By Joe Harrison

On Friday night at Cicero Stadium, located just outside Chicago, Illinois, bantamweight Abner Mares (12-0, 8 KOs) kept his unbeaten streak alive as he defeated Angel Priolo (30-6, 20 KOs) by a 6th-round technical knockout. 

Throughout the bout, Mares displayed his excellent punching accuracy and hand speed as Priolo stood his ground and exchanged with him. As they continued to trade punches, Priolo constantly found himself on the receiving end as Mares pounded away at him.

In the sixth round, Mares’ effective punches finally took their toll on Priolo as he went down to the canvas. Priolo beat the count, but the contest was waived off by referee John O’Brien at the 1:56 mark.

Also on the card, super bantamweight Jonathan Oquendo (12-1, 7 KOs) suffered his first loss to Oscar Andrade (35-26-1, 17 KOs) by disqualification in the 6th round. The end was a heartbreaker for Oquendo as he appeared to be on the way to another victory.

The bout started off with Oquendo showing his repertoire of straights and hooks as he punished Andrade to the head and body. Oquendo’s body punches seemed to be the most effective, but he was warned for a low blow in the 2nd round. In the 3rd round, Oquendo continued to attack Andrade’s body and a punch landed below the belt again. This time, a point was deducted.

By the fourth round, it seemed evident that Andrade didn’t have an answer for Oquendo’s persistent attack. Then Oquendo landed another low blow, and another point was deducted. Finally, in the sixth round, Oquendo continued his onslaught until he landed a low blow, yet again. Referee Gerald Scott officially ended the contest at 1:38 inside the sixth round, disqualifying Oquendo for excessive low blows.   

In one of the most anticipated matches of the evening, Chicago’s own Mike Nevitt (14-1, 5 KOs) was handed his first loss by Sacramento’s Otis Griffin (17-1-2, 5 KOs), a 7th-round technical knockout. Griifin was previously known for being the winner of FOX-TV’s “The Next Great Champ.”

What started out as a tactical battle steadily turned into a brutal brawl as every round passed. Each man attempted to land some powerful blows and Nevitt appeared to be gaining confidence as his connections accumulated. Even as Nevitt seemed to control the action, Griffin was hungry and did everything he could to turn the bout toward his favor.

In the sixth round, both men traded punches until a right hand struck Nevitt’s face and sent him crashing down. At the count of nine, he rose to his feet and nodded that he was okay. Then the bell rang ending the round, saving Nevitt from further punishment. In round seven, Griffin immediately assaulted Nevitt with a barrage of punches and Nevitt was sent to the canvas again. He slowly climbed back to his feat, but referee Genaro Rodriguez had seen enough. With the victory, Griffin earned the WBO NABO light heavyweight title.

After the fight, I was able to get together with Griffin and ask him a few questions.

BoxingScene.com – How does it feel to be the first man to defeat Mike Nevitt?

Otis Griffin – It was great. He is a great opponent. He was very durable. He’s got a good track record. He was undefeated in kickboxing as well as boxing, so it’s a big boost to me confidence-wise and I needed this at this point in my career.

BoxingScene.com – How do you feel in the ring tonight? Were you comfortable?

Otis Griffin – Well, the fight took a long time to get started. I’m not used to the east coast/west coast change. So I was a little draggy. I couldn’t get my foot in at first, but then my trainer and corner told me that a lot of stuff is going wrong but I gotta get up and get this done no matter what and by all means necessary. Praise God, we got through it.  

BoxingScene.com – What’s next for you? Where do you go from here?

Otis Griffin – Hopefully we’ll be on that Bernard Hopkins/Winky Wright card coming up this summer. So we’ll wait and see who my first title defense is going to be against.

BoxingScene.com – If it were 100% up to you, is there anyone in particular that you would like to face?

Otis Griffin – Yeah, if it was up to me, I would want to face Zsolt Erdei, definitely, over there in Europe. I was promised him after winning the show. That was part of my contract. So I’m ready. I’ve been a student of the game. I’ve transferred over from football into boxing. I think I’ve hardened my skills and I’m ready for the top.

BoxingScene.com – In your opinion, who do you think is the best in your weight division today?

Otis Griffin – Right now, the best outside of myself, I’m really impressed with him because he’s a boxer, he’s left-handed and he’s quick, Chad Dawson, definitely.

BoxingScene.com – Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Otis Griffin – Hey, the next great is here man. You gotta get used to me. I’m not a fluke.