Friday Night Knockouts
Dateline: 04/03/99Last night's edition of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, from the Chattanooga Convention and Trade Center in Tennessee, turned out to be nothing more than an opportunity for the three main event fighters to add easy KO victories - over inferior opposition - to their respective ledgers.
First, Eric 'Butterbean' Esch (41-1-1, 32 KO), the self-proclaimed king of the four-rounders, belted around an opponent, Kevin Tallon (5-4, 3 KO), who was giving away nearly one hundred pounds. After knocking Tallon down twice in the second round of the scheduled four-rounder (what else?), Esch finished him off for good in the third. Butterbean doesn't take himself seriously, and neither should anyone else. As long as this remains his place in the sport - as an entertaining sideshow before the serious boxing begins - then the 'Bean does more good than harm for a sport that is populated with folks on the opposite end of the good-harm spectrum.
Next up was Bronco McKart (37-2, 26 KO) against Pat Perez (23-3, 13 KO) in a junior middleweight bout scheduled for ten rounds -- a number rendered insignificant by the first solid shot landed by McKart. A counter right hook, followed by a flurry of unanswered punches, resulted in a helpless Perez and a first round stoppage. McKart, managed by Sugar Ray Leonard, is aiming for a title shot against 'Ferocious' Fernando Vargas, but may still need to prove himself against stiffer opposition before he merits such an opportunity.
In the main event, 21-year-old Diego 'Chico' Corrales (27-0, 22 KO) remained the IBF's top-ranked junior lightweight challenger by taking out veteran Claudio Martinet (59-8-2, 26 KO) in the fifth round of their scheduled ten-rounder. The undefeated Corrales remained patient as Martinet recklessly charged forward through the bouts' early rounds, before finally catching the stocky Argentinean with a big right with just over a minute remaining in the decisive round. When referee Frank Garza reached the count of ten, Martinet appeared unable to continue and the contest was halted. Corrales looks forward to a bout with IBF champion Roberto Garcia before the end of the year. A fight with WBC champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the big money fight on the horizon.
Also televised was a ten round women's contest between featherweights Dee DuFoe and Deborah Nichols. As is the case in most women's fights, there was much more offense on display than defense, resulting in an entertaining match if you're a fan of watching two people flail away at each other -- kind of like watching a fight in a toughman competition. In the end, Nichols came away with a hard-earned, unanimous decision victory.
Finally, junior middleweight Joe Freytag (3-0, 1 KO) knocked down Kenny Erb (1-2) in the first round of their scheduled four rounder, and went on score a unanimous decision victory, with all three judges seeing the fight 39-36.
Next week: Vinny 'The Pazmanian Devil' Pazienza (44-7, 29 KO) hopes to keep his dream of one more title shot alive when he takes on Joseph Kiwanuka (26-3-2, 19 KO). Given the so-so talent at the top of the super middleweight division, there's no reason the beefed up Pazienza can't add another title to his resume before calling it a career.
