2/23 NBC Sports Network Fight Night Results: Glazkov-Scott Draw; Algieri Earns UD

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In the main event of NBC Sports Network Fight Night it was a battle of two undefeated heavyweight hopefuls as the Ukraine’s Vyacheslav Glazkov took on Malik Scott who came into the fight with 35 wins.

Glazkov came out looking to land big, but Scott set a tempo by staying out of harm’s way and utilized his size to effectively keep Glazkov’s offense in check. There wasn’t a ton of action and neither fighter was really separating themselves from the action, however Glazkov was clearly not finding a rhythm and Scott was using his jab to at least some success.

It was frustrating to see a talent like Glazkov not staying on his opponent, but it’s easier to sit in the stands then to lace up the gloves. Yet, Glazkov was in the position to let go and didn’t, he closed the distance in certain stages of the fight, but he couldn’t keep Scott there for long before he slipped away or clinched.

It was turning into a typical Scott fight with Glazkov slowly gaining confidence in the 5th and 6th rounds, but Scott was picking his shots and controlling the fight. Glazkov gave Scott a lot of respect and was careful when in range, that allowed Scott to get off some precision punches that landed flush, but didn’t really hurt Glazkov.

Between the jab early on and the accuracy of Scott, it looked like Glazkov was simply flustered out of his biggest opportunity to date. The judges came back with a split-decision and the scores of 98-92 for Scott, 96-94 for Glazkov and 95-95 even, making the outcome a split-decision draw.

While the commentators were certainly shocked by the decision, I’m not sure it’s as incoragible a decision as most would suggest. Thaboxingvoice.com scored the fight 97-93 for Scott, however neither fighter really looked amazing. Simply put, Scott was the more impressive fighter in a less than uninspiring fight.

Algieri def Peralta DEC10 (Junior Welterweight):

In the televised co-feature undefeated junior welterweight prospect Chris Algieri (16-0) won a spirited 10round unanimous decision victory over his previously once beaten opponent Jose Peralta. Algieri fought in his hometown of Huntington, NY where he is a relatively successful draw and packs in some of the most enthusiastic crowds any prospect has ever received. This was his 5th consecutive performance in front of his hometown crowd.

Algieri did a nice job in the fight of using his movement, but not necessarily his footwork. It wasn’t as though his footwork wasn’t a positive in the fight, however it was more so that Algieri got suckered into fighting on the inside which was clearly Peralta’s game. Algieri mixed it up well from both a distance and on the inside, using an uppercut that worked for him periodically throughout the fight.

Nobody told Peralta he was the underdog and he held his own from the early stages of the fight by implementing a nice body attack that seemed to take its toll on Algieri. Through half the fight the percentages were close, but Algieri was edging his opponent out by sharpshooting at key times as well as digging deep on the inside.

What was becoming evident in the fight was although both fighters were dishing out their fair share of damage, it was clear Algieri was getting the best of Peralta, who seemed to lose some steam on his punches. That was until the end of the 5th when Peralta landed a counter left hand to the jaw of Algieri; it was a momentum changing type of punch.

Algieri was showing he was the better boxer and perhaps the better overall talent, but he was fighting Peralta’s fight. Algieri kept up a tremendous pace and threw a significant amount of punches per round, but Peralta kept coming forward.

It wasn’t until the final few rounds that Algieri really shifted the fight and Peralta appeared to lose steam on his punches. Algieri used different angles and found a way to land the bigger shots. In the end, it came down to the conditioning of Algieri who fought past the 6th round for the first time in his career.

The judges scored the fight 96-94, 97-93, and 98-92 for Algieri.