By: William Holmes
ESPN began their season of Friday Night Fights with a main event featuring super middleweights Dyah Davis and Alfonso Lopez. Dyah Davis is the son of former Olympic Gold Medalist Howard Davis Jr., and faced a heavy hitter in Alfonso Lopez, a fighter who’s had seventeen knockouts. This fight card took place in Key West, Florida at an outdoor venue. Featured on the undercard is a fight between undefeated Steve Martinez and one loss Denis Doughlin. Round by round results are as follows.
Steve Martinez (11-0) vs. Denis Douglin (13-1); Junior Middleweight
Round 1:
Douglin and Martinez come out to the center of the ring, and Martinez looks to have the height advantage. Douglin comes out in the soutpay stance, and fighters exchange jabs to try and find their distance. Martinez lands a straight right hand to the body. Douglin ducks under a combination from Martinez. Douglin lands a lead left hook. Douglin lands another soft hook, and Martinez attacks to the body with two uppercuts. Martinez blocks two punches from Douglin. Martinez gets tagged with another lead left hook. Douglin lands a two punch combination, and Martinez answers with a left hand upstairs right after. Martinez lands a straight right hand, but then gets caught in the corner and covers up from some punches from Douglin. Douglin slips after ducking a Martinez punch. Martinez is pawing out his jab using it as a rang finder. Martinez lands a decent jab. Douglin lands a left hook near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Douglin.
Round 2:
Martinez continues to paw out his jab in an effort to find a soft spot in the defense of Douglin. Martinez lands a short uppercut to the body of Douglin. Fighters clinch in the middle and exchange short body shots. Martinez lands a couple decent body shots. Douglin with a stiff jab to the nose of Martinez. Fighters clinch again in the center of the ring, and Martinez lands the better body shots. Martinez catches Douglin near the ropes and lands some decent body shots. Douglin lands a solid left hand to the head of Martinez. Martinez continues to attack to the body and momentarily traps Douglin near the corner. Martinez lands a beautiful lead right hand on Douglin. Martinez continuing to apply the pressure, mixing up solid body shots and straight right hands. Martinez staying measured with his attack on Douglin and is dictating the pace. Douglin lands an uppercut that snaps the head of Martinez back. Douglin lands another solid left hand near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Martinez.
Round 3:
Martinez comes right back out with his jab trying to use it as a range finder. Martinez comes back to the body and lands some decent uppercuts, but Douglin lands a hook upstairs in the process. Douglin lands a good two punch combination upstairs. Douglin is now coming forward and landing some good shots on Martinez by the ropes. Martinez goes right back to mixing up body shots and two punch combinations upstairs. Martinez easily slips a straight left from Douglin. Martinez connects with a straight right hand. Lead body shots from Martinez are landing at will. Douglin with a decent right hook upstairs, and Martinez pushes Douglin against the ropes. Martinez with a short uppercut to the body by the ropes. Martinez continues to apply the pressure, and lands some decent body shots by the ropes. C Douglin lands a straight left hand at the end of the round. Close round to score, but Martinez was the aggressor. 10-9 round for Martinez.
Round 4:
So far it’s been the pressure and power of Martinez against the speed of Douglin. Martinez slips a wild left hook from Douglin. Martinez lands a good combination near the center of the ring. Martinez gets warned from the referee to not push down the head of Douglin. Martinez begins a measured attack on the body of Douglin. Douglin presses forward and has Martinez near the ropes. Douglin lands some good hooks that gets a reaction from the crowd. Martinez lands a good straight right hand, and follows with a two punch combination. Douglin lands a lead left hook. The mouthpiece falls out of Martinez as he lands a straight right hand on Douglin. Martinez lands a short uppercut to the body of Douglin. Fighters both lands punches in the center of the ring. Douglin lands two straight left hands on Martinez. Douglin has Martinez moving backwards as he attacks with a lead left hand. 10-9 round for Douglin.
