Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Juan Francisco Estrada put on a compelling fight in tonight’s HBO main event. After twelve hard fought and highly entertaining rounds, Sor Rungvisai narrowly won the decision. McWilliams Arroyo also upset Carlos Cuadras in a terrific co-main event while Donnie Nietes plied his trade with a seventh round stoppage of Juan Carlos Reveco. Superfly II delivered.
Juan Francisco Estrada (36-3, 25 KOs) followed a good first round with an absolutely dynamic second round against Thai titleholder Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (45-4-1, 40 KOs). His right hand was on line and lightning quick, reducing the Chocolatito conqueror to a helpless plodder for three minutes. That didn’t hold in the third, however, as Sor Rungvisai responded well by upping his intensity and punch count. He was still reckless at times, but it was clear his power and excellent body work were a concern for Estrada in the third.
Srisaket kept the momentum going in the fourth, Again, the round was highly competitive, but the defending titleholder’s pressure was really working for him by the end of the round. The fifth was particularly exciting with Sor Rungvisai coming forward intensely while Estrada did his best to counter. The Mexican challenger did well countering big in moments too, but he was having difficultly fighting the tide and had lost three straight rounds on my card. The action settled down a bit in the sixth, but the Srisaket continued round winning ways behind powerful left hands.
If the hope for Juan Francisco Estrada was that he’d bring a second half rally like he did against Carlos Cuadras in September, it didn’t start in the seventh. The eighth, however, was a different story. After a reaming from his corner about him being down in the fight, Estrada came out aggressive and sharp in eighth round. He ripped beautiful, clean right hands and did eat much at all in return. His rally continued with head snapping shots in the ninth. Unfortunately for him on my card at least, I had him down 6-3 after nine meaning he could only get a draw at best without an improbable knockdown.
The tenth and eleventh rounds were very tight with Sor Rungvisai getting back in the fight early in the frames. Estrada kept roaring back with a strong finishes, however. I still thought the defending titleholder got his first real clear round in a while though in the eleventh. The twelfth and final round was absolutely brilliant. Juan Francisco Estrada must have believed he needed something big as he came out and absolutely warred with his dangerous, power punching opponent. His sharper work clearly carried the round too.
I scored the fight 115-113 for Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. HBO had it 116-112 for the same man. The official judges scored it 114-114, 115-113, and 117-111 with the two determining cards coming back for the defending titleholder. The crowd booed, but they were firmly in Estrada’s camp all night. These were good scorecards.
In the night’s co-main event, Carlos Cuadras (36-3-1, 27 KOs) and McWilliams Arroyo (17-3, 14 KOs) opened up two pretty brilliant rounds of boxing. The Puerto Rican dominated the first and clearly bothered his Mexican foe. Not to be outdone, Cuadras hurt Arroyo towards the end of a close second round with a huge shot of his own. The fight settled down a little for a couple rounds, but the fifth brought the war back in a big way. Both men landed great shots, but I thought McWilliams really punctuated it well and I had him up a round at the half way point.
The second half of the fight was also excellent. Harold Lederman was giving rounds to Carlos Cuadras, but I was giving the majority to McWilliams Arroyo. Scores on social media were all over the place too. Us as fans were clear winners, at least. Of note, Arroyo lit Cuadras up in the very important tenth and final round of an extremely competitive fight. You wouldn’t know it listening to the HBO team, but he did.
I scored the fight 97-93 Arroyo. HBO’s Harold Lederman scored it 95-95 even. The official scores came back 95-95 even two cards for McWilliams Arroyo at 98-92 and 97-93 giving him the majority decision win. I have no issue with any of those cards.
Donnie Nietes (41-1-3, 24 KOs) put on a masterclass performance in the opener. He spent the first four rounds casually picking off Juan Carlos Reveco’s (39-4, 19 KOs) offense while peppering back with his own. Reveco would get in a good body shot once or twice a round, but virtually all the solid connects came from the Filipino. The fifth round saw the pace pick up a little but, but the IBF flyweight titleholder still controlled it. Reveco came out determined to change his fate in the sixth. By the end of the round, he would have sealed it instead. Still, he did his best work with his increased intensity.
Unfortunately for the Argentinian, he ate a big left hand right at the closing bell. After staggering back to his corner, there was a small amount of debate in between rounds on whether or not Reveco should be allowed to continue. He was, but probably shouldn’t have been. Donnie Nietes quickly pressed his advantage and put him down. At this point, the fight was finally stopped.
I can’t wait for Superfly III.
