By Cliff Rold
It wasn’t easy but 30-year old 2004 Uzbekistan Olympian Sherzod Husanov (15-0, 7 KO) survived ten rounds of nasty warfare with 25-year old Jhon Berrio (15-7, 11 KO) of Monteria, Colombia in the Jr. Middleweight division on Friday night at the Northern Quest Casino in Spokane, Washington, escaping with a majority decision which, while it probably should have been unanimous, was a credit to the game Berrio.
Husanov came into the bout just under the 154 lb. Jr. Middleweight limit at 153 ½, Berrio is a couple pounds over at 156.
Husanov began with a left jab, Berrio responding with a hard if blocked combination. Husanov countered a Berrio body shot with a sharp left hook and a crowd pleasing right near the ropes followed moments later. A right at mid-ring sliced through the guard of Berrio and Berrio spent ample time in the second half of the round with his back near the ropes. It didn’t seem to bother the Colombian, his face calm as he looked for space to land his measure of leather.
Husanov, finding Berrio an inviting target, got wild in the first minute of the second, digging to the body and opening with combinations while Berrio looked for chances to land between Husanov’s spurts. A Berrio right hand in the final thirty seconds got Husanov’s attention and the Uzbeki slammed a right in response.
The intense action picked up even more in the third, Berrio digging to the body and both men landing hard to the head. Barrio ate hard rights and lefts and plunged ahead, swinging for the fences with no regard for Husanov’s power. While being slightly outlanded, Berrio was keeping pace by nearly doubling the output of Husanov and stayed determined in the fourth, using the refinement of Husanov against and luring him into brawling. The fourth closed with each man teeing off to the face of their opponent to the delight of the paying masses.
Berrio exploded with three blows to start the fifth, all evilly intended if not quite on the mark. Husanov wisely covered up and stayed with his jab, doing his best to exert his pedigree as he circled the ring. Free-wheeling offense didn’t take long to return, Berrio’s by design and Husanov’s by circumstance. The grueling battle continued into the sixth with both men trading left hooks early and Berrio was able to club his man in close; the tide seemed to favor him even if the cost Husanov exacted remained high with accurate, flush counters to the pressure of Berrio.
Issues of tide were lost in rounds seven and eight as Berrio could still find no answer for the simplest to score item in the fight: Husanov couldn’t miss and his punches were clean and cleanly whipping the head of Berrio, a right late in the eighth even sending an off balance Berrio across the ring.
With two rounds to go, it was Berrio with a hard right hand in the opening of the ninth and then a left hook seconds later to stun Husanov. Bulled along the ropes, Husanov ate harsh left to the body and head before spinning his man and firing at Berrio. Both men worked back to mid-ring and, exhausted, took turns wind milling arm shots at each other before taking a quick breather. His feet planted, Husanov snapped a right to the face of Berrio and closed with a jarring left hook.
Moving and jabbing, Husanov began the final round boxing but didn’t have the legs to keep from the trenches long. Berrio had him on the ropes and stayed to the flanks, Husanov answering to the body in combination before, again, turning Berrio with crisp head shots. Berrio reached to hold after tasting some right hands with about a minute to go but Husanov wiggled and threw his left hook, not letting himself be clinched. Husanov managed one last flurry in the closing seconds after a gentleman’s clinch allowed both men a respite, victory sealed at scores of 98-92 and 96-94 with a dissenting card seeing the action even at 95-95.
The referee was Robert Howard. Husanov is currently rated #9 at Jr. Middleweight by the WBO. Husanov is clearly a few fights away from testing that organizations long reigning beltholder, veteran Sergiy Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 KO), but he’ll be worth watching as he gets there if Friday was any indication.
In a Heavyweight swing bout, 26-year old 2006 U.S. Amateur Champion Jonte Willis (7-0, 3 KO), 214 ½, of Tacoma, Washington posted a sometimes sluggish win over 29-year old opponent Leo Bercier (8-13-1, 4 KO), 210 ¾, of Great Falls, Montana. The four round affair was highlighted by a third round knockdown of Bercier, a Willis right uppercut and right cross dropping Bercier in the final thirty seconds. Bercier rose to survive the round, and the fight, even landing a string of blows at the close of the final round to give himself something to smile about in defeat. Willis was awarded the shutout decision at 40-35 on all three score cards. The referee was Jeff Macaluso.
In the televised opener, fans may have seen the end of the line for 33-year old 2000 Olympian (out of the Dominican Republic) and 1998 U.S. National Golden Gloves champion Jerson Ravelo (20-5, 12 KO), 167 ½, as the Newark, New Jersey native suffered another stoppage loss at the hands of undefeated 23-year old Russian Maxim Vlasov (18-0, 9 KO), 166 ½, at Super Middleweight. It was Ravelo’s third early end in five fights with all of his five losses now by knockout.
Ravelo, who took the fight on short notice, started quickly with strong left jabs but Vlasov stalked with little concern and was finding Ravelo with combinations near the ropes before a minute has passed. Looking unsteady, Ravelo moved backwards and clinched with only wild occasional swings to counter the crisp offense of Vlasov until the final minute. Ravelo attempted some flurrying offense but Vlasov had him scouted, easily defending against the left hook of Ravelo.
Ravelo stayed largely on the back foot at the start of the second, spending most of the round with a look of attempted survival as Vlasov came forward aggressively. A clash of head in the waning seconds opened a cut beneath the right eye of Ravelo, a beginning of a rapidly closing end.
Finding the right hand repeatedly, Vlasov put Ravelo on the deck at a minute into the third, Ravelo collapsing face first to the floor. Flailing about on the canvas, Ravelo fought to get to his feet but could not until it was too late, referee Jeff Macaluso reaching ten as Ravelo stood and stumbled forward at 1:12 of round three.
The broadcast was carried in the U.S. on basic cable outlet ESPN2 as part of its “Friday Night Fights” series.
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
