MGM Grand, Las Vegas - Jesse “Hollywood” Hart came up short in a pair of super middleweight world title shots. Well, it looks as if the light heavyweight division suits the Philadelphia native quite well. (photos are Mikey Williams).
Hart (26-2, 21 KOs), in his light heavyweight debut, bested longtime contender Sullivan Barrera (22-3, 14 KOs) via unanimous decision (99-90, 97-92, 96-93) to thrust himself squarely in the world title picture. Hart was hurt at the end of the fourth round, but he recovered to drop Barrera in the eighth.
It was a rugged, sometimes sloppy fight, as Hart’s activity was the difference.
Female fighting sensation Mikaela Mayer (11-0, 4 KOs ) moved closer to a world title shot, pulling away down the stretch to defeat Lizbeth Crespo (13-5, 3 KOs) by unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 98-92) in a 10-round super featherweight bout. Mayer represented the United States at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
In a battle of unbeatens, Albert Bell (15-0, 5 KOs) won the WBC Continental Americas super featherweight belt with a 10-round unanimous decision over Andy Vences (22-1-1, 12 KOs). All three judges scored the bout 97-93 for Bell, a Toledo native competing in his first 10-rounder.
