Boxing Coverage on Sherdog.comTaras Shelestyuk Edges Jaime Herrera in ShoBox Main Event
2012 Olympic bronze medalist Taras Shelestyuk had a tougher time
with Chicago’s Jaime Herrera in the main event of ShoBox: The New
Generation Friday night than most expected. Their fight anchored a
Showtime-televised event inside the Omega Products Event Center in
Corona, Calif., and the Ukrainian-born Shelestyuk had to deal with
a mid-rounds rally from the underdog that never seemed to stop.
Shelestyuk (15-0, 9 KOs) seized control of the action early behind his swift jab and movement, but Herrera continued to plug away and get in on the inside. From there, Herrera dug to the body and tried his best to make it a brawl, which forced Shelestyuk, who was uncomfortable with the turn of events, to continuously hold. Shelestyuk tied up the shorter Herrera so often that he was penalized a point in the fifth, but once the infraction was administered, “Real Deal” got things back into the gear.
Shelestyuk returned to boxing on the outside and foiled Herrera’s charges as he popped him with the jab and moved out of harm’s way. Herrera continued to try and lure the unbeaten contender into a slugfest, but Shelestyuk had none of it and coasted toward a close unanimous decision. The judges saw the fight in favor of Shelestyuk via tallies of 96-93 (twice) and 95-94.
In the ShoBox co-feature, cruiserweight prospect Constantin Bejenaru had to pick himself up from off the canvas to battle toward a hard-fought 10-round unanimous decision over Stivens Bujaj. Bejenaru (12-0, 4 KOs) was in control for most of the bout but he walked into a short left hook in the fifth and was felled. From there, he dominated a rather dirty fight that was overflowing with clinching, mauling and headbutts and at one point in the skirmish it appeared as though Bujaj (16-1-1, 11 KOs) bit his foe. Bujaj was deducted a point in the ninth for hitting on the break and in the end, Bejenaru won the verdict via tallies of 97-91 on all three judges’ cards.
Lightweight contender Manuel Mendez looked fabulous in dispatching previously-unbeaten pugilist Vitor Jones Freitas (12-1, 6 KOs) in the first. The duel was close and competitive with neither man taking full control, but a surprise left hook to the body dropped Freitas, nephew of former world champion Acelino Freitas, and he never beat the count. The knockout came at 2:32 of the first, allowing Mendez to improve to 13-1-2 with 9 KOs.
Shelestyuk (15-0, 9 KOs) seized control of the action early behind his swift jab and movement, but Herrera continued to plug away and get in on the inside. From there, Herrera dug to the body and tried his best to make it a brawl, which forced Shelestyuk, who was uncomfortable with the turn of events, to continuously hold. Shelestyuk tied up the shorter Herrera so often that he was penalized a point in the fifth, but once the infraction was administered, “Real Deal” got things back into the gear.
Shelestyuk returned to boxing on the outside and foiled Herrera’s charges as he popped him with the jab and moved out of harm’s way. Herrera continued to try and lure the unbeaten contender into a slugfest, but Shelestyuk had none of it and coasted toward a close unanimous decision. The judges saw the fight in favor of Shelestyuk via tallies of 96-93 (twice) and 95-94.
In the ShoBox co-feature, cruiserweight prospect Constantin Bejenaru had to pick himself up from off the canvas to battle toward a hard-fought 10-round unanimous decision over Stivens Bujaj. Bejenaru (12-0, 4 KOs) was in control for most of the bout but he walked into a short left hook in the fifth and was felled. From there, he dominated a rather dirty fight that was overflowing with clinching, mauling and headbutts and at one point in the skirmish it appeared as though Bujaj (16-1-1, 11 KOs) bit his foe. Bujaj was deducted a point in the ninth for hitting on the break and in the end, Bejenaru won the verdict via tallies of 97-91 on all three judges’ cards.
Lightweight contender Manuel Mendez looked fabulous in dispatching previously-unbeaten pugilist Vitor Jones Freitas (12-1, 6 KOs) in the first. The duel was close and competitive with neither man taking full control, but a surprise left hook to the body dropped Freitas, nephew of former world champion Acelino Freitas, and he never beat the count. The knockout came at 2:32 of the first, allowing Mendez to improve to 13-1-2 with 9 KOs.
« Previous Top Rank Boxing Weigh-in Results: Manny Pacquiao, Jessie Vargas Make Weight
Next Manny Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas Results, Round-by-Round Scoring & Play-by-Play »
More
