By: Sean Crose
A scheduled welterweight six rounder between Larry Fryers, 11-6-1, and the 8-2 Joshua Rivera was broadcast live on DAZN Thursday night as Broadway Boxing made it’s debut on the streaming service. Fryers, fighting out of Yonkers by way of Clones, Ireland, pushed the action by getting in close and trying to smothering La Mesa, California’s Rivera. It wasn’t the prettiest tactic, but it was one that started proving successful for Fryers almost immediately.
For the first three rounds, Fryers simply grinded away at his man, never really giving Rivera a chance to counterattack. In the fourth, however, the referee deducted a point from Fryers on the scorecards. Fryers continued to keep the fight in a figurative phone booth, perpetually working the body in close quarters. By the fifth it was clear that Rivera simply didn’t have an answer for Fryers’ grueling inside game. Suffice to say, Rivera essentially didn’t answer the bell for the sixth and final round.
“You’re absolutely amazing,” Fryers yelled to the cheering crowd at Manhattan’s Sony Hall afterward. “Thank you!” The man had much to celebrate, as he was able to finally break a considerable no-win streak on Thursday evening.