By Jake Donovan
The co-feature and main event of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights at the Sommet Center in Nashville, TN couldn’t have been any more different, save for their endings, both resulting in debatable scoring.
In the end, it was undefeated crowd pleaser Harry Joe Yorgey taking a majority decision in the telecast’s opening bout, while Mexican southpaw Fernando Beltran Jr escaped his main event against Takalani Ndlovu with a split decision that didn’t go over well with the crowd.
Beltran controlled the real estate in the first two rounds, sliding around the ring to stay out of Ndlovu’s punching range. Every time Ndlovu would wind up for a shot, Beltran would immediately counter with a straight left from the southpaw stance.
Ndlovu found his range in the third, though Beltran was still there to score with straight lefts while working behind his jab. The tempo picked up in the fourth, but was slowed down after Beltran was twice warned for low blows. The Mexican didn’t let it faze him, continuing to dictate the tempo while occasionally touching Ndlovu to the body.
The life was completely sucked out of the arena by the fifth round, which served as an opportune time for Ndlovu to pick it up a notch. It would take until the end of the round for the South African to get going, landing a flush right hand with about 15 seconds left to momentarily turn the tide in his favor.
It carried over into the sixth round, with Ndlovu enjoying early success before the bout developed into a waltz. Ndlovu a warning for a low blow, but atoned for the foul with a late flurry to punctuate his best round of the fight to that point.
The game was tied through six as far as press row was concerned. The corner of Beltran must’ve sensed a similar feeling, as the southpaw came to life in round seven. Ndlovu spent much of the round fighting off of his back foot, with Beltran reestablishing his jab in walking his opponent into his corner.
Action picked up along the ropes midway through the round, but Beltran landed a left to the body before moving away and bringing the fight to center ring. Ndlovu was wide with the majority of his punches after the ten-second ticker, but a right hand found its way home, drawing a reaction from what was left of the crowd, which was pretty damn thin to begin with.
The wheels began to fall off of Beltran’s wagon in the eighth, as Ndlovu dictated the pace and repeatedly landed the cleaner blows. Beltran tried to pick it up in the ninth, but had very little snap on the few punches he landed. Ndlovu almost dared his foe to come inside, where he would counter him with crisp right hands upstairs.
Beltran came out for the tenth with a renewed sense of urgency, realizing that the fight was slipping away. Ndlovu was still landing the cleaner blows, though coming less frequently as Beltran let his hands go anytime action carried over to the ropes.
However, he would be dealt the mightiest of blows with a low blow of his own resulting in a point docked from his scorecard prior to the end of the round. He tried to make up the difference in the 11th, constantly outworking Ndlovu including a strong finish heading into the 12th and final round.
The feeling in press row was that Beltran needed at least a knockdown to avoid a loss. Ndlovu gave him no such opportunity, spending the entire round circling around the ring, catching the Mexican with sharp right hands anytime he attempted to work his way inside. Beltran was clearly the aggressor throughout the round, but it appeared to be too little, too late.
At least until the scorecards were read.
Ndlovu won 114-113 on one card, the same as most in press row. But his dreams were crushed when identical cards of 115-112 (2x) came in for Beltran, though to the dismay of the crowd, who booed the decision in minor protest.
Regardless of how the crowd or those in press row felt, the official verdict goes in as a split decision win for Beltran, who picks up his first win of 2008 along with a fringe featherweight title belt, He improves to 31-3-1 (18KO).
It’s a bittersweet verdict for Ndlovu, who falls to 28-5 (18KO) in suffering the second loss in his last three fights.
Harry Joe Yorgey overcame a ten-month layoff and a slow start to outwork Jason LeHoullier en route to a majority decision in a co-feature battle of previously unbeaten junior middleweights.
LeHoullier came out as the aggressor to start the bout, working his way inside behind a jab and following it up with right hands. Yorgey, fighting for the first time in ten months, looked tight, his punches lacking fluidity while LeHoullier continued to outwork him.
Realizing he gave away the first, Yorgey was far more purposeful in the second, tightening up his defense and cracking LeHoullier with uppercuts on the inside. A spirited two-way exchange at the end of the round earned a rousing applause from the sparse but rabid crowd.
The momentum carried over in the third and fourth rounds. Yorgey was equally effective to the head and body, drawing a rise out of the crowd anytime he’d land, or even come close. Upwards of 100 of his hometown fans made the trek from Pennsylvania, in effect making Yorgey the makeshift home crowd favorite.
LeHoullier turned the tide in the fifth and carried over into the sixth, easily his best round of the fight since the opening frame. Yorgey took a right hand along the ropes and was also getting tagged to the body with LeHoullier’s left hook. Despite losing the round, Yorgey finished strong, landing to the body along with a flurry of punches.
Action slowed in the seventh, though the two remained at close quarters. Both fighters had success on the inside, though Yorgey was the faster and flashier of the two, particularly effective with a double left hook downstairs and up. If there was any doubt as to who won the round, Yorgey removed all doubt at the ten second mark, rocking LeHoullier then punishing him along the ropes until the bell.
Yorgey played keep away for much of the eighth, shooting his jab from the outside while successfully avoiding most the incoming with lateral movement. It was more of the same in the ninth, only with Yorgey a little more content to remain in the pocket, landing uppercuts and left hooks while LeHoullier had little to offer in response.
There wasn’t much to choose from in the 10th and 11th rounds, though Yorgey ended the latter with a shoeshine that for all intent and purposes took the fight off of the table.
With that gained momentum he came flying off of his stool to start the 12th and final round, landing a series of right hands that rocked LeHoullier. The crowd rose to its feet in anticipation of a possible stoppage or at least a knockdown, but neither occurred. LeHoullier braved the storm and came back with a left hook of his own late in the round. Yorgey took a stutter step backwards, but regained his senses enough to land a straight right.
The fight ended with both fighters throwing along the ropes, though chants of “Harry Joe” clearly indicated where laid the crowd’s allegiance.
In the end, the judges gave the crowd what they wanted – or at least two of the three. Judge Valerie Dorsett was in a charitable mood, finding six rounds to score for LeHoullier in turning in a 114-114 card. Common sense prevailed in the scorecards of David Hudson (117-111, same as BoxingScene) and the third judge's card of 116-112, giving Yorgey a well-earned majority decision.
The win ends a ten-month layoff and a sea of legal battles in 2008, to which Yorgey expressed relief and joy.
“I’m just glad to put it all behind me,” said Yorgey, now 21-0-1 (9KO), though he thought a new batch of problems would arise after hearing the first score.
“When they said 114-114, I was like “Oh Lord, please don’t do this. Fortunately the other two judges saw it like I did. I’m ready to move forward now.
“This was my first fight with new promoter Banner Promotions; I’m looking for at least two more fights before challenging for a world title.”
LeHoullier will be looking for a comeback fight, though was in a bit of denial over the final outcome. “I won the fight, no question,” insisted the Portland, Maine product who suffers his first loss in falling to 21-1-1 (8KO).
The show was presented by Banner Promotions and Golden Gloves Promotions.
The off-TV report can be found by going to the following link:
https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15534
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com
