By Cliff Rold
It started well but settled into a workmanlike and less than fiery pattern over the long haul as Colombian Jr. Welterweight Breidis Prescott (22-2, 19 KO) of Miami, Florida, pounded out a ten round unanimous decision over 32-year old Dominican Harrison Cuello (19-13-3, 14 KO) of the Bronx, New York, on Friday night at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.
Both men weighed in just above the Jr. Welterweight limit of 140 lbs., Prescott at 141 and Cuello at 142.
Prescott, scowling even before the fight began, let loose a three punch combination as expressive as his face to open the contest. Taller, at 5’11, by around four inches, Prescott kept Cuello at a distance early with his left jab and long right. A lead left hook caught Cuello coming forward and appeared at first to be a knockdown but referee Geno Rodriguez ruled a slip. Cuello did his best to jab in, and tossed hard to the body, but it was the booming sound of Prescott leather landing which stood out.
Cuello came forward to start the second round as Prescott calmly stepped back and jabbed. Quickly the rhythm of the opening round returned, Cuello forced to work from the perimeter and forced to cover more than throw. Prescott fell just short with a right near the midway point of the round but landed a nice left to the body shortly after. Effectively defending against the right, Cuello missed a combination aimed at the head of Prescott in the final minute but snuck in a short lead left from his southpaw stance before the bell.
A harsh left uppercut set up a grazing Prescott right in the first minute of round three, Cuello still largely focused on his defense. In the middle of the ring, halfway through the round, a Prescott right wobbled Cuello but the veteran set his feet and stepped away. Cuello landed a long left again in the final minute and Prescott responded with a right.
Round four nearly saw Prescott dropped as the final minute approached, a Cuello left landing amidst a change of direction for Colombian. Unhurt, Prescott resumed hunting for opening for his right hand but struggling to land it clean. Sticking his jab with authority, Prescott maintained control in the opening minute of the fifth, but Cuello was increasingly bold. Blocking a Prescott salvo to the ribs, Cuello waved his man forward, taunting the big puncher. A clash of heads saw Prescott motion to the referee for a warning but none came. Fresh blood from the mouth of Prescott did. A Cuello left in the closing second pushed Prescott’s head back.
Cuello taunted again in the sixth, this time after absorbing a flush left to the belly, but neither battler really found the target in the round. The same could not be said in the seventh. Near the midway mark, a Prescott left uppercut yanked Cuello out of his guard, again rocking him. Spinning Cuello after he missed a left, Prescott was unable to land anything significant with his opponent’s back against the ropes.
Little drama was found in the eighth, both men economical in their output with Prescott still a step ahead. In the ninth, Prescott’s right finally produced a result he was looking for, Cuello caught off balance and scraping the canvas for a ruled knockdown. Cuello was up immediately and the action resumed, Prescott certainly well ahead with a round to go. Replays showed the knockdown influenced by a tangling of feet between the orthodox Prescott and southpaw Cuello.
Needing a knockout to win, Cuello managed some big left hand attempts as Prescott was content to stay away. Another odd moment feet tangling sent Prescott to the floor on a slip, as close as Cuello would come to a miracle end. A Prescott left hook in the final minute may have been the best shot of a final frame otherwise given away to Cuello. It was little consolation for Cuello as Prescott walked into winning scores of 98-91 and 99-90 twice.
Prescott entered the bout rated #11 at 140 lbs. by the WBA and can hope to build on that slot. While victorious on Friday night, Prescott has yet to show again the ferocity displayed on the night where he made his name. In September 2008, Prescott detonated the suspect chin of the much heralded, and then undefeated, Amir Khan in less than a minute.
Prescott has scored only one knockout since while going 3-2, including the win versus Cuello. Khan has gone on to win the WBA Jr. Welterweight belt. Only 27, Prescott has time to get back on a more devastating track but needs to do more if he wants to be more than his shining minute.
The televised undercard provided the excitement the main event often lacked.
The telecast opened explosively with a mild upset at Jr. Welterweight, previously undefeated 22-year old Prenice Brewer (15-1-1, 6 KO), 139 ½, of Cleveland, Ohio, overwhelmed in round two against 32-year old Venezuelan Patrick Lopez (20-2, 12 KO), 140, of Londonderry, New Hampshire. A barrage from Lopez forced a stoppage by referee John O’Brien at 2:38 of the frame.
In the swing bout between local Lightweights, 32-year old Antonio Avila (3-1-1, 1 KO), 135, dropped undefeated Russell Fiore (4-0-1, 4 KO), 134, in the opening round only to see victory slip away in the fourth and final round when a Fiore left in the final twenty seconds sent Avila into the ropes. Referee John O’Brien correctly ruled the ropes had kept Avila afoot and tolled off the mandatory eight. The bell rang before the blow could be seriously followed up on but it was enough to secure Fiore a draw at 37-37 twice. The third judge favored Avila at 38-36.
The card was broadcast in the U.S. on basic cable outlet ESPN2 as part of its Friday Night Fights series, promoted by 8 Count Productions.
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
