By: William Holmes
Mayweather Promotions put on a card from the Pearl at Palms Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada two nights before Floyd Mayweather is scheduled to face Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The Pearl was half-filled by the start of the ESPN2 televised broadcast and Floyd Mayweather Jr. was not in attendance, but Leonard Ellerbe was there to run the show.
The first televised bout of the night was between Ashley Theophane (37-6-1) and Mahonri Montes (30-4-1) in the welterweight division.
Theophane and Montes both fought out of an orthodox stance. Theophane’s jab was able to keep Montes from landing his combinations in the first round. At one point in the first, Theophane landed a two-punch combination and Montes could be seen asking him to come forward with more after being tagged.
Montes showed good head movement in the second round, but Theophane’s jab and lead left hook were landing at high rates of accuracy. Montes was landing more to the body, but Theophane was landing more to the head.
Theophane remained light on his feet on the third round and was able to land some good counter hooks as well as a hard straight right hand. Montes stayed to the body and tried to trap Theophane by the ropes, but was not successful in doing so.
The fourth round was a strong one for Montes, as he ended the stanza with a flurry of punches. But Theophane rebounded in the fifth round and reestablished pace and control.
The best action of the fight came in the sixth round when a fight broke out in the crowd, but it was Theophane who was controlling the action in the ring. Theophane’s best punch of the night came in the seventh round when he connected with a hard uppercut near the end of the round, but Montes was able to bust up Theophane’s nose in the eighth round and apply consistent pressure.
Theophane looked like he was fading in the ninth round as Montes continued to apply good pressure, and Montes was able to knock Theophane down in the final seconds of the final round with a crisp counter right hand.
Unfortunately for Montes, the final round only had about ten seconds left when Theophane got back to his feet and he wasn’t able to capitalize on the knockdown.
The final scores were 96-93 for Montes, and 96-93 for Theophane on the remaining two scorecards, giving Theophane the split decision victory.
The main event of the night was between Ishe Smith (26-7) and Cecil McCalla (20-1) in the middleweight division.
The first round started off with both boxers exchanging and landing body shots. Smith was also able to throw a four-punch combination with two connecting to the head. McCalla’s jab was able to land in the first, but Smith’s left hook was landing and he ended the first round strong.
Smith was very slippery with his defense in the second round and his body attacks were creating openings upstairs that he was able to capitalize on. Smith wobbled McCalla at the end of the second round with a left hook, and he unloaded several combinations on his opponent as the round came to an end.
McCalla was more active with his jab in the third round in an attempt to keep Smith away from his body, but Smith wasn’t phased by McCalla’s jab and kept pressing forward. Smith was throwing hard shots and appeared to be looking for a knockdown, but wasn’t successful.
The fourth round started off with a jab fest and it was Smith that was landing at a higher clip. Smith’s best punch of the round was a straight right to the jaw of McCalla. Smith had McCalla backing up with his jab in the fifth round and was able to land a hard straight right to McCalla’s jaw that hard him momentarily hurt. Smith jumped on him with combos by the ropes, but McCalla was able to fire back. McCalla did connect with a punch after the round ended for which he could have lost a point, but the referee let him off with a warning.
Smith dominated the sixth round as he appeared to land a combination whenever he wanted to throw one and McCalla didn’t appear to land any punches of note. Smith was also in control in the seventh, but McCalla did land a good straight right to his Smith’s jaw near the end of the round.
The action in the eighth and ninth rounds resembled the earlier rounds as McCalla was unable to solve Smith’s defenses and Smith landing good combinations to the body and head of his opponent.
McCalla needed a knockout in the final round if he hoped to win the fight, but that knockout never came. Instead, it was Smith who was delivered the punishment as the fight came to a close.
The final scores were 97-93, 97-93, and 98-92 for the winner, Ishe Smith.
Undercard Quick Results:
Kevin Newman II (2-0-1) wins by KO over Richard Urquizo (1-2-1) at 0:47 of the first round in the super middleweight division.
Juan Heraldez (7-0) decisions Tayorus Teague (2-3-1) by scores of 59-55, 59-55, and 58-55 in the welterweight division.
Lanell Bellows (12-1-1) defeated Eddie Hunter (10-13-2) by decision with scores of 77-75, 80-72, and 80-72 in the super middleweight division.
Ronald Gavril (12-1) defeated Oscar Riojas (8-1) by a wide decision with scores of 80-71 on all three scorecards in the super middleweight division.