Round 5:
Douglin corner tells him to switch to plan b. Douglin is starting to use his jab more often now. Douglin lands a soft lead left hook. Martinez keeps coming forward, but not throwing as often as earlier rounds. Martinez gets Douglin to back up near the corner, and lands some body shots. Martinez lands a short uppercut to the body of Douglin. Douglin is able to spin out of trouble near the ropes. Douglin lands a left hook upstairs. Martinez continues his attack to the body with uppercuts. Martinez is applying more pressure now and appears to be wearing Douglin down. Referee pauses the fight and gives Douglin a chance to put his mouthpiece in. Douglin lands a straight left hand upstairs, and Martinez answers with straight right hands of his own upstairs. Martinez with two nice hooks to the body near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Martinez.
Round 6:
Martinez continues round six by moving forward and backing Douglin up. Martinez landing lead uppercuts to the body of Douglin. Martinez gets warned for landing a low blow. Martinez again gets warned for landing at the hip of Douglin. Martinez catches Douglin at another corner, and lands some more short uppercuts to the body. Martinez connects with a nice left hook to the body right hook upstairs combination. Douglin lands a decent straight left hand, and Douglin gets warned to keep his punches up. Martinez lands two consecutive straight right hands. Douglin connects with a left hook, but eats several hard shots in the corner as a result. Martinez eats some hooks from Douglin, but stays in his body attack and presses Douglin backwards. Douglin digs some shots to the body of Martinez near the end of the round. Close round, 10-9 for Douglin.
Round 7:
Martinez starts round seven like the other rounds, by coming forward. Martinez lands a good straight right hand that sends Douglin stumbling backwards. Martinez lands a short right hook, and has Douglin moving backwards again. Douglin lands a jab to the body and a straight left hand. The mouthpiece of Martinez comes out again as he gets hit with a hook from Douglin. Martinez has Douglin near the corner, but gets tagged with an uppercut and a left hand from Douglin. Martinez lands another straight right hand upstairs on Douglin. Douglin lands a short left hook on Martinez. Martinez is doing a much better job of mixing his punches up. Martinez landing some hard shots near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Martinez.
Round 8:
Close fight so far, hard to score. Martinez continues with uppercuts to the body of Douglin. Martinez with a three punch combination upstairs. Both fighters exchanging hard shots, and both are landing. Douglin and Martinez are not leaving it to the jduges and both are landing hard shots. Martinez connects with a nice hook to the body hook to the head combination. Douglin lands a good two punch combination that might have hurt Martinez. Douglin landing some more left hooks to the temple of Martinez. Douglin has Martinez trapped near a corner, and lands a few uppercuts to the body of Martinez. Douglin lands two good hooks to the body, and Martinez answers with a combination upstairs. Martinez snaps the neck of Douglin with an uppercut. Douglin finishes the last round strong. 10-9 round for Douglin.
Official scores are 77-75 Douglin, 77-75 Martinez, and 77-75 Douglin. Douglin gets the split decision and hands Martinez the first loss of his career.
Dyah Davis (20-2-1) vs. Alfonso Lopez (22-1); Super Middleweight
Round 1:
Davis takes the center of the ring, and Lopez stays light on his feet on the outside. Lopez is circling to the left of Davis. Lots of feinting in the first minute of the round. Davis throws out a few jabs at Lopez. Davis ducks under a Lopez punch. Lopez flicks out a soft jab at Davis but does not connect. Davis lands a jab to the body, and Lopez connects with a jab upstairs. Lopez easily dodges a straight right hand from Davis. Fighters clinch by the center of the ring. Davis connects with a jab to the body of Lopez. Davis partially lands a looping left hook. Very slow round. 10-9 for Davis.
Round 2:
Lopez again circles to the left of Davis. Davis comes forward with a two punch combination, but Lopez immediately grabs and is forced by the referee to separate. Davis lands a straight right hand to the body of Lopez. Fighters clinch by the center of the ring and land short shots to the body. Lopez ducks under a left hook from Davis. Fighters clinch again in the center of the right. Davis connects with a jab. Fighters clinch again in the center of the ring. Davis lands short left hands, and then the fighters clinch. Fighters again clinch by the ropes. Referee warns both fighters to keep their punches up. Fighters clinch again by the corner. Slow round, again. 10-9 round for Davis.
