Contributor: Nolan Howell
It went better than expected, but no surprises from Florida’s Friday night Premier Boxing Champions on Spike event as Erislandy Lara defeated Yuri Foreman to retain the WBA and IBO Super World super welterweight/junior middleweight titles and Anthony Dirrell defeated 21-year-old Norbert Nemesapati in a super middleweight contest.
Lara had no trouble measuring up the shopworn Foreman with a jab to set up a left uppercut that sent the challenger down. Lara controlled the fight up until that point easily and earned a very questionable knockdown from the referee after Foreman slipped in the third. Lara made sure there would be no questions as Foreman leaned into a left uppercut that sent him falling back to the canvas. The referee thought better of continuing the fight when a wobbly Foreman got to his unsteady feet.
Lara interestingly called for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin after the match. A challenging fighter to watch as well as to face for opponents, those two names represent the best challenges possible for the Cuban champion. Fans can hope to see him actually step up to face worthy competition. Foreman will likely continue to rack fringe wins and maybe a trinket title or two before hanging them up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWU-DezEK08
Anthony Dirrell had a similar lack of trouble as he finished Norbert Nemesapati in the sixth-round. Dirrell had his way with the young Hungarian fighter, especially in the third round where a flurry of body punches made Nemesapati retreat. Dirrell dared Nemesapati to hit him and the overwhelmed prospect did not oblige. Dirrell kept it up until the finish came in the sixth round when Nemesapati did not answer the bell.
The farcical showcases made for relatively painless watches as the two spotlight fighters delivered finishes early.
-Nolan can be reached @undercardnolan or at [email protected]
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