By Cliff Rold
After a nervous opening round, 27-year old Welterweight Mike Jones (22-0, 18 KO) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, established control and ran over 31-year old Puerto Rican veteran Irving Garcia (17-5-3, 8 KO) in five rounds on Friday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The knockout blow left some room for discussion but the outcome could be little in doubt. It was Jones’s third knockout win in his last four starts.
Standing a muscular 6’0, Jones carried a four inch advantage in height to center ring at the opening bell, his hands high and left hook snapping quickly to the head and body of Garcia. The punches came mostly one at a time for both men, Garcia sticking and Jones pawing with the jab while testing with power shots.
Jones was assertive at the start of round two, a looping right missing but aimed with hurtful intention. Countering with left hooks and becoming more efficient with his jab, Jones controlled the action as the smaller Garcia was left digging at the body. Two lefts to the head missed but set up lefts to the body for Jones in the final thirty seconds.
A Garcia right and left to the head were blocked but his jab was not, Jones just slipping another hard left hook attempt in the third. A right land partially for Garcia and again he popped with his jab, a big right to come just moments later. A short left landed for Garcia inside as the second half of the round developed. Jones appeared to be only reacting but then backed Garcia up with a hard left hand. Garcia settled and fired back, Jones finding tough work in front of him.
Round four was a study in contrasts, Jones more active and stunning his man early but Garcia landing single hard blows throughout the frame. Jones was imposing his size though, a measure which could be seen in the fifth as Garcia was again forced to the back foot. Jones battered Garcia on the ropes towards the end of the rounds first minute, dropping Garcia to both knees. Replays showed the felling blow was a left hand below the belt but referee Randy Neumann did not see it and counted Garcia out at 1:22 of round five.
While the ending was unfortunate for the game Garcia, he appeared heading for the showers without the cup shot. It was Garcia’s second consecutive stoppage defeat. Jones moves forward in the Welterweight division to build on unanimity of top ten ratings in the major sanctioning bodies: #7 WBC, #3 WBA, #7 IBF, and #2 by the WBO.
In the crowd pleasing televised opener, 34-year old Welterweight Lanardo Tyner (24-3, 15 KO) of Houston, Texas, one pound over the division limit at 148, came up with the most satisfying win of his career, a blistering body attack forcing a ninth round submission from 23-year old Antwone Smith (18-2-1, 10 KO), 145 ½, of Miami, Florida. It was for Smith, the IBF’s #12 contender entering the night, his first stoppage defeat and the end of nine-bout win streak dating to an April 2008 draw.
Smith and Tyner, keeping in close quarters, boxed a steady and relaxed pace in the first. Smith played the role of aggressor in so much as he came forward while Tyner used small steps back and to the side to create room for counters. Tyner’s approach paid dividends in round two, Smith walking into some thudding lefts upstairs while dedicating himself to a body attack.
A snaking right hand early in the third for Smith caught Tyner by surprise but to little affect, the two settling quickly into the trenches again. It was increasingly in his favor, Tyner struggling to land clean against the educated rolling shoulders of Smith while being touched with accurate rights and precision blows to the ribs.
Tyner’s struggles to land clean in the third were less in the early fourth, a right and left crashing between the timed rolls of Smith. It secured Smith’s attention without causing waver and the openings were quickly gone. Tyner made contact with the jab down the stretch but was outworked through the heart of the action.
The older man was loose to start round five, grinning at the intense Smith with his hands near his waist and picking off a jab to the body. A lead Smith left slapped off the head of Tyner, a sign of a change in stance as Tyner played at coming forward. Tripling his jab, Smith was boxing and deftly holding in close until a bristling exchange between both men broke out in the final minute. They calmly returned to studying and jabbing in the closing seconds. Exchanges punctuated the bulk of the sixth. A steady drumbeat of blows built like a musical crescendo, each taking turns at landing, being struck, and then throwing harder into the final bell.
Into the seventh it was Tyner who appeared to have a smidge more snap on his shots but Smith stayed effective in parrying blows and both battlers seemed to be taking a breather, picking their shots sparingly.
Smith’s corner worked at a swelling over his right eye between rounds and he stepped quickly into Tyner with a right and clinch at the bell. A Tyner right to the body folded Smith forward and the veteran chased his man into the ropes. Smith steadied himself, holding and defending until he felt safe in his return fire near the halfway mark. Down the stretch, despite receiving hammering blows to the flanks, it was the precise Smith whipping in short rights and lefts to the face of Tyner.
A short left hook from Smith looked good but he admired his work and Tyner backed him up with another right to the ribs in the ninth. As had been the case in round eight, Tyner pursued but this time Smith’s resolve could not ward off the tide. Attempting to clinch, Tyner drove his head underneath Smith’s chin and pushed him back, referee Earl Morton separating them. Backing weakly to the ropes, Smith was wide open for the echoing left to the stomach which drove him to his knees. Tyner followed with a clipping left to the head as Morton pulled him away and the referee picked up the count at three, Smith rising slowly at eight. Asked if he could go on, Smith nodded no and the Morton waved the action closed at 1:15 of round nine.
Tyner’s three losses have come to rising contender Saul Alvarez and former title challengers Mike Arnaotuis and Lamont Peterson, all by decision.
The fight was broadcast in the U.S. on premium cable outlet Showtime as part of its “ShoBox” series, promoted by Peltz Boxing.
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
