This week’s Friday Night Fights main event at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California was a surprisingly lively clash that saw Russia’s Rustam Nugaev (23-6-1, 13 KOs) pull off the upset by stopping Peru’s Jonathan Maicelo (19-1, 11 KOs) in the eight round of a scheduled ten round lightweight clash.
Nugaev opened the bout in full pursuit, coming forward and applying the kind of pressure the previously undefeated Maicelo had yet to experience.
Despite being clearly uncomfortable with the pressure being applied, Maicelo had his moments and managed to keep the fight fairly even right up until the one-punch end of the bout. In the end, it was Maicelo’s inexperience that did him in and allowed for the defensive lapses Nugaev needed to score several solid counters and, ultimately, the fight-ending counter-right hand.
Nugaev is not known for his power, but he made the most of every opportunity given to him and ended the contest with a perfectly-timed counter right hand in the eight round as Maicelo stood on the inside, slow to pull the trigger on the punch he wanted to throw.
The co-feature saw another upset take place as Gabriel Tolmajyan (14-2-1, 3 KOs) took a solid eight-round decision from favored 23-year-old lightweight prospect, Jorge Maysonet Jr. (11-1, 10 KOs).
Once Tolmajyan weathered the two-round storm dealt by the heavy-handed Puerto Rican prospect, it was smooth sailing for the Armenian southpaw. Maysonet, who has relied exclusively on his power to win bouts, had no answers for the puzzle presented by an opponent who wouldn’t fall to an early barrage of crudely-thrown punches. By the later rounds, the young fighter looked deflated and utterly clueless about what to do. Despite the hype surrounding him, it became obvious that Maysonet has a lot of work to do before trying to step up in class again.
Tolmajyan, on the other hand, looked like a consummate professional and dealt with Maysonet’s early offensive surge with surprising ease.
A flash knockdown of Maysonet in the first round, which looked to be at least partially caused by a headbutt, would turn out to have no effect on the outcome of the bout. At the end of eight rounds, the judges would hand in scores of 80-71, 80-71, and 77-75– all in favor of Tolmajyan. The Boxing Tribune scored the bout 78-73, also in favor of Tolmajyan.
In the four-round time-filler, lightweight Alejandro Luna (13-0, 9 KOs) would win a one-sided, but entertaining four-rounder against Mario Hermosillo (11-10-3, 2 KOs) by three scores of 40-36.
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