CARSON, CALIFORNIA — Returning from an eleven month layoff, former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver failed to muster up enough offense to claim victory over a still raw cruiserweight contender in Lateef Kayode at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night.
Excluding Tarver’s lone foray into the heavyweight division, Kayode (18-0-1, 14 KOs) of Hollywood, California by way of Lagos, Nigeria presented the largest and strongest opponent the veteran had met in his career. However, one might think it was a challenge a younger Tarver (29-6-1, 20 KOs) of Tampa, Florida would have surpassed.
Tarver, 198, started out tentatively as he refused to let his hands go at all in the opening rounds. Kayode, 199, put those rounds in the bank based on output alone as none of his shots did any damage.
Tarver, the WBO #6/IBF #10/WBC #12 ranked cruiserweight, came out of his shell in the third, as he loaded up and landed a left uppercut. Kayode took the blow well, but Tarver came back to land a straight left, punctuating the round.
Again the WBA #2/WBO #8/IBF #9 ranked Kayode took the fourth and fifth rounds on his output, but the Nigerian did not hurt Tarver with anything as the former champion seemed to put his offense in his pocket.
Tarver sprung back into action in the sixth, as a short left counter for Tarver made Kayode’s legs stumble back. Another left counter for Tarver landed clean in the follow-up, but Kayode did land one back late in the round. Tarver decided to let go with a nothing shot after the bell, which prompted Kayode to go after him for a second before referee Wayne Hedgepeth separated them.
Kayode strangely implemented some shuffling footwork to start the seventh. Tarver began landing left hand counters with great regularity as the round continued. One short left in particular rocked Kayode back. The Nigerian came back with some body blows while Tarver covered up before the bell.
Tarver went back to his left hand in the eighth, landing it mainly as a lead rather than a counter. Tarver landed another straight left that seemingly had Kayode briefly in trouble. Kayode did come back late in the round with a cracking right that may have broken through the guard.
Kayode slapped at Tarver’s body to start the tenth. Tarver retorted with a light-hitting flurry after a Kayode fall was ruled a slip. The final two rounds lacked action, as neither fighter acted as though the fight was on the line. Kayode especially went into run mode to start the twelfth. In the end, one judge had it 115-113 for Tarver. Another judge had it 115-113 the other way. The third judge forced the draw with a 114-114 tally.
“Everybody knows I won this fight,” proclaimed Kayode after the fight. “He won because he works for Showtime. Let’s go to HBO or my country and fight again.” Tarver was even more adamant that he won, “I beat the guy all night. I dictated every round. I landed clean shots and he was sloppy and slapped all night.” Hinting that he may have underestimated Kayode, Tarver said, “Maybe I fought down to his level, but I don’t know.”
In the co-main event, middleweight contender Peter Quillin (27-0, 20 KOs) of Hollywood, California may have booked himself a crack at the 160-pound title with a clear-cut ten-round decision over light middleweight champion Winky Wright (51-6-1, 25 KOs) of Saint Petersburg, Florida.
After a throw away first round, Wright continued to block most of Quillin’s leads and follow-ups in the second round. Towards the end of the round, Quillin backed into a corner, which enabled a conservative Wright to land one or two clean blows.
Wright, 159, had his moments in the third round as well, landing left hand leads. Quillin, 159.6, still struggled to get off as the round came to a close. Quillin, the WBA #5/WBO #7 ranked middleweight, walked into a stiff jab early in the fourth. However, by the end of the round Quillin began to land, mostly with the second or third punches of his combinations.
Early in the fifth, a straight left landed for Winky to set up combination with Quillin in the ropes. Quillin fired back as Wright gave ground an dropped the former champ with a right hand. Outside of a strong ninth for Wright, the fight was Quillin’s the rest of the way. Late in the eighth Quillin hurt Wright with a right uppercut, as the Floridian’s vaunted defense struggled to protect against a strong middleweight.
Wright came out throwing to start the ninth and outworked Quillin to sweep the round with the judges. But it was far too late to think about taking a decision, and Wright never did have the power to pull out a fight late, especially at 160-pounds. Quillin, who appeared to be holding back on his right, which he had fractured late last year, stil managed to land over the top of Wright’s jab over and over.
In the end, all three judges gave the fight to Quillin by the deservedly wide scores of 97-92 and 98-91 twice. The win could make Quillin a marketable option for the most recognized middleweight Sergio Martinez if his team feels he is ready for such a fight. Obviously after a three-year layoff, the loss puts Wright’s career in doubt. “I think I need to be at 154 if I fight again,” admitted Wright after the fight.
In defense of his WBA 154-pound title, Austin Trout (25-0, 14 KOs) of Las Cruces, New Mexico boxed his way to a somewhat lackluster twelve-round decision over WBA #3 ranked light middleweight Delvin Rodriguez (26-6-3, 14 KOs) of Danbury, Connecticut by way of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.
After a feeling out round, Rodriguez, 151, had one of his better rounds in the second as he landed the only telling blow. Trout, 152.8, settled in and found his range by round four, as Rodriguez struggled to find his way around the jab and long reach of the champion.
Trout continued to peck away at Rodriguez from the outside in the fifth and sixth. Finally in the seventh, Rodriguez found his way in, but Trout proved to be an elusive target with his upper body and head movement. After avoiding Rodriguez’ shots upstairs, Trout would get back out at range.
Rodriguez found a bit of success as he stepped with Trout to land some of his better shots in the ninth. However, without going back downstairs, Rodriguez allowed Trout out of danger. Trout unloaded more of his arsenal in the tenth with a quick combination followed by a straight left that snapped Rodriguez’ head back.
