GGG-Jacobs Undercard Results: Cuadras Victorious
By: Sean Crose
New York was home to one of the year’s top fight cards on Saturday as middleweight terror Gennady Golovkin threw down with the man who was widely regarded by many as his preeminent threat, Daniel Jacobs. There was also a fairly stacked undercard to behold, starting with former middleweight titlist Andy Lee, who returned from a lengthy layoff to face KeAndre Leatherwood. The southpaw Lee, 34-3-1, came out with a probing jab against Leatherwood, 19-3-1, in the first. It proved to be a tentative affair early on, with the still-arriving crowd starting to boo. Lee remained patient, however.
Things remained quiet throughout the second, as Lee tried to rid himself of ring rust and Leatherwood struggled with what seemed to be uncertainty. As the fight progressed, there looked to be an unwillingness on the part of Leatherwood to work the body, or to truly instigate any action. Perhaps it was due to the bright lights and a big name opponent, but he wasn’t challenging Lee a great deal. Halfway through the eight round affair, it became obvious that Lee might be willing to simply put in rounds.
Lee came alive in the 6th, however, landing clean and closing in effectively. Not an enormous amount of action came from it, though, and Lee essentially cruised to a unanimous decision win in a disciplined, if not exactly thrilling affair.
Next up was up and coming lighweight Ryan Martin, who put his undefeated, 17-0 record on the line against Bryant Cruz, 17-1-0 in a scheduled ten round match. Martin, who goes by the name of Blue Chip (get it?) looked sharp throughout the first four rounds, but Cruz was definitely game. By the fifth Martin was banging away, but Cruz – to his credit – showed he had a beard. That being said, there was little doubt Martin was the man in charge. And so the slow breakdown continued. Cruz was brave, but he couldn’t hold on forever. By the eighth, referee Harvey Dock stopped the bout.
It was time for Carlos Cuadras. The charming rogue of a super flyweight walked in the ring with a 35-1-1 record to face the 20-3-5 David Carmona. Cuadras was patient in the first and continued to dominate through the first three. Carmona had come to fight, though, which meant Cuadras had to box smart rather than whaling away. Things continued along at a fast pace throughout the next few rounds. By the seventh, though, it looked like Carmona might be coming on. And, to be sure, the following two rounds were competitive.
The last one was no blow out for either fighter, either. The judges gave Cuadras the nod – but he didn’t look like he did against Roman Gonzalez not all that long ago.