PBC on NBC set the bar high for Al Haymon and his television broadcast. No one expected PBC on Spike to maintain the inflated standard and despite some unforeseen circumstances leading up to the event, the in ring action turned out to be just as exciting as last weekend.
The televised broadcast began with Shawn Porter taking on Erick Bone. Porter was originally scheduled to take on Bone but a series of still unclear events on Thursday led to Porter facing a replacement on one days notice. Given the situation the fight was as exciting as fans could’ve hoped. Porter was on the offensive early and often and Bone never had a chance to get comfortable in the ring against a world class boxer like Porter.
Porter wasted no time picking Bone apart with his jab and by the 3rd round a flurry of body blows softened Bone up. After that Porter simply pummeled him and after a strong knockdown the referee has seen enough. For Porter this was nothing more than a glorified sparring session and he will have to prove himself to be a top notch fighter during his next fight, which I can’t imagine being much further in the future.
In the second bout Chris Arreola took on Curtis Harper in a battle of the pudgy Heavyweights. Arreola looked as though he would make it a quick fight when he had Harper in trouble several times in the first round. Harper barely survived long enough to be saved by the bell and catch his breath in his corner. That second wind is just what Harper needed because from there on he matched Arreola punch for punch and both fighters landed a few punches that would’ve KO’d other fighters. The two sluggers went the distance, despite lading haymakers in each round, and proved that toughness overtakes conditioning.
Arreola ultimately walked away with the unanimous decision but in no way was this a walk in the park. Arreola expected to walk right through Harper and the fact taht the fight was a toss up for the second half speaks volumes about where Arreola is now. I couldn’t see him challening any of the top level heavyweights moving forward.
With that being said, Al Haymon will probably put him in against Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder this summer. It’ll raise Wilder’s profile and make his punching power look superhuman.
In the main event fight Andre Berto faced Josesito Lopez.
Lopez controlled the pace early with his jab and Berto looked hesitant to stand and exchange with Josesito. The action continued on a similar path throughout the first 3 rounds. Lopez used constant head movement to keep Berto guessing and slipped in body punch combos whenever Berto was able to close the distance. That gameplan had many people scoring the first 3 rounds for Lopez and he could have also taken a highly contested 4th round that saw both fighters land nice punches. The biggest punch of the round was a right hook landed by Berto that snapped back the head of Lopez and let him know that Andre’s power was legit. That wouldn’t be the last time either.
Berto used the momentum from the 4th round to take control of the fight in the 4th and cut off the ring so that Lopez couldn’t use his jab as much as he did earlier in the fight. The change by Berto paid off when he landed a beautiful counter punch in the 6th that landed flush and sent Lopez to the canvas. A stunned Lopez made the 8 count and the ref signaled for both fighters to go at it again… Boom!
Lopez hits the mat again, this time from a straight right hand and the ref stops the fight. Lopez’s camp was outraged at the quick call but that round was probably an indication of things to come.
Berto proclaimed after the fight that he felt he was “Back on top.” I’d hold off on that, but he did show that at 140lbs he would be able to compete with almost anyone.
It’d be great to see an Adrien Broner vs Andre Berto fight. If this was 2009 fight fans would be going crazy over that headline.