Mike Nevitt Continues To Rise with Shay Mobley Decision

By Joe Harrison

This past Friday, light heavyweight Mike Nevitt (16-1, 6 KOs) scored an eight-round unanimous decision over Shay Mobley (17-10-1, 7 KOs) at the Cicero Stadium located near Chicago. Throughout the contest, both boxers were punching on the inside and clinching frequently. The bout almost ended in the first round when Nevitt landed a barrage of punches, sending Mobley into the ropes where he got tangled up. After Referee Gerald Scott gave Mobley a standing eight-count, Mobley was able to clinch repeatedly to survive the round.

Rounds two, three, and four were filled with more clinching as Mobley moved forward and each man attacked the body. It was in round five when Scott warned both boxers for clinching. For the next couple rounds, Nevitt and Mobley began to trade more punches before they slowly got back into their pattern of inside fighting and clinching. There were also a few delays due to Mobley spitting out his mouthpiece and taking a moment to have it put back in his mouth.

In the final round, both boxers began to exchange punches when Mobley’s mouthpiece came out again. This time, Scott did not hesitate to take point away from Mobley. When action resumed, Nevitt was able to land more body shots before the clinching reoccurred. After the bout, the judges had scores of 80-70, 79-71, and 78-72, all in favor of Nevitt.

Afterward, Nevitt expressed satisfaction over his victory. “I felt good, I have two great guys in my corner, Freddie Cuevas and Al Ortiz, and they really helped me out. I did get a little tired in the second round, but I caught my second wind, I thought I could’ve gone another four or five rounds. I had him hurt in the first round; I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t take him out. I got to give him credit, he’s an experienced fighter, a heck of a good fighter, he’s a survivor, and he fought the whole way, so props to him.”

“I think I was in better shape, I was faster, I moved a lot better, and I wasn’t trying to just throw one punch to knock him out. I was throwing quick punches, I was in great shape.”

“I was training for nine months straight. A couple fights fell through and I just kept training. I’d like to return next year some time, and we’ll see what comes my way. I’d like to thank my fans; I love the sport of boxing.”

In the opening bout, featherweight Barbero Zepeda (9-20-2, 2 KOs) used his experience and ruthless aggression to defeat Juan Bailon (3-1, 1 KO) by a four-round unanimous decision. Zepeda was the busier boxer, throwing more punches and backing Bailon against the ropes. In rounds three and four, Bailon found success by throwing more uppercuts, but it was not enough to earn the win. The judges scored it 39-37, 40-36, and 40-39, all in favor of Zepeda.

Also on the undercard, welterweight Ryan Smedick (2-0, 1 KO) landed just enough crushing punches to earn the unanimous decision over Gustavo Palacios in the scheduled four-round bout. Palacios appeared to be in control as he stalked Smedick around the ring, but he had trouble avoiding Smedick’s left hook as it would pounce off his face. The punches seemed to have crushing effect as Palacios began to slow down. By the fourth round, Smedick began to taunt his fatigued opponent, tapping his chin, inviting Palacios to hit him. In the end, the judges had scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice, all in favor of Smedick.

The final bout featured super bantamweights Eric Estrada and Ivan Rodriguez. Estrada (6-0, 2 KOs) utilized his jab as Rodriguez (9-5-1, 3 KOs) tried to get inside and brawl with him. With the jabs, Estrada was able to set up a straight right that sent Rodriguez down to the canvas during the third round. Once the fight resumed, the fighters began to trade in effort to gain the upper hand. When the bout was over, the judges scored it 58-56 and 59-55 twice, all in favor of Estrada by unanimous decision.