Unfortunately for the fans watching ringside and on television, both fighters saved their best for the last 30 seconds of the fight. The first big exchange was won by Trout with a hard right hook. Another good exchange closed the fight which ended with a chorus of boos. Scores read 117-111, 118-110 and 120-108 for Trout.
Despite controlling the majority of the fight, Trout did little to endear himself to the mostly Hispanic crowd on hand. With Mexican star Saul Alvarez seated ringside and on the hunt for a September opponent, it was the Hispanic audience that Trout needed make an impression on in order to make that fight a financial possibility.
With a near perfect performance, Leo Santa Cruz (20-0-1, 11 KOs) of Lincoln Heights, California by way of Huetamo, Michoacan de Ocampo, Mexico claimed the IBF Bantamweight title recently vacated by Abner Mares with a near shutout over a game but outgunned Vusi Malinga (20-4-1, 12 KOs) of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
What turned out to be a fairly one-sided contest actually began with some entertaining and competitive rounds. Both Santa Cruz, 117, and Malinga, 117, had their moments in the first three rounds.
Santa Cruz, the IBF #4/WBO #14 ranked bantamweight, appeared to have a clear edge in power over the IBF #1 ranked Malinga while the two landed punch-for-punch to open the fight. The battle was fought on the inside for the majority of the early rounds, which both fighters seemed to welcome.
Santa Cruz continued to place hard shots effectively while maintaining a solid defensive guard against Malinga’s counters in the fourth. Most effectively, Santa Cruz’ left to the body began to slow down Malinga’s offense.
As the rounds progressed, Malinga continued to have problems getting around the Winky-like guard of Santa Cruz. With the sting and velocity out of Malinga’s punches, Santa Cruz began to unload with four and five-punch combinations by the middle of the fight.
Midway through the eighth, Santa Cruz’ unrelenting body attack forced Malinga to pause for thought and perhaps make him think twice about his dedication to the bout. Further evidence of such was Malinga’s late exit from his stool to start the ninth.
After concentrating almost solely on Malinga’s body, Santa Cruz opted to mix in some head shots late in the fight. The stubborn Malinga continued to be a willing foe despite the punishment. No one will ever accuse Malinga of being quitter, as the South African stood his ground until the final bell, firing back everything he had. Too bad for him he ran into an emerging bantamweight star in Santa Cruz. Scores read 119-109 and 120-108 twice for the new IBF 118-pound champion Santa Cruz.
Former super middleweight title challenger Sakio Bika put himself back on the map with a tenth-round stoppage of streaking Dyah Davis (21-3-1, 9 KOs) of Coconut Creek, Florida to claim two regional titles.
Bika (30-5-2, 21 KOs) of Los Angeles by way of Douala, Cameroon controlled the bout at the outset, landing clubbing blows and utilizing his usual roughhouse style. Davis, 167.6, finally landed one clean blow to end the round, but Bika, 166.6, followed back with a clean overhand right that may have hurt the son of Howard Davis Jr.
The WBC #16 ranked super middleweight Bika continued to time his wild right hands to great effect in the second. Davis, WBC #4/WBA #10/IBF #11 ranked 168-pounder, tried to box more, but had trouble avoiding Bika’s long arms and wide swings.
Davis began to show the signs of Bika’s punishment as the Cameroonian pounded away at him to close round five. Even when he missed, Bika managed to hurt Davis with his left hand while falling inside.
After his best round in the ninth, Davis’ fortune reverted back to form as he as cut from an apparent Bika right hand. Bika seemed to be gathering himself for a second wind, as he shut his output down for the most of the three minutes.
Rejuvenated to start the tenth, Bika quickly pressured Davis into a corner before uncorking a huge overhand right that began problems anew for Davis. Bika continued to swing away and landed another right that almost dropped Davis. Finally after chasing Davis across the ring to another corner, Bika flurried for a stoppage at 1:40 of the tenth and final round.
With the win, Bika claimed Davis’ NABF Super Middleweight title as well as the vacant WBO Intercontinental Super Middleweight belt, which almost guarantee him top ten rankings with the WBC and WBO.
In the last fight before the televised portion of the show, lightweight prospect Sharif Bogere (23-0, 15 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada impressively dismantled Manuel Leyva (21-7, 12 KOs) of Downey, California by way of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico inside of two rounds.
Bogere, 137.2, dropped Leyva, 137.4, with a straight right on the inside late in the first. Leyva moved just enough to avoid a first-round stoppage, but all he did was delay the inevitable. In the opening moments of the second, Bogere dropped Leyva again, this time with a left hook. Leyva gamely rose, but found himself against the ropes on the receiving end of a Bogere flurry. With referee Zac Young looking in, Bogere landed a clean uppercut that prompted a stoppage at 38 seconds of the second.
To no great surprise, Omar Figueroa (17-0-1, 14 KOs) of Weslaco, Texas made short work of career opponent Tyler Ziolkowski (14-16, 8 KOs) of Saint Joseph, Missouri in the second fight of the evening. The Golden Boy promoted-Figueroa, 138.4, ended matters with his first clean shot, a left hook to the body. Ziolkowski, 137.6, writhed in pain on the mat as referee Thomas Taylor counted him out at 2:00 of round one.
In the opener for tonight’s marathon card, Juan Reynoso (1-0) of Tampa, Florida hammered out a four-round unanimous decision in his pro debut over game Beau Hamilton (0-2) of Montague, California. Reynoso, 153.2, promoted by Antonio Tarver’s A.T. Entertainment, was clearly the better schooled and conditioned fighter. Hamilton, 154, was never in any trouble, but failed to land anything telling in the twelve minutes. Scores read 39-37 and 40-36 twice for Reynoso.
Photos by Esther Lin/Showtime
Aldwayne Simpson contributed to this report.
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com
