By: Sean Crose
Showtime’s ShoBox series, featuring up and comers in the fight game, returned on Wednesday evening with a three fight card broadcast live from Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena. Things started off with the 12-0 lightweight Alejandro Guerrero facing the 19-2-1 Abraham Montoya in a scheduled 8 round contest. Both men started off trading heavy leather. Each fought as if he wanted it to be an early night. Things remained action oriented in the second. Neither man was a speed demon, but these were fighters unafraid to exchange. Montoya put his jab to good effect in the third round.
The fourth continued showcasing each man’s high output. Montoya, however, appeared to be the more skilled and deliberate of the two as the fight headed into it’s midpoint. Jabs and body work on the part of Montoya began to tell the tale. Guerrero pushed the action in the sixth. He also began to put punches together well. In the seventh, it was Montoya who took to stalking. Guerrero fought hard, but Montoya seemed to take the round. Furthermore, Montoya appeared to be more dominant in the twelfth. The judges ended up ruling for Montoya by scores of 76-76, 79-73 and 77-75.
Next up, the 11-0 super middleweight Vladimir Shishkin faced the 21-1 Sena Agbeko in a scheduled 10 round bout. The opening chapter saw each man looking sharp and focused. Shishkin pressed the action in the second, while Agbeko jabbed rather effectively. Things remained close and tight in the third. The fourth looked similar to the first three rounds, with Shishkin trying to push the action and Agbeko trying to employ ring generalship. Abgbeko simply couldn’t make things happen effectively in the fifth.
By the end of the sixth, it was clear that Shishkin had a nasty cut. It appeared under control, however and Shishkin pressed the action in the seventh. The eighth round made clear the fact that neither man was going to let it all hang out. Both fighters were simply being too cautious. Agbeko got rocked in the first minute of the ninth, but appeared no worse for wear. The final round was essentially as uneventful as the previous nine. Even the referee told the fighters to “let the hands go.”
With that in mind, Shishkin fought through a bad cut and Agbeko’s previous opponent – Roy King – died after their bout. That can’t be an easy thing for any fighter to cope with. Ultimately, Shishkin walked out with a decision win via scores of 98-92, 100-90 and 100-90.
It was time for the main event. Undefeated 16-0 welterweight Janelson Figueroa Bocachica stepped into the ring to face a fellow undefeated prospect, the 14-0 Mark Reyes Jr in a scheduled 10 rounder. Bocachica came out aggressively in the first. Both fighters began trading serious leather in the second. Reyes came out swinging in the third. Bocachica, however, was happy to engage in a slugfest. It was clear each man was looking for a knockout. Both continued to chop away at each other in the fourth.
Reyes paced about and picked his shots in the fifth. Bocachico landed effectively in the sixth, but Reyes did a nice job keeping out of range for much of the round. Reyes worked the body well in the seventh. Both men landed well in the last minute of the chapter. The fighters appeared to be somewhat weary in the eighth, which was understandable considering they had been exchanging power shots throughout the bout.
The ninth round saw Bocachica look to be the more active of the two combatants. Still, Reyes fought gamely. By the mid point of the chapter, both men were unloading. To be sure, Reyes was able to land effectively throughout the rest of round. Reyes continued to press the action early in the tenth. As the round progressed, it looked as if Bocachica might be wanting to appear dominant by showboating. When all was said and done, the judges ruled the bout in favor of Boacachica by scores of 95-95, 96-94 and 97-93.