By Jake Donovan

Late substitute Nick Brinson was in the right place at the right time, scoring an upset unanimous decision over Jorge Melendez in their Showtime-televised main event Friday evening in Verona, New York. 


Melendez came in highly touted, with promoter Miguel Cotto going so far as to sell the 24-year old as the future of his company. 

The line was typical hyperbole even without taking into consideration Melendez' soft record going in. The ten rounds of boxing offered by the Puerto Rican puncher further called into question such claims.

Brinson - a very late replacement for Luis Gradeja - was game for the cause, driving two hours from his native Albany to accept assignment on a weekend celebrating boxing's latest Hall of Fame inductees. An aggressive push early got the crowd on his side, pumping Brinson with confidence with each passing round.

The local middleweight was never braver than early in the fourth round, when scoring with a left hook that Melendez on his seat. The threat of an upset was already in the air, now with the question of whether Melendez would suffer the third stoppage loss of his career. 

A dramatic shift in tide came late in the fourth, a surefire Round of the Year contender after Brinson ended the frame on the canvas after getting drilled with a series of shots. Melendez appeared to be all the way back, but struggled mightily to keep momentum in his favor.

Brinson never relented, outboxing - and outslugging - the alleged knockout artist round after round, piling up a considerable lead on the scorecards. Melendez further dug his own grave after being docked for rabbit punching midway through the ninth round.

Along with the traded knockdowns, the foul late in the fight made for a dramatic moment. Brinson dropped to a knee and complained of blurred vision, but insisted he wanted to fight on after being told that failure to continue would result in a technical knockout loss, despite suffering the foul.

Continue on he did, as Brinson finished strong against a fighter who appeared lost once his A-game couldn't get the job done.

Accurate scores from the three ringside judges helped preserve the upset, as Brinson advances to 15-1-2 (6KO). The middleweight came in as a late sub and without a promoter; chances are, his cell phone will be blowing up after this weekend.

Melendez heads back to Puerto Rico with his first loss in nearly three years. A 13-fight win streak comes to an end as he falls to 26-3-1 (25KO). 

In the televised opener, 20-year old Jeffrey Fontanez was dropped and tested to the max by Alejandro Rodriguez, but was given the necessary assistance from the judges to escape with a split decision.

Rodriguez won 76-75 on the closest card to reality, while Fontanez managed tallies of 77-74 and an absurd 78-73. 

Fontanez was in control early, but slowed down midway through the fight. The dramatic decline in punch output prompted his corner to question if everything was alright. 

Rodriguez wasn't at all interested in the reason; the Mexican ring veteran sought to take over the contest. A knockdown just before the bell at the end of the seventh round threatened to end Fontanez' days as an unbeaten fighter, but an uneventful eighth and final round left enough wiggle room for the potential to score in favor of the perceived house fighter.

It turned out neither the knockdown or the final round had any impact on the cards, as Fontanez' lead on two of the three scorecards was insurmountable prior to round seven.

Fontanez - who turns 21 later this month - advances to 12-0 (9KO). Rodriguez loses his second straight as he falls to 19-11 (11KO). 

The card marked Miguel Cotto's first turn on Shobox as the lead promoter. The location for the occasion is fitting, since Cotto is destined to one day return to nearby Canastota as a Hall of Fame entrant.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, Yahoo Boxing Ratings Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox