DAZN’s first US card under Matchroom Boxing is in the books. In the end none the favorites lost, but not all went as planned.
It was a bit of a rough start for favored Jessie Vargas (28-2-1, 10 KOs). After an even first round, Thomas Dulorme (24-3-1, 16 KOs) lightly wobbled him with a shot at its end to take the round. Then the second round brought blood as an accidental headbutt opened a cut on Vargas. Dulorme also seemed to take the third on crisper shots, but the fourth marked a strong shift when Vargas landed several solid shots to hurt his Puerto Rican opponent. From there the fight was much more competitive. From rounds five through nine both men got quality work it with some consistency. I thought Vargas was generally edging most of the rounds, but it was all very competitive.
Jessie scored a major win in the tenth. He landed a stiff right hand in combination to drop Dulorme to a knee. It was a point perfect shot to score a hugely important 10-8 round. Thomas was able to come back with a solid eleventh, but he was a bit passive in the final round. Maybe he thought he had it in the bag. It seemed like a terrible decision at the time, but out of no where he salvaged the much needed points by scoring a right hand flash knockdown on Vargas in the final seconds. What a swing that was. Jessie popped up unhurt and laughing, but the scoring damage was done regardless.
All in all the main event was a good, close fight. I scored the fight a 113-113 draw. Official cards came back 116-111 for Vargas while a pair of 113-113 draws to match mine overruled it. The very last punch of the fight saved Thomas Dulorme from a loss.
The co-main event was a farce from the second it was booked. Tomasz Adamek (53-6, 31 KOs) was a good light heavyweight, a great cruiserweight, and a respectable heavyweight for a while, but at 41 he is well past his prime. The Pole is also a small heavyweight. To put him in against a 317 pound young man like Jarrell Miller (22-0-1, 18 KOs) at this stage in his career is match making designed with one result in mind. “Big Baby” Miller delivered on that promise in the second round of the fight with a few big shots to end it. It didn’t take much. He hurt Adamek a couple times in the first round too. Clearly Eddie Hearn is looking to match the American contender against his mega-star cash cow Anthony Joshua. There is no reason to be more or less excited for that matchup after this fight though.
I spent most of the first round impressed by Callum Johnson (17-1, 12 KOs) in the show’s second fight, but disaster struck by the end of it anyway. While the British challenger was able to land clean with some consistency on Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KOs), a strange sequenced ended up with him on the canvas before the first three minutes ended. Late in the round Johnson found himself with his head outside the ropes. The referee yelled stop giving the positioning, but as soon as Johnson’s head came back in Artur Beterbiev unleashed on it to put him down. It was an odd and unsatisfying moment, but nothing illegal happened. Johnson shockingly evened the score in the second round. A short left hook proved his power was for real as he staggered and dropped Artur Beterbiev. The Russian was seriously hurt too. In fact, I was left wondering if Johnson wasn’t giving the fight away by not pursuing the finish after and letting the round close.
He might have too. After a tense and competitive third round where both men landed excellent shots, heavily favored Artur Beterbiev finished the fight in the fourth. Callum was pressing the attack with Artur against the ropes, but a pair of right hands on the counter from Beterbiev collapsed his opponent to the ground. Callum Johnson rose and technically beat the count, but the fight was rightfully stopped. He wasn’t in good shape. Letting a technical killer like the Russian titleholder have a crack at him in that state would be wildly dangerous. Still, Callum Johnson has nothing to be ashamed of here. Even though a TKO4 for the titleholder was more or less the expected result, the route that got the two men there was anything but expected.
Danny Roman (26-2-1, 10 KOs) scored an impressive stoppage of Gavin McDonnell (20-2-2, 5 KOs) in the tenth round of the show’s opener. The fight was a solid scrap along the way. The first half of the fight was relatively competitive. Roman was largely kept in check by his challenger’s active jab and occasional effective hook. The champion was largely still winning the rounds, but they were competitive. This was less the case starting in round six. From there Danny seemed to adjust to his larger opponent. He was landing his clean, sharp combinations that have defined his recent fights. If Roman had power, he’d be a pound for pound elite with the crisp shots he’s able to surprise his opponents with. Surprise he did in the tenth too. It was a vicious right hand that landed on Gavin’s chin to begin the closing sequence. McDonnell was wobbled and the defending titleholder went on the attack. Soon after the British challenger collapsed under the weight of it all. He rose, but the referee didn’t like what he saw and the fight was stopped. This was another impressive defense for Danny Roman.
