Welcome to another installment of UndercarDVR, where we review what you need to see from this week in combat sports. We go fight by fight to see whether it needs to be watched, deleted, or put in fast forward.
HBO returned to Madison Square Garden for their annual Puerto Rican Parade weekend card. Puerto Rican fighters “Rocky” Martinez and Felix Verdejo both looked to please the crowd. While Verdejo had a showcase bout, Martinez would have a steep uphill climb in facing Vasyl Loamchenko. Who would come out on top?
Vasyl Lomachenko defeated Roman “Rocky” Martinez by fifth-round KO in a super featherweight bout to win the WBO Super Featherweight Championship.
- Lomachenko got another chance to prove that he doesn’t need too much fluff put into his record. Boy, oh boy, did he ever prove himself here as he thoroughly dissected Martinez before putting him down for the count hard in the fifth. Lomachenko will have to continue moving around weight classes to find the best fights if he wants to be a draw, but a world title is a fine consolation prize. Martinez will continue to be a consistent challenger in the upper ranks of the division and could maybe even reclaim it should Lomachenko jump.
- This was equal parts technique and brutality from Lomachenko, who is going to become must-watch soon enough if he continues to show power along with prowess. Verdict: Watch.
Felix Verdejo defeated Juan Jose Martinez by fifth-round TKO in a lightweight bout to retain the WBO Latino Lightweight Championship.
- Verdejo did what he was supposed to do here as he controlled four rounds into a flurry stoppage in the fifth on a defenseless Martinez. This was mainly a showcase and Verdejo made use of it.
- In a fight this mismatched on this mid-level/prospect building tier, there isn’t really much to watch until the finish. Unless you are really invested in seeing how Verdejo is coming along, keep him on fast forward with your finger on the pause button until he starts fighting stiffer talent. Verdict: Fast Forward.
Showtime ran against the HBO card with a guaranteed slug-fest in the main event between Ruslan Provodnikov and John Molina Jr. Provodnikov was the heavy favorite, but would his favor of the brawl hurt him in the end? Plus, a new lightweight champion gets crowed and Demetrius Andrade takes on Willie Nelson in the co-main.
John Molina Jr. defeated Ruslan Provodnikov by unanimous decision in a super lightweight bout.
- As one writer on this site (Hint: Not Luke Irwin, who is always wrong) predicted, Provodnikov got too caught up in the brawl. Though I had Provodnikov winning in my predictions, Molina pulled off a major upset by being able to take advantage of the head-first defense of Provodnikov in exchanges and boxing smart as well. Provodnikov should likely be gearing up for a farewell tour soon, if not an outright retirement. Molina will continue to be a scrapper you can through in there with damn near anyone for a fun televised fight.
- Despite his rather sad decline, Provodnikov is always must-see. Add the fact that this is technically the biggest boxing upset of the year thus far and Molina delivering the goods equally while surprising us with some strategy, and you have a fight worth sitting down for. Verdict: Watch.
Demetrius Andrade defeated Willie Nelson by twelfth-round TKO in a super welterweight bout.
- Andrade really made a statement here against a typical-game Nelson, as he battered him for twelve rounds en route to getting a stoppage in the last round. Nelson had nothing for Andrade and can stay on the borderline of contender and gatekeeper for some trinket belts, while Andrade put the division on notice.
- This turned out to be a little more of a showcase than expected. Andrade had no problem battering the body and wearing Nelson down to set him up for the finish. Use the pause button here for some particularly nice combos, but you know the story of the fight and the finish is what most anyone will be looking for anyhow. Verdict: Fast Forward.
Dejan Zlaticanin defeated Franklin Mamani by third-round TKO in a lightweight bout to win the WBC Lightweight Championship.
- A short fight with a little historic nugget at the end as Zlaticanin blasted the short-notice Mamani for three rounds. A nice win that hopefully establishes a need for some bigger and better things for Zlaticanin.
- You really won’t be missing much here. Zlaticanin’s next fight will surely be one to keep an eye on, but this played out predictably.Verdict: Delete.
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