By Cliff Rold

29-year old Jr. Welterweight Chris Algieri (19-0, 8 KO) won his eighth in a row at the Paramount Theatre in his hometown of Huntington, New York, on Friday night with a skillful ten-round unanimous decision over 23-year old Emmanuel Taylor (17-2, 12 KO) of Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland.  There were no knockdowns in the bout but there were plenty of solid exchanges on a night where Algieri was too active and too quick to be denied. 

Each looked to establish their jab in the first, Taylor doing more of the pressing as Algieri worked around the ring and looked for spots for his right hand.  Action heated up as the second round progressed, a notable exchange in the final minute featuring hard uppercuts from both men.  Algieri mixed in a flurry of blows to go along with his to maintain control of the frame.

The next three rounds all saw Algieri continuing to throw flashier shots with Taylor incrementally increasing his presence in the fight.  In the fifth, Taylor had his best round, landing hard and often.  Algieri responded strong, coming back in combination and stuffing the left hand underneath to the body.

Taylor stayed at his steady pace in rounds six and seven, his timing of Algieri improving along with his offense.  Algieri’s responses were less explosive than they’d been in earlier rounds, Taylor getting through his high guard with right hands.

Round eight saw Algieri, the crowd loudly behind him, digging in for a big round.  Mixing it up from head to body and back again, Algieri blunted the effort of Taylor and drew blood from what appeared the nose of Taylor.

Algieri was affected in the final minute of the ninth with a left hand but his response was to punch back in a round he’d otherwise dominated.  Taylor could not find another left hand to improve his chances.

With one round remaining, Taylor looked to be behind and came out swinging like he knew it.  Algieri was sound defensively in the round and opened up down the stretch to keep Taylor honest and keep himself on track to stay undefeated.

The final scores sent the crowd home happy at 98-92 and 97-93 twice for Algieri.  Taylor loses for the second time in his last five fights.  Algieri takes another step towards contention.

Prior to the main event, there was an upset of sorts in the Jr. Welterweight division.

28-year old Jeremy Bryan (16-3, 7 KO), 141, of Paterson, New Jersey, scored a unanimous eight-round decision over 26-year old Burkina Faso native Issouf Kinda (16-2, 6 KO), 141, of the Bronx, New York.  The bout was filled with clinches and awkward exchanges but the dogged Bryan withstood some long right hands and outworked the taller man, slugging hard with his left.  A cut was opened under the right eye of Kinda in the third from an accidental clash of heads.  Bryan was elated when scores came in at 78-74 and 77-75 twice, dropping to his knees in joy at the announcement.

Bryan was stopped in two of his previous four bouts.  Kinda loses his second straight.  The referee was

The broadcast opened with a clash of fledgling Jr. Middleweights.

In a bout with no knockdowns, 21-year old Haitian Wendy Toussaint (4-0) of Huntington, New York, scored a majority decision over four rounds with another in an early career of decision verdicts over 23-year old Anthony Gangemi (4-2, 3 KO) of Mine Hill, New Jersey.  Toussaint was some four inches taller at 6’0.  Both men weighed in at 148 lbs.  The fight was tough to score with Gangemi largely pressing the action and Touissant working to stay at range and land pot shots.  One judge saw the bout ever at 38-38 but was overruled by twin scores of 39-37 for Toussaint.

The referee was Tony Chairantano.

The card was broadcast on ESPN2 as part of its “Friday Night Fights” series, promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing.

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com