PBC on Spike Results: Guzman and Anthony Dirrell Win by Stoppage, Andre Dirrell Cruises to a Decision
By: William Holmes
Atlantic City hasn’t held a major fight since Sergey Kovalev took on Bernard Hopkins back in November of 2014, but Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions put on a competitive card with some strong contenders and solid prospects to be broadcast on Spike TV.
Photo Credit: Brett Wiley
The opening bout of the broadcast was between Jonathan Guzman (20-0) and Daniel Rosas (20-2) in the super bantamweight division. Guzman had stopped every opponent he had faced going into tonight’s bout.
The opening round featured Rosas pressing forward and attacking the body. He was able to get his punches off first in the opening half of the first round, but Guzman started to get more accurate in the second half of the round.
Guzman appeared to be more settled down in the second round and was sharp with his counters and landed several good, clean, uppercuts. A left hook by Guzman at the end of the second round momentarily stunned Rosas.
Guzman had Rosas stunned twice in the third round with hard left hooks. He wasn’t able to knock Rosas down though, as he was swinging wildly and recklessly.
Rosas kept up the pressure in the fourth round and was effective with his work to the body and landed multiple strong lead left hooks.
Rosas kept on pressing the pace in the fifth round and Guzman looked like he was beginning to tire. Rosas was winning the round until the last thirty seconds, when a vicious left hook by Guzman sent Rosas stumbling backwards to the ropes, and he followed that up with a vicious left look that sent Rosas to the mat as the round came to an end.
Rosas was able to recover by the start of the sixth round, but Guzman battered him throughout the round and was able to take the best shots of Rosas well.
Guzman continued to batter Rosas in the seventh and eighth rounds and Rosas was able to offer little offense in return. Rosas scored another knockdown as the eighth round came to a close, and Rosas looked defeated as he walked back to his corner.
The referee checked in on Rosas before the start of the ninth round and waived off the bout.
Jonathan Guzman wins by TKO at 3:00 of the eighth round.
The next bout of the night was between Anthony Dirrell (28-1-1) and Caleb Truax (26-2-2) in the super middleweight division.
Truax, a native of Minnesota, walked into the ring with Prince playing in the background. Dirrell, despite being a native of Michigan, had a good number of fans in attendance.
Dirrell was sharp with his jab in the opening minute of the first round and focused his attacks to the body and head of Truax. Dirrell later landed a sharp straight right hand that buckled the knees of Truax, and then followed it up with a combination that sent Truax to the mat. Truax was able to beat the count, but took another hard combination that ended with a left hook that sent Truax to the mat for a second time.
The referee was quick to stop the bout after the second time. Anthony Dirrell wins by knockout at 1:49 of the first round.
The main event of the night was between Andre Dirrell (24-2) and Blake Caparello (22-1-1) in the super middleweight division.
Both Caparello and Dirrell came out in a southpaw stance for the opening round. Dirrell was sharp with his counter left hook early on and Caparello was short with his punches. Both boxers spent most of the opening round trying to feel each other out.
Caparello got backed into the corner at the start of the second round and covered up while Dirrell unloaded with a quick combination. Dirrell got a little reckless in the second round and allowed Caparello to score a flash knockdown near the end of the round with an overhand left.
Dirrell came out aggressive in the third round and pressed Caparello back towards the ropes while landing accurate shots. Caparello spent much of the round fighting with his back against the ropes and was able to land a few shots of his own, but Dirrell was landing the harder and cleaner punches.
The action slowed a bit in the fourth round, and Caparello held onto Dirrell whenever he pressed forward instead of fighting with his back against the ropes. Dirrell completed dominated Caparello in the fifth round and landed his power shots at a high percentage.
Caparello’s frustration was visible in the sixth and seventh rounds as he wasn’t able to threaten Dirrell, while Dirrell peppered Caparello with his jab and short body shots.
Caparello was able to surprise Dirrell with a clean straight left hand in the eighth round, but Dirrell went back to a steady rain of jabs to keep Caparello on his back foot and on the defensive.
Dirrell looked like he was closing to scoring a knockdown in the ninth round when he had Caparello backed into a corner and taking some heavy damage from blistering combinations, but that knockdown never came.
Caparello clearly needed a knockout in the final round to win the bout, but that knockout never came.
Andre Dirrell bounced back from a second round knockdown to win by decision with scores of 98-91 on all three scorecards.
Undercard Quick Results:
Anthony Young (12-2) defeated Juan Rodriguez (6-5-1) by decision with scores of 59-55, 59-54, and 58-55 in the welterweight division.
Chordale Booker (2-0) defeated Tolutomi Agunbiade (3-7) by KO at 2:26 of the first round in the super welterweight division.
Luther Smith (5-0) defeated Solomon Maye (1-6-1) by split decision with scores of 39-37, 39-37 for Luther Smith, and 40-37 for Solomon Maye in the heavyweight division.
Abraham Nova (1-0) defeated Weusi Johnson (1-1) by TKO at 2:56 of the first round in the super lightweight division.
Chris Thomas (2-0) defeated Jessie Singletary (0-2) by KO at 2:26 of the first round in the middleweight division.
Eddie Ramirez (13-0) defeated Osumanu Akaba (32-10-1) by TKO at 2:33 of the second round in the super lightweight division.
Titus Williams (5-0) defeated DeWayne Wisdom (6-29-1) in the super featherweight division by decision with scores of 60-52, 59-53, and 59-53.