Mike Mollo Falls Short in Recent Return Against Gomez

Published Sat Aug 7, 2010, 4:00 AM

In the untelevised portion of the ESPN Friday Night Fights card at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, heavyweights Mike Mollo (20-3-1, 12 KOs) and Gary Gomez (18-11-2, 7 KOs) fought to a majority draw Friday night.

Mollo started off aggressively as he moved forward and threw bombs at his opponent. Gomez appeared to take the punches well as Mollo attacked his head and body. Gomez attempted to counter Mollo but was unsuccessful as Mollo dodged his punches.

As the rounds progressed, Mollo was landing fewer clean punches while Gomez was increasingly landing his own punches. By the fifth round, blood was streaming out of Mollo’s nose as he continued to be the aggressor and went after Gomez, but getting more exhausted during the process.

During the final rounds, Gomez had taken control and was landing the more effective punches. Mollo was out of gas and appeared to have nothing left in his swings. The final scores were 77-75 for Mollo and 76-76 twice.

Also, welterweight prospect Jamie Herrera (4-0, 3 KOs) dominated Joshua Rodriguez (2-6, 1 KO), winning by a 4th round TKO in the scheduled four-round contest. From the opening bell, Herrera was swinging away as Rodriguez covered up, showing little fight in him. There was a short pause during the first round when Rodriguez spit out his mouthpiece.

Herrera continued his relentless onslaught in the second round, backing Rodriguez against the ropes in full attack mode. There was a point deducted from Rodriguez when he spit out his mouthpiece a second time.

During the third and fourth rounds, Rodriguez began to throw some punches, but took more punishment in return. A body punch dropped Rodriguez in round 4, but he beat the count. When the action resumed, Rodriguez’s corner halted the bout. Official time of stoppage was :37.

In addition, jr. welterweight prospect Genaro Mendez (2-0, 1 KO) scored a 1st round TKO over Alexander Tousignant (1-4, 1 KO).

Plus, Antonio Canas (1-0, 1 KO) successfully made his professional debut with a 2nd round TKO over William Bokhart (0-2).