attendance and the fans watching at home.

Lightweight Hank Lundy (29-7-1)(14 KO’s) will take on his fellow Philadelphian Avery Sparrow (9-1)(3 KO’s).  Although both fighters are from Philadelphia, believe me when I tell you there is no love lost between these two fighters.  Both are no stranger to speaking their minds, which was the case during the kick-off press conference.  Lundy told TWI that he expects to capture his 30th victory of his veteran professional career and feels that a win on this type of show and platform in his hometown could launch his career towards at least one more run towards a world championship at lightweight.  With a career that has seen Lundy face some of the best fighters of the past generation at both lightweight and super lightweight, it is this experience that he believes will be the difference maker in the fight.  Sparrow is looking to use a victory of Lundy to jumpstart his career and put in on a path towards championship glory.  Sparrow is the younger fighter, that has shown glimpses of raw natural talent that has made him a fighter that not many lightweights want to risk their padded records against.  Both hometown fighters are coming to fight, and it should be interesting while it lasts.

A pair of former Olympians round out the undercard.  John Joe Nevin (10-0)(4 KO’s) is a thirty year old super featherweight from Ireland.  He captured the Silver medal at the 2012 Olympic games in London.  Over the past seven years, his career has not taken off the way some of the other Olympians from that year have.  But Neven, who has fought in Philadelphia before, would like to use this chance to start being more active.  Luke Campbell (19-2)(15 KO’s) is a lightweight fighter from England, that won the Gold medal for his home country during the 2012 games.  Like his fellow 2012 Olympian, Nevin, Campbell is trying to gear his career towards the next level that has so far eluded him in the professional ranks.  Also, Raymond Ford an amateur standout from across the river from Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey will make his professional debut. 

Tickets for this great night at the fights in Philadelphia are still available. You can purchase them by visiting liacourascenter.com.  Of course, if you can’t make it out to the fights, which I suggest you do,  DAZN will begin their broadcast at 7pm.    

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