BROOKLYN, NY — Jermall Charlo (28-0, 21KO) did what his brother failed to do one fight prior and retained his WBC interim middleweight, earning a unanimous decision against Matt Korobov (28-2, 14KO) in the main event of a nationally televised PBC broadcast on FOX in front of 9,177 fight fans at the Barclay’s Center.
It was not as easy as Vegas bookmakers suggested, posting Charlo as a 15/1 favorite against Korobov before the public bet that down to about 11/1 at fight time.
Initially, Charlo was slated to battle Willie Monroe, Jr., but a VADA test revealed elevated testosterone in his urine, and the WBC refused to let Monroe go through with the fight. The 35 year-old Korobov who was already training for an 8 round contest on the undercard got the call.
Nothing came easy tonight for Charlo, who had trouble with his veteran counterpart. In the early rounds, the southpaw Korobov proved unintimidated by the Ronnie Shield’s-trained Charlo, and displayed a willingness to exchange with the champion, not afraid to eat a Charlo shot to land one of his own. In fact, through the early portion of the bout, Korobov was getting the better of the 28 year-old champion. Not only was Korobov dodging the devastating right hand Charlo possesses, he was landing straight lefts of his own, finding his target with alarming regularity.
As the fight wore on, though, Charlo began to wear down Korobov, a 2008 Russian Olympian, and his punches began to land more frequently. By the later rounds, Korobov started to slow .
In the 12th, Charlo hurt Korobov badly with two rights, putting him on unsteady legs, and prompting referee David Fields to assume a position in which it looked like he may step in to stop the fight. Korobov survived that mini onslaught, though, and even fired back shots of his own by round’s end.
In the end, it went to the cards where judge Larry Hazard, Jr. turned in abysmal score of 119-108, and Steve Weisfeld and Max Deluca, 116-112, all for the champion.
The win marked Charlo’s first successful defense of his title since winning it against Hugo Centeno, Jr. in April.
Korobov’s only other professional defeat came in his only other world title fight, a TKO loss to Andy Lee in 2014, a fight in which many thought Korobov was winning when he got stopped.
The loss also snapped a four fight win streak for Korobov.
Tony Harrison Stuns Jermell Charlo, Wins WBC Jr. Middleweight Title
Tony Harrison (28-2, 21KO) shocked the Barclay’s Center and the boxing world winning the WBC junior middleweight title against previously unbeaten Jermell Charlo (31-1, 15KO) via a controversial unanimous decision.
Judge Robin Taylor scored the bout 116-112, while Ron McNair and Julie Lederman had it 115-113 for the new champion Harrison.
From the onset, Charlo set the tempo. He was lion, the aggressor. At the sound of the opening bell, Charlo pressed the action, coming forward, forcing Harrison, who wore tiger-striped trunks, to fight off his back foot.
During the first quarter of the contest, Harrison seemed more interested in gathering information as opposed to winning rounds, as he rarely let his hands go, and instead cycled around the ring. Harrison’s punches early in the fight seemed to be thrown only to keep Charlo off him, as opposed to inflicting any damage.
In the fourth round, Harrison began to find a rhythm. Still fighting going backwards, Harrison was able to slip wide Charlo shots and then land his own return-fire. In the fifth, Harrison landed a flush right hand that seemed to have caught the attention of the champion.
It seemed as if Charlo regained control in the mid-to-late rounds, simply by bringing the action to Harrison. Charlo, who was making his fourth title defense since winning his belt against John Jackson in 2016, landed the more powerful shots down the stretch, and even had Harrison, in a bit of trouble in the tenth.
Each time Harrison found himself in danger, he weathered all storms and snuffed out subsequent attacks. In the end, credit Harrison fought an efficient, calculated, and discipline contest. The 28 year-old was not baited into wild exchanges with the more powerful Charlo and successfully countered him enough to steal rounds on judges cards.
The scorecards came as a surprise to those in the arena and on press row, however, as most saw the contest for Charlo and viewed the judge’s cards as an early Christmas gift for Harrison. 15rounds.com had the fight wide for Charlo, 117-111.
A Charlo win would have set up a potential mouthwatering unification clash with fellow junior middleweight titleist, Jarrett Hurd. Now, however, it seems more likely Charlo-Harrison II will appear on the 2019 PBC schedule.
“They took that fight from me. I was pressing the action. He didn’t win that fight,” a rightfully bitter Charlo said after the fight. “I’m going to get my belts back. I still want Jarrett Hurd.”
Harrison, who fought once before for a world title, losing via TKO to Hurd last February, also spoke after the fight.
“I dictated the pace. That’s what champions do,” he said. “He wound up for big shots and I kept my defense tight. All we worked on was defense. I kept my composure and I did what champions do.
He went on, “I got back to my corner after every round. They told me to just keep doing what you’re doing. You’re dictating the pace. I dictated the pace. That’s what champions do. Champions don’t just try to knock people out. That’s all he wanted to do. I dictated it. I used my jab. I dictated the fight. That’s what champions do.”
Breazeale Blasts Out Negron In 9th In Spectacular Fashion
Heavyweight Dominic “Trouble” Breazeale (20-1, 18KO) scored dramatic one-punch KO against Carlos Negron (20-2, 16KO) to kick off the nationally televised portion of Premier Boxing Championship’s night of fights on FOX.
The big boys brawled, as the 6’7” Breazeale and his 6’6” counterpart exchanged early and often. In the opening rounds, the Puerto Rican, Negron found success by firing crisp and impactful jabs that kept Breazeale at safe distance. Breazeale’s early successes came when he was able to work his way in past the jab to get off his own shots.
