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Not Quite as Exciting as the Main Event..

by Gregory Robinson

Johnny Nolasco vs Arturo “The Aztec Warrior” Quintero

Quintero practically resides at the Orleans Casino, where he’s been making his way through a variety of forgettable opponents. Tonight he attempted to kick his career up a notch by taking on Phoenix resident Johnny Nolasco, who has also fought a few times at the Orleans. Both came out in the first round with impressive speed but not much power, until Nolasco unleashed a surprise left that sent Quintero sprawling to the canvas. Quintero’s pride was hurt more than his body though, and he came back with newfound ferocity in round two. An exchange at the end of the round saw Nolasco’s head rocked back multiple times. The crowd went nuts, but Nolasco is one of those guys who can take incredible amounts of punishment. Round 3 saw similar action, with Quintero landing the majority of the hard blows. Nolasco responded with a few of his own, but it was pretty clear that Quintero was in control. What appeared to be a great six rounder then became a great three rounder, as the pace in rounds four and five slowed to a crawl - neither fighter seemed willing or able to connect. Round six looked like it was going to follow suit until Nolasco came out with a huge huge huge overhand right that dropped Quintero like Michael dropped Lisa Marie. I cannot tell you how beautiful this punch was. Referee Kenny Bayless stepped in and immediately called and end to the fight. Nolasco improves his record to 12-3, while Quintero drops to a still respectable 10-2.

Lovemore Ndou vs. Miguel Cotto. Superlightweight WBC Superlightweight Title Fight.

Cotto has always been impressive, but he never really wowed me until his last fight on the Morales undercard when he knocked out ring veteran Victoriano Sosa in only four rounds. That’s when I really believed that Cotto was worth all the hype. Tonight he took on another ring veteran: Australian native Lovemore “The Black Panther” Ndou, who has over 45 fights under his belt, over twice as many as Cotto.

The fight:
It was a good fight to watch, but a tough fight to write about. It was the kind of fight that you wait for something incredible to happen, but it never does. Honestly, at least five of these twelve rounds could have gone either way. Both fighters were smart, quick punchers that chose their shots and then moved out of danger. Rounds one through three were sort of a snorefest – Ndou and Cotto got in a few punches, but neither fighter established control. It looked like Cotto had finally met an opponent that he couldn’t dominate. The next 3 rounds saw the first really definitive action of the fight, when Cotto backed Ndou into the corner and launched an impressive flurry that bounced Ndou’s head around like a speedbag in round four, and then again in round 6. It didn’t hurt Ndou at all, but it was the first time in the fight that either fighter made a move for supremacy. Things picked up again in round seven, when Ndou went on the attack. He chased Cotto around the ring, and began to land the majority of the shots. Cotto dodged and countered beautifully, but Ndou was controlling the action, finding his mark more than Cotto. Cotto was quick to adapt though, and by round nine, he was moving around the ring fast enough to dodge Ndou’s aggression and counter effectively. He seemed to be waiting, but he never found the opening for which he was looking. After 12 rounds, it looked like a basically even fight – a good candidate for a draw. Neither fighter gave nor received much damage, and neither really established control. The judges disagreed with my observations though, and scored the fight 117-111, 116-112, 115-113 all in favor of Cotto.