Round 3:
Lopez again looks tentative, and tries to circle to the left of Davis. Davis lands some decent left hooks to the body and head of Lopez. Fighters clinch again by the corner of the ring. Davis lands a solid check left hook. Lopez muscles Davis to the corner, and lands some short right hands to the body while clinched. Davis lands a quick three punch combination upstairs on Lopez. Lopez clinches with Davis again in the center of the ring. Lopez ducks under a wild hook from Davis. Davis and Lopez exchange hooks to the body. They are clinched by the ropes, again. Davis lands a jab, and they clinch again. 10-9 round for Davis.
Round 4:
Davis lands a two punch combination and is showing some decent head movement. Davis lands a left hand upstairs while Lopez comes forward. Davis lands a thudding double jab on Lopez. Lopez and Davis clinch by the corner again. Davis lands a short jab, and Lopez ties Davis up by the ropes. Davis slips two jabs from Lopez. Davis is clearly throwing more punches than Lopez. Davis connects with a good left uppercut to the body of Lopez. Lopez comes forward and clinches with Davis by the corner again. 10-9 round for Davis.
Round 5:
They start round five off like the other rounds, by clinching. Davis easily slips a combination from Lopez. Davis throws out a double jab but does not connect. Lopez ducks under a hook from Davis. A combination from Lopez is blocked by Davis. They clinch again near the center of the ring, and Davis lands some short shots. Lopez misses with a straight right hand. Davis lands a short right uppercut on Lopez. Fighters tie up near the ropes, again. Neither fighter has been throwing any punches of significance. 10-9 round for Davis.
Round 6:
Davis throwing out a few quick jabs, but most of them miss their mark. Davis lands a left hook to the body of Lopez. Davis throws out two jabs to the body of Lopez. Lopez throws a jab to the body of Davis, and then clinches with him. Davis lands a short left hook on Lopez. Davis may have landed the best punch of the night with a left hook. Davis lands another left hook upstairs on Lopez. Lopez tags Davis with a jab. Lopez slips a combination from Davis. Davis lands a straight right hand to the body of Lopez. Lopez lands a short left hook upstairs on Davis near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Davis.
Round 7:
Fighters clinch again in the early goings of round seven. Davis lands some short body shots on Lopez while they are clinched. Davis lands a jab combination to the body and to the head. Davis lands an overhand right. Davis lands a nice uppercut that gets the attention of the crowd. Davis lands a good straight right hand. Davis misses with two left hooks on Lopez. Davis catches Lopez with a left hook upstairs as Lopez comes forward. 10-9 round for Davis.
Round 8:
Lopez looks tentative again. Davis lands a stiff jab to the chin of Lopez. Lopez comes forward on Davis but looks stiff in the process. Lopez lands a short left hand on Davis while clinched by the ropes. Lopez pushes Davis to the corner, but does not do anything while there. Davis lands some short shots on Lopez while clinched. Lopez throws a soft combination on Davis in the center of the ring. Lopez lands a good straight right hand, and Davis answers with a stiff jab. Lopez connects with a left hook upstairs. A jab from Davis sends Lopez backward. Lopez partially connects with a straight right hand near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Lopez, mainly because he landed his only significant punch of the night.
Round 9:
Round nine starts, and Davis and Lopez clinch. Davis lands some short hooks to the body of Lopez, and they clinch and Lopez lands a rabbit punch on Davis. The referee warns Lopez, and they clinch again by the ropes. Davis lands a straight right hand upstairs on Lopez. Fighters continue to clinch throughout this fight. Davis lands a decent left hook, and straight right hand upstairs on Lopez. Davis lands a left uppercut to the body of Lopez, and they clinch, again. 10-9 round for Davis.
Round 10:
Davis comes forward with a three punch combination, and after not connecting they clinch. When they break from the clinch Davis lands some decent body punches. Davis lands a looping overhand left hook on Lopez. Davis lands another left hook on Lopez as he comes forward. Lopez lands a short jab on Davis. Both Lopez and Davis clinch, and clinch, and clinch. Davis lands a left hook right hook combination on Lopez. Davis lands another left hook, and then follows it up with a two punch combination. Very little action in this fight. 10-9 round for Davis.
Dyah Davis wins with scores of 100-90, 100-90, 99-91.
