By Cliff Rold
Making his debut under the Golden Boy Promotions banner, 30-year old Jr. Welterweight Vivian Harris (29-3-1, 19 KO) of Guyana and 22-year old Noe Bolanos (20-4-1, 12 KO) battled to a “No Contest” after an accidental clash of in round two left Harris unable to continue and likely headed to a hospital. The Friday night contest was hosted at the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson, Arizona. Both men came into the bout near the Jr. Welterweight limit of 140 lbs., Harris at 141 and Bolanos at 139.
Harris came out calm with his hands high, jab exact, pinning Bolanos at a distance right away. A lunging right for Bolanos clipped Harris after about a minute and in the closing second he was able to score with a left to the body as the underdog grew more comfortable.
Harris was more aggressive to start the second, looking for a long right while Bolanos connected with a counter left in an exchange of flurries. It appeared a fight was breaking out but immediately the action paused as a clash of heads led to a frightening scene which evoked the ghosts of the tragic 1995 Gerald McClellan-Nigel Benn.
In that encounter, a ninth round head clash was the catalyst for a physical collapse from McClellan in the following round. Not recognizing the dire situation, McClellan’s medical needs were not met immediately met and clotting led to permanent blindness and other lasting debilitations.
On this night, the medical attention was swift. Harris headed to the corner and appeared to pass out, the doctor quickly into the ring checking his eyes as a stretcher was prepared. Classless fans booed the early end to the action and continued to boo even as Harris was laid on to a stretcher. As a relief for the viewing audience at home, Harris could be seen to be speaking to the medical attendants as he was carried from the ring and sitting up in his locker room minutes later.
The result could be a bad sign for Harris. While he held the WBA belt at 140 lbs. for almost three years from 2002-2005, his career has never really recovered from a shocking loss to journeyman Carlos Maussa. In his two outings prior to Bolanos, he was stopped by then-WBC titlist Junior Witter in the seventh and nearly stopped in the first by unknown Octavio Narvaez before surviving to turn things around. This headbutt, and the reaction to it, should make anyone wonder whether Harris has reached a break point in his career.
It was a bad ending to a miserable night of uncompetitive and poorly matched fights, none worse than the featured undercard bout.
23-year old 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Deontay Wilder (7-0, 7 KO) of Tuscaloosa, Alabama better be getting some good sparring because his professional opponents so far, like this week’s serving of 30-year old Travis Allen (3-5, 3 KO) of St. Joseph, Missouri, aren’t even providing that.
Wilder, 217, seemed to be working on his footwork early on, setting his feet and sticking the jab without some of the wildness he’d shown in previous appearances. Allen, 228 ½, wasn’t good enough to give him an extended workout though and soon Wilder’s right hand and short left hook were taking turns bouncing Allen off the floor. The time of the stoppage was not announced but Wilder’s athleticism has announced that, while a slow build is understandable for a young man who has only been fighting for a few years, a bout against some guys who can stay up might be in order.
In other action, 20-year old undefeated Welterweight Keith Thurman (10-0, 10 KO), 147, of Clearwater, Florida walked through Travis Hartman (10-14-1, 7 KO), 143, of St. Joseph, Missouri, forcing a corner stoppage in two rounds while 27-year old Heavyweight Seth Mitchell (13-0-1, 8 KO), 244 ½, scored the highlight of the night with a one-punch, right hand knockout of 28-year old Andrae Carthron (3-2-2, 1 KO), 222, of Los Angeles, California in 2:36 of the first round.
The card was televised in the U.S. on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
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