Action intensified as the third round came a close. Negron bullied Breazeale to the ropes, firing off shots just as the bell sounded ending the round. The big Puerto Rican threw a bonus one-two clearly after the bell sounded, however. Breazeale responded with an extremely late right of his own. The after-the-bell exchange earned both boxers a talking to from referee, Arthur Mercante, Jr.
Fireworks exploded again toward the end of the fourth neared, with Negron landing another one-two, only to have Breazeale, a former 2012 US Olympian, shoot a straight right down Broadway as the bell dinged, snapping Negron’s head and sending him staggering backward.
Breazeale kept his foot on the gas in the fifth, completely swinging the momentum in his favor. The following round was more of the same with Breazeale continually besting Negron, whose once effective jab was no longer being whipped forth with any zip. With no jab to deter him, Breazeale was able to get in range and unload time after time, slowly wearing Negron down.
In the ninth round, after stalking and battering Negron around the ring a bit more, the California-native Breazeale unleashed an overhand right that detonated on the left side of Negron’s head, awkwardly collapsing his body, which ultimately found itself on both knees with the chest partially through the ropes and the head sticking out of the ring. Mercante, Jr. didn’t need to issue a 10-count and immediately stopped the bout at the 1:23 mark of the 9th round.
Breazeale’s lone blemish on his record remains his 2016 KO loss to Anthony Joshua in London.
Negron’s only other career loss came in 2011 courtesy of Colombian heavyweight Epifanio Mendoza, who was then KO’d by Breazeale less than 3 years later.
On the punch that ended it, “I was setting up that right hand all night. Since the third round I noticed he dropped his left hand when he took a step to the left, and that’s what I got him with,” Breazeale said after the fight. “I landed the big shot.”
After the contest, Breazeale, who was fighting for the first time in 13 months, engaged in a “stare down” of sorts and exchanged words with WBC World Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder, who was sitting ringside.
“I’m next in line for Deontay Wilder, I’m coming for him,” Breazeale said added during his post-fight interview. “I’ve been waiting for him and I did what I had to do. I’m ready for him now.”
Presumably, if for some reason a rematch between Wilder and Tyson Fury doesn’t materialize, a Wilder-Breazeale fight could be the next, most realistic, and arguably easiest made bout.
Quarles Earns 10-Round UD Over Manuel
Brandon “Bulldog” Quarles (21-4-1, 10KO) outwilled and outlasted Todd Manuel (17-17-1, 5KO) earning a unanimous decision in a gritty ten round lightweight affair. It was a hard-fought battle that witnessed action of every variety — on the inside, the outside, and in all four corners of the ring. Both fighter’s had their share of success, while also finding themselves on the receiving end the other’s padded fist. For the most part, it was the 32 year-old Quarles who pressed the action, walking forward and letting his hands go. Manuel, who was coming off back to wins against opponents with a combined record of 13-10-2, tried to stick and move — dig in his feet, throw a few punches, and slide out of harm’s way. Unfortunately, that strategy wasn’t foolproof or all that effective and Quarles continued pressured was impactful enough to tip rounds in his favor. At the end of ten, all three judges scored in favor of Quarles, 98-92×2 and 97-93. The win makes it 8 in his last 9 for Quarles. His last defeat came in March 2017 via split decision against Tyrone Brunson in Philadelphia.
Barthelemy Wins Comeback Fight, Stops Frankel In 3
Former two division world champion, Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (27-1, 14KO) stopped hard-nosed veteran Robert Frankel (36-20-1 8KO), earning his first victory since suffering his lone defeat in March. The 32 year-old Cuban defectant, who now lives and fights out of Miami, outclassed his lightweight counterpart from the onset, peppering Frankel throughout the fight, and eluding most leather thrown his way. Eventually, midway through the third round, Barthelemy backed Frankel into a neutral corner and refused to let him out. Fists flew fast and furious as the slick former champion flurried shots to the body and head, forcing Frankel into a shell. At the 2:38 mark of the third round, referee Shada Murdaugh stepped between boxers and called a halt to the contest. The result gets Barthelemy back in the win column after dropping a close decision to Kiryl Relikh in March in a rematch of a fight won by Barthelemy in May 2017.
Duncan Makes Quick Work Of Cervera
Much like the night’s opening contest, Clarksburg, MD’s Mark Duncan (2-0, 2KO) needed less than one round to finish off his opponent, California’s Ray Cervera (0-4) in a middleweight contest originally scheduled for four rounds. Duncan, 31, overwhelmed Cervera from the opening bell, smothering him with shots, forcing his 27 year-old counterpart to take a knee about a minute into the contest. Referee Gary Rosato inaccurately ruled that Duncan hit Cervera below the belt and allowed Cervera time to recover. No matter to Duncan, however, as once the fight resumed, he picked up where he left off, and unloaded on Cervera again, finishing him off with a right to the body and a left to the chin. Rosato waived the fight off before finishing his ten count. The time of the stoppage was 1:52 of the first round.
Apochi Makes It 6KOs In First 6 Fights
Nigerian cruiserweight Efetobor Apochi (6-0, 6KO) needed only 2:26 to dispose of Eric Abraham (5-4, 2KO) in the opening contest of a night of fights from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center that will culminate when the Charlo twins, Jermell and Jermall, defend their titles later this evening on FOX. The 31 year-old Apochi, a former Nigerian amateur standout who now trains under the tutelage of Ronnie Shields in Texas, now sports a perfect 6-0 record, with all wins coming inside the distance.
