By: Sean Crose
Rising junior lightweight Chris Colbert was the unofficial headliner of Showtime’s Saturday night card, which was broadcast live from Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena. The 14-0 Brooklyn native squared off against the 16-1 Jaime Arboleda in a scheduled 12 round affair. At stake was the WBA Interim Super Featherweight Championship, which Colbert entered the ring in possession of.
The first round was a high octane affair. Arboleda hit hard to the body in the second, but Colbert covered up well. What’s more, Colbert rocked his man in the final moments of the round. Colbert, a fighter not known for power punching, asserted his strength in the third with power shots. The Brooklyn fighter continued to impress in the fourth, but Arboleda was eventually able to land effectively to the body.
The fifth saw Colbert against the ropes early on. Colbert was the flashier fighter, fighting his his hands down and literally running around the ring, but he was in a rather close fight. Arboleta was clearly the busier fighter in the sixth. Colbert landed the sharper punches in the seventh. Arboleta was literally dropped by a low blow in the eighth, which caused Colbert to lose a point.
Both fighters slugged away at each other in the ninth. It was a hard hitting, brutal affair. Colbert finally put his man on the mat by round’s end. Colbert continued to hit with bad intentions in the tenth. He sent Arboleda to the mat in thunderous fashion in the eleventh. The game Arboleda got to his feet, then was sent down again. Arboleda got up once more, but Colbert continued to fire away. Referee Steve Willis stepped in and stopped the fight when Arbodela found himself getting hammered on the ropes.
Arboleda crumpled onto the canvas once more as the bout was stopped.