By George Goddiess: Undefeated junior welterweight John Bauza and young middleweight Isiah Jones won decisions on another installment of ESPN’s Tuesday night boxing from the Bubble in Las Vegas.
Bauza at 22 extends his record to 14-0 with five knockouts following a rout of Irish born, residing in New York City “Lethal” Larry Fryers. Bauza went eight rounds for the second time in his career and is no stranger to going the distance with six decisions in a row, and he has not had a stoppage victory since 2017.
Tonight actually snaps a streak of shutouts as he had not lost a round on any judge’s scorecard in this stretch. Patricia Morse Jarman scored a round for Fryer but was overruled by Adelaide Byrd and Dave Moretti, who had the fight 80-72 for the clean sweep. Bauza was as dominant as the scorecards indicate as he maintained complete control over his determined but overmatched opponent.
Both men entered the ring following layoffs with Fryer not having fought since last September and Bauza being only two weeks away from a full year out of the ring. Despite the time off, Bauza was very sharp and relaxed in the ring.
Fryer came out aggressively in the opening round, but Bauza’s superior boxing skills and southpaw left hand began to show an early gap in class. Bauza did keep a very low right hand and used his jab only sparingly. Fryer, in the second round, continued to try and press but often attacked without a jab and tipped off his offense and allowed Bauza to counter and escape.
The straight left hand to the head punctuated the first round, and right hook counters were on display in the second round. In the third round, Bauza began with a good left-hand right hook, but Fryer pressed on and attempted to drag Bauza into a fight. Fryer’s face began to redden after just two full rounds. Bauza continued to stand at range with his right hand out as a range finder. He effectively countered Fryer and stayed responsible enough on defense to avoid the exchanges and Fryer’s spirited attacks.
In the fourth round, Bauza walked Fryer right into an uppercut. Fryer used his shoulder to work Bauza to the ropes and tried a left hook to the body but was not able to land effectively.
Bauza tried his left from the outside and missed, and Fryer initiated a clinch but attacked with his free right hand. Fryer was able to get a little more opportunities to work inside, but those opportunities were not frequent enough for him to win the round.
In round five, Bauza’s right hand came up higher, and he began catching shots and countering from mid-range. A hard left hand snapped back Fryer’s head in the middle of the round.
The fight began to fall into a pattern of Bauza circling from the outside and keeping Fryer from being able to set his feet and work. Bauza was picking Fryer apart with single shots and in total control but never had to get out of first gear, so to speak.
The seventh and eighth were more of the same with single left-hand shots and one solid right hook counter near the end of round seven. Early in round eight, Bauza launched a sweeping left hand around the guard and landed flush.
It was a knockout type of shot, but Fryer stayed up on his feet and hardly seemed bothered by it. Bauza is a promising prospect with plenty of upside. He is a young fighter, he is a southpaw, and he counter punches very effectively. Hopefully, we can see him in versus a sterner test next time out to see how well he can develop from this win.
Isiah Jones snapped a two-fight skid to open the night after fighting on ESPN only two weeks ago. On June 16th Jones was handily defeated in a unanimous decision at the hands of Nikoloz Sekhniashvili but was able to defeat previously undefeated Donte Stubbs in tonight’s opener.
Jones at 25 extended his record to 9-2 with three knockouts and has one professional fight in the cage that ended in a majority draw. After six impressively boxed rounds from Jones Tim Cheatham managed to have the bout a 57-57 draw, but fortunately, Adelaide Byrd and Eric Cheek made sure the right man won with scores of 58-56 and 59-55.
The opening round of the bout was fought very cautiously by both men as Donte Stubbs established himself as the harder puncher. In the second round, Jones began to use his feet and control where and when the fight would take place.
Jones landed a crisp right hand down the middle, and Stubbs took it flush and shook his head. In the third round, Stubbs came in aggressively with an overhand right to begin the round. Jones started sweeping his jab into a hybrid hook, trying to work his way around the guard.
Stubbs got wild falling in and was countered effectively with a left. Jones began to jab at range with more venom on the punch. Stubbs tried to bore in with hooks but was countered again. Stubbs had a very aggressive series at the end of the round, but maybe one punch got through.
In round four, Stubbs started the round well, controlling the center and moving Jones closer to the ropes. Jones landed downstairs with some wide hooks, but they didn’t seem particularly hard. Stubbs tried a 1-2, but the right missed. Jones began to open up with combinations of hooks to the body but remained selective when he attacked.
Stubbs was left with few opportunities as Jones effectively got out after throwing. Jones did get trapped on the ropes, but Stubbs was unable to take advantage, and Jones again ended the round with a flush 1-2.
Jones started off the fifth round, moving and jabbing. Stubbs had a tie-up moment where he landed a short right, and Jones bent down open for the uppercut, but it didn’t come.
Stubbs got his right hand up to block a left hook but did not shift his guard and got hit with a follow up right hand to the head. Stubbs charged with Jones near the ropes, but it was Jones who landed a hard right hand.
A combination backed Stubbs all the way out of range in another clear round for Jones. Isiah finished the fight strong as he dodged several overhand right attempts from a desperate Stubbs. Jones landed a double jab, right hand, left hook to the body four-punch combination that was the highlight of the final round. Stubbs tried a final overhand but was off the mark, and Jones stuck out a smile with the win sealed.
Isiah Jones won impressively tonight with good consistent movement and a snappy and effective jab on display. Stubbs was able to control the center of the ring and keep Jones on the move around the perimeter of the ring but was never able to effectively get to Jones.
Jones also mixed up his combination, punching pretty effectively. I was impressed by his ability to pick up on Stubb’s mistakes of leaving his right hand glued to his ear to defend the left hook but did not adjust for the follow upright.
Jones was a ring general tonight as he made the exchanges on his terms and shut Stubbs down all night. Stubbs is a hard puncher, but he was not able to deliver his punches tonight. Jones has two fights on ESPN and was impressive tonight; hopefully, he can be put back in the mix after a solid showing tonight.