Troy Isley defeated Joseph Hicks by unanimous decision Saturday night in Atlanta, but the performance did little to answer how the 2020 U.S. Olympian will fare against the better middleweights.
The judges scored the 10-round co-feature 97-92, 96-93 and 96-93 for Isley at State Farm Arena. Those numbers made the fight look more comfortable than it actually was, particularly during the competitive opening rounds.
Hicks had success immediately with his long jab and caught Isley with a hard right hand to the chin in the second. Isley began taking command in the third, hurting Hicks with a left hook behind the ear and increasing his punch output.
There was another complication in the fifth when Isley was deducted a point for a kidney shot. It ultimately had little effect on the result because Hicks wasn’t active enough to capitalize.
Isley took over more decisively during the second half by throwing combinations and maintaining a steadier pace. Hicks continued trying to work behind his jab but spent too much time waiting for openings instead of forcing Isley to fight at a higher tempo.
That allowed Isley to bank rounds without having to take many chances.
The victory improves Isley to 17-0, but the larger question surrounding him remains unanswered. At 27, with extensive amateur experience that includes competing at the 2020 Olympics, he is well beyond the stage where developmental fights reveal much.
Hicks was a useful opponent because of their history. He had beaten Isley twice in three amateur meetings, and their hostility resurfaced before the fight. As a professional test, however, Hicks was still a considerable distance from the division’s top talent.
If Salita Promotions wants to determine how far Isley can go, the level of opposition needs to rise considerably. Fighters such as Yoenli Hernandez, Callum Walsh, Tim Tszyu or Shane Mosley Jr. would force Isley to answer questions that Hicks couldn’t.
Isley’s six knockouts entering Saturday had already suggested that punching power isn’t going to carry him through the middleweight division. Against stronger opposition, he’ll need his work rate, accuracy and boxing ability to compensate when opponents aren’t discouraged by what is coming back at them.
Saturday’s performance was enough to beat Hicks. It wasn’t enough to establish that Isley is ready to beat the middleweights he’ll eventually have to face if his career is going anywhere beyond regional titles.
Isley collected the vacant WBA Continental USA middleweight belt and preserved his perfect record. The next opponent should tell us considerably more than the belt does.