A change in testing protocol allowed Benjamin Whitaker to proceed with his welterweight preliminary bout versus ‘Superbad’ Vlad Panin on Thursday evening at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The unexpected second chance, however, wasn’t enough to motivate the San Antonio native to go for it when it mattered the most.
Panin managed to claim a six-round majority decision in their moderately paced affair. Judge Max DeLuca had the fight even at 57-57, overruled by matching scores of 58-56 turned in by Lisa Giampa and Patricia Morse Jarman.
Whitaker jumped out to a strong start and picked up the pace down the stretch. His lack of action throughout the middle rounds is what did him in, as Panin (8-1) was steady with his jab and occasional right hand. The 24-year old Los Angeles-based Belarusian overcame his first career loss with Thursday’s win in a fight that nearly didn’t take place. A cornerman for Whitaker tested positive for COVID-19, but a change in protocol allows for the unaffected boxer to remain on the show as long as they continue to test negative.
Clay “3rd Degree” Burns and Reymond Yanong made the most of their unexpected televised opportunity.
The pair of hard-luck junior welterweights offered plenty of action over the course of their six-round affair. In the end, it was who Yanong whom prevailed by split decision.
Judge Tim Cheatham—who has been inconsistent throughout the summer series in “The Bubble” scored the bout 58-56 in favor of Burns. His card was overruled by judges Julie Lederman and Chris Migliore, whom had the contest 59-55 and 58-56, respectively in favor of Yanong.
Philippines’ Yanong enjoyed his best success when keeping Burns—a 33-year old from Fort Worth, Texas—at the end of his punches, connecting with his jab and right hand whenever the action took place in center ring.
Burns turned the tide in round three, forcing a frenetic pace but unable to come up with a backup plan as Yanong (10-6-1, 9KOs) saw his call and raised the ante in rounds four and five, landing an alarming number of power punches. Burns (9-8-2, 4KOs) tried to land a game-changing shot in the sixth and final round but was fighting through fatigue and unable to do more than charge forward. It wasn’t enough to avoid suffering a third loss in his last four fights.
Kingsley Ibeh waited eight months to avenge his lone loss, with the opportunity coming on just a few days’ notice.
The 26-year old heavyweight outworked Waldo Cortes before putting him away in the fouth round of their ESPN-televised opener.
Ibeh scored the bout’s lone knockdown, flooring Cortes midway through round four in producing the stoppage at 1:41 of that same round.
The pair of Phoenix-based heavyweights first met eight months ago, with Cortes claiming a four-round split decision win. Ibeh was just two months into his pro career at the time, needing just 0:23 to end the night. He had since scored a pair of 1st round knockouts following his aforementioned defeat before being presented with a shot at revenge.
It was a slow-moving affair in the early going before Ibeh found his groove. He never quite found a comfortable stance, switching between southpaw and conventional but managing to outwork the shorter Cortes from both sides of the plate.
Ibeh (4-1, 4KOs) put his power game to use in round four, proving to be more than enough to get the job done. Cortes was caught with a series of left uppercuts as he was pinned along the ropes. Ibeh followed through with a straight right hand and a final left uppercut to send Cortes (5-3, 2KOs) sprawling to the canvas.
Cortes tried in vain to beat the count, only for the bout to be waved off by referee Vic Drakulich at 1:41 of round four.
Ibeh has now won three straight, with his two-fight set with Cortes marking the lone occasions he’s had to go beyond the opening round.
The bout opened a six-fight telecast topped by a bantamweight clash between Australia’s Jason Moloney (21-1, 17KOs) and Mexicali’s Leonardo Baez (19-2-2, 7KOs).
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox