Undefeated rising Middleweight prospect Rob Brant
captured the vacant WBC Continental America’s Middleweight championship with a
hard-fought ten round majority decision over Louis Rose on Friday night at the Celebrity
Theater in Phoenix, AZ. The first half of this fight was dictated by Brant’s
ability to land a consistent jab and landing the cleaner more effective punches
overall.
As the fight progressed however, Rose was able to pick up
his pace and gain ground on the scorecards due to being the more active of the
two fighters. At the conclusion of what was a very competitive bout throughout the
official scoring was as follows. Judge Gonzalo Valenzuela scored the fight
95-95 a draw. This was overruled by Judges Craig Harmon and Derek Zazuetta who
each scored the fight 96-94 in favor of Brant.
Unofficially, I scored this fight the same as Judge Gonzalo
Valenzuela 95-95. This was a fight where you could make a justifiable argument
that each fighter was able to win half of the contest. Brant winning the first
half by landing the cleaner punches, Rose winning the second half by being the
more active of the two fighters.
It can be an interesting conundrum when fights are fought
like this one was to determine which fighter has an edge. In this case two of
three official judges scored the fight by a margin of 6-4 in rounds for Brant, likely
based on how effective he was in dictating the fight early on and generally
landing the cleaner punches. There was no doubt however, that Rose was able to
narrow the gap in the middle and late rounds.
Rob Brant advances to 18-0, with 11 Knockouts. Louis Rose
falls to 13-3-1, with 5 Knockouts.
Also on this card, undefeated Heavyweight prospect
Jarrell Miller scored a third round knockout over Akhror Muralimov. Muralimov was
able to have success in landing to the body of Miller and was also successful
in landing as the constantly pressuring Miller came forward. Miller however,
would bring the fight to a conclusion by landing a flush straight right hand to
the head of Muralimov that sent him down for the full count of ten. Official
time of the stoppage was 1:03 of round three.
Jarrell Miller advances to 15-0-1, with 13 Knockouts. Akhror
Muralimov falls to 16-2, with 13 Knockouts.
In the Light-Heavyweight division Samuel Clarkson scored
a devastating second round knockout over Lavarn Harvell. Clarkson was able to
score two knockdowns of Harvell in the first round both as a result of right
hands. Harvell was able to survive the round, but Clarkson would bring an end
to the contest early in the second round with a barrage of punches along the
ropes. Although Harvell was able to beat the count on unsteady legs, the fight
was stopped. Official time of stoppage was :48 of round two.
Samuel Clarkson advances to 17-3, with 11 Knockouts.
Lavarn Harvell falls to 15-2, with 8 Knockouts.
This card was in many ways what Boxing fans have come to
expect from Showtime Sports’ long-running ShoBox series. This series continues
to feature fighters that range from prospects to contenders and showcases
fighters at various stages in their development.
On this card fans were treated to two knockouts and an
extremely competitive Middleweight contest where two fighters Rob Brant and
Louis Rose may find themselves pitted against each other again at some point
down the line. Regardless of the outcome of that fight, both fighters are
likely to benefit in terms of the experience they gained which will likely
benefit them going forward.
As for Jarrell Miller with now four straight knockout
victories and being unbeaten in fifteen professional fights it will be
interesting to see how he progresses in the Heavyweight division. Although it
may be tempting to see Miller put in against a top twenty contender, it can be
a conundrum for those handling a fighter to decide when the time is right to
step up in class of opposition.
There have been fighters who were able to step up
successfully with as many or fewer fights than what Miller has currently. It is
important to remember however, that not every fighter who has a similar record
as Miller has been able to step up against fringe or legitimate contenders. We
will see how Miller continues to progress as a year 2016 approaches.
For Light-Heavyweight Samuel Clarkson he has seen his
career gain traction after suffering some setbacks early in his career.
Clarkson’s victory over Lavarn Harvell earned him his seventh straight win and
his fourth consecutive knockout. Clarkson is a fighter that if he continues to
win will certainly generate buzz and if he can continue to build momentum he could
become a player in the Light-Heavyweight division.
It is certainly clear that Brant, Rose, Miller, and
Clarkson have established themselves as fighters to watch in the future. It
will be interesting to see what the future holds for these four fighters.
“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”
The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau
Denison All Rights Reserved.
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