Maurice Hooker draws with Darleys Perez in unsatisfying Ward-Kovalev co-feature

Maurice Hooker draws with Darleys Perez in unsatisfying Ward-Kovalev co-feature
Mark E. Ortega
USA TODAY
November 19, 2016


LAS VEGAS — Fringe contender Maurice Hooker fought former beltholder Darleys Perez in the pay-per-view co-feature of the most important boxing match of the year.

That fact serves as a perfect indictment of what boxing has become in 2016. The result of the fight was as poetically unsatisfying as the undercard that it topped.

It’s not that Hooker (21-0-3, 16 knockouts) isn’t a solid if not unspectacular fighter or Perez (33-2-2, 21 KOs) a solid step up for him. But this fight is more in line with a ShoBox main event than the main appetizer for such an important event.

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Olympic bronze medalist Oleksandr Gvozdyk passes test against Issac Chilemba

Olympic bronze medalist Oleksandr Gvozdyk passes test against Issac Chilemba
Mark E. Ortega
USA TODAY
November 19, 2016

LAS VEGAS — Olympic bronze medalist Oleksandr Gvozdyk passed his stiffest test to date.

The light heavyweight prospect took a big step up with the Isaac Chilemba assignment, a well-traveled veteran gatekeeper. Chilemba’s trainer, legendary trainer Roy Jones Jr., halted the bout after eight rounds when Chilemba suffered an injury to his right arm.

Chilemba is known for giving guys fits, almost as much as he’s known for participating in uninteresting fights. Though Gvozdyk’s decision victory followed a similar script to most Chilemba fights, he won in convincing fashion.

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Curtis Stevens sleepwalks to decision victory over James De La Rosa after hand injury

Curtis Stevens sleepwalks to decision victory over James De La Rosa after hand injury
Mark E. Ortega
USA TODAY
November 19, 2016

LAS VEGAS — A hand injury for Curtis Stevens may have robbed us of what was shaping up to be an excellent fight between two gatekeepers.

Stevens, squaring off with James De La Rosa in the opening fight of the pay-per-view portion of the Sergey Kovalev-Andre Ward mega fight, hurt his left hand in the third round. It brought what was a solid action fight to a slowed pace as Stevens’ activity level dropped.

That didn’t keep Stevens (29-5, 21 KOs) from winning a lopsided decision, though the activity through the second half of the fight would have led you to believe it to be closer than the cards indicated. Stevens prevailed by scores of 98-90 and a more realistic 96-92 twice.

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