By Cliff Rold
And then there were four.
After weeks of competition, the Contender weeds its way down to four fighters. Those men make up the…
Semifinal Round:
Troy Ross (19-1, 14 KO) vs. Akinyemi Laleye (12-1, 6 KO)
and
Rico Hoye (22-2, 15 KO) vs. Ehinomen Ehikhamenor (14-3, 7 KO)
Cue the Contender music….
Episode Eleven Recap
We start with Danza doing his Danza charm, inviting the ‘fellas’ out on to a boat for some fun in the sun. They leap off into the great blue while Danza catches rays and waxes philosophical. Then we get a conversation against a sky full of, one supposes, setting sun. The final four reflect on the memories of their competitors. It is reminiscent of the closing moments of Lonesome Dove, with Danza in for Tommy Lee Jones.
“Hell of a vision.”
We digress.
As the competitors break bread, the voice of Ross takes us out to the first commercial break. “In order to be the best, we have to face the best and the best is right in front of us. It’s each other.”
A darkening sky brings us back from the break and low horns indicate the first bell of the first fight looms. “It’s not just warfare. It’s guerilla warfare.” Coach John Bray tells Laleye. Tommy Brooks advises Ross he should get Laleye out of there in three or four rounds. There isn’t much beating around the bush before both men are at center ring.
clang
Round One
Ross, the southpaw, comes out with hands high but eats the early leather. Laleye lands a lead left, then another and a right to the body while Ross misses an overhand lead right. Ross lands a hard left lead to the gut and a couple of lead right hooks just slide off mark. Laleye gets caught leaning and takes a counter left. A tussle along the ropes sees each land some short digs to the ribs.
Between rounds, Brooks advises Ross he’s not using his jab and that he’s “waiting on (Laleye) to make a mistake. You force him to make the mistake.” Bray gives similar advice. “Make him come get it.”
Round Two
Laleye comes out with the double jab but takes a left and then right. Ross works the body with hard hooks and then become coming upstairs with left hooks as Brooks screams ‘under and over.’ Down the stretch of what portions of the round are shown, Ross stays in front, out landing Laleye.
Brooks tells Ross he has him winning the first two rounds.
Round Three
Bray hollers at Laleye to use his “boxing skills.” Ross continues to work the body but finds a right and left blocked upstairs as Laleye takes a step back and pounds his chest in defiance before shooting a jab and straight right. It is a lone highlight as Ross’s body work leads to a left and right uppercut through the guard and intelligent tying up of Laleye when they get too close.
In the corner between rounds (and before commercial) Bray advises Laleye, “Stay on the inside with this guy. You’re outworking him. Keep punching to the body though. He’s tired. He’s spent baby. He’s yours.”
Back from ad buts it’s…
Round Four
Ross lands another long lead left to the body before rifling off some hooks. Laleye crowds and they go rough and close quarters. Brooks yells “Straight 1-2,” and Ross lands just that classic combo to knock Laleye back on his heels once, then again. A double lead left and some lean put Laleye on the ropes where he lands an effective counter right but stays pinned down. Two more lefts land for Laleye to keep him alive heading into the final frame.
Bray pushes his charge to continue to whack away, falling just short of telling him to go for the knockout. Brooks is calm, recognizing where Laleye’s chances lie. “He’s gonna’ fight you this round. The kid got a big heart man. He’s gonna’ fight you this round. So keep your hands up and don’t get hit with nothin’ stupid.”
Round Five
Ross starts with a lead right to the body, a quick step back, and then a left hook to the head, buckling Laleye’s knees. Laleye ties up and fires two to the body as Ross pushes him back with the shoulder. Broken by the ref, Ross counters a lead right with a right-left and moves away. A lead left uppercut from Ross lifts Laleye’s head to the lights. Down the stretch, both are loading up and the crowd is on its feet as both go to war. It’s Ross landing more and Laleye pounding his chest again as Ross laces him with simple 1-2 combinations. The bell rings.
There is no doubt.
Ross moves to the finale at 50-45 across the board, and lifts Laleye off the ground in a show of respect. “I knew that AK would be one of the toughest competitions in this tournament but I felt I performed really good and to the best of my ability,” stated Ross in response to victory.
“It feels kinda’ good coming all the way to the semi-finals but I felt I could have done better,” Laleye reflected as the camera displayed him screaming in anguish on the walk back to the showers. Danza stops by for a pep talk and Laleye speaks with dignity.
“You have to win with grace and lose with grace.”
Laleye makes his way to the exit, hanging his gloves alongside the other’s representing the tournament defeated and just like that, we’re out to another commercial with one semi-final to go.
The ring walks are quickly worked through and the traditional mid-ring meeting and staredown leads to the opening bell.
clang
Round One
Hoye is patient, stalking forward with stiff jabs while Ehikhamenor fires hard hooks off of pawing lead sticks. Inside, Hoye works short hooks but Ehikhamenor is landing the harder shots with lefts hooks and a straight right. As the round wears on, Hoye slips more and more shots while still landing between the wide offense of Ehikhamenor.
Bray tells Hoye between rounds, “Don’t make this a hard fight. You’re falling in on him. Keep him at the end of the jab.” Brooks offers his own exhortations to Ehikhamenor after telling his fighter he had the first even. “When you’re throwing more than one shot, you’re doing well but you’re waiting on him…Look, he’s got a brand new baby coming. That ain’t got nothing to do with you. Go get his ass.”
Round Two
Hoye remains the more relaxed fighter, perhaps too relaxed as he takes leather in the form of a body shot, light left hook upstairs, and hard right hand. They trade jabs until Hoye relaxes too much again and Ehikhamenor fires a right over Hoye’s too low left. Another right lands for Ehikhamenor and then another but he misses high inside and Hoye makes him pay with a couple blows to the belly. Hoye rides a right near the ropes and works off with a short uppercut and two rights over the top, forcing a retreat from Ehikhamenor. Hoye comes forward with a 1-2 and Ehikhamenor ties him up. Ehikhamenor take a step back and charges with a right, sweat bursting from Hoye’s head. Hoye misses a right at the bell.
Bray is animated when Hoye returns. “He’s looking to land that f(bleep) right hand on you…you want to keep this guy right at the end of the jab.” Brooks praises Ehikhamenor. “That was a much better round that round. You gotta’ let your hands go though man. When you let em’ go, what’d you do? You rocked him.”
Round Three
Ehikhamenor begins leaning back on his right foot, waiting for Hoye to come into range for counter rights. Anxious, he lets loose a wild right and left, missing both, and then stepping back with a smirk for his error. Ehikhamenor misses another right but clips Hoye with a sweeping left to finish. Hoye eats yet another right but feints with the jab and crashes home with a short, hard right. He slaps in some short hooks before the bell.
Danza comments that it’s almost like Hoye “can’t pull the trigger” while Brooks notes he had Ehikhamenor winning the round. Bray softens in the corner but his advice remains the same.
Round Four
Ehikhamenor slips a slow left jab and counters with a left hook and wide right before stepping out to his left. Both land rights in exchange and Ehikhamenor lets loose with abandon as Hoye stands along the ropes. Hoye turns Ehikhamenor’s back to the strands but still is outworked and steps back to mid-ring. Hoye triples the jab and Ehikhamenor slides away only to throw the right full flush to the chin over yet another low Hoye left hand. Another right lands but then Hoye shows life again with a short right as Ehikhamenor comes in wide at the bell.
Ross, watching at ringside, says the obvious of Hoye. “He’s gotta’ knock him out.” Bray tells Hoye Ehikhamenor is looking for the right hand and advises him to set up his man with left hooks. Brooks tells Ehikhamenor much the same thing he told Ross heading into the fatal fifth. “Don’t get hit with nothin’ stupid.”
Round Five
Ehikhamenor scowls at Hoye and then takes a touching left jab and straight right. Hoye misses a long right but catches Ehikhamenor with a right hook after taking another right to his own dome. Ehikhamenor mixes in a stiff right uppercut but misses a follow-up left hook. Hoye continues to land wining short blows inside and, then, something big is alluded to because the music octaves drop and slow motion sets in…
We hear the crowd chanting “Rico, Rico” for dramatic build.
Ehikhamenor just lands another right hand lead.
Bell.
As was the case in the first bout, the victor is in little doubt. At 50-45, 48-47, 49-46, Ehikhamenor is the winner by unanimous decision. “He did his best. I did my best. I just got the decision.” Ehikhamenor says calmly in review.
Hoye makes the long walk to the back. “I wasn’t able to pull the trigger. The shots were there. I just couldn’t get them off as fast as I would have liked to. I’m disappointed in my performance tonight.”
Hoye takes a broader view than just the fight, shown sitting in the locker room and reading the good book. “God doesn’t make mistake. Although sometimes we have plans and we have desires and dreams, they don’t always fall into his plans and desires for us. All we can do is remain faithful.”
Now fans can look forward to one of the tournament’s more intriguing finals of the last four years.
Ross.
Ehikhamenor.
Next week, live, there can be only one.
Episode Eleven Rating: 9 out of 10
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
