Lightweights Richard Commey and Bahodir Mamadjonov were the feature bout on CBS Sports Net “Fight Night.” The 10 round bout took place at The D Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The undefeated Commey is from Ghana and had scored 19 knockouts in 21 wins before stepping into the ring with the southpaw from Houston, Texas, Mamadjonov, originally from Uzbekistan.
There wasn’t much action in the early going, both fighters seemed resistant to falling into the other’s tempo or game plan, so to combat such an outcome both fighters refrained from taking very many risks. Commey had trouble with the southpaw stance and the awkwardness allowed Mamadjonov to score some shots from a mixture of angles.
The fight was more about what wasn’t happening early on. Things like Commey not using his jab, not utilizing his physical advantages, and being a little too strategic. You have to fault both fighters for fighting a more technical match early on and even in the middle rounds a bit, too. Both fighters seemed less than willing to actually take control of the fight and the action suffered for it.
In the 5th, Commey started to separate himself as the better fighter and landed the most meaningful punches in the fight. It was a right hand thrown during the tail end of an exchange that landed flush on Mamadjonov’s chin, and further credit is deserved for Commey going to the body just before the right hand landed. Often times in a lackluster fight, it only takes one hard shot landed for the action to pick up because the fighter that got hit gets mad and wants to tag back, while the other wants to capitalize on the offense even further—landing hard punches is addicting.
Mamadjonov didn’t just wait to be hit again, and instead got really aggressive (and open). Commey picked some great shots and they definitely effected Mamadjonov to a degree. The persistence on Commey’s behalf was enough to get Mamadjonov to go back to playing it safe, but he was still being tagged.
Mamadjonov recovered and rallied in the 6th. In fact, he was as effective as we’d seen him all night and landed some incredible uppercuts, a punch he was throwing poorly and from too far away earlier in the fight. Mamadjonov earned a lot of respect and definitely a point in that round.
However, Commey came back quick in the 7th—quick because it was only a round after giving up momentum, and quick because he was utilizing his speed to regain the pace. Commey wasn’t dominating, but he was in enough control to steal back the momentum, which was becoming an important, and scarce, commodity in the fight.
And, once again, Mamadjonov turned things around by rallying in the round following a losing one. But it wasn’t going to be enough this time and Commey ended up taking control by sticking to the combos that worked. Commey fired off some shots until Mamadjonov was sent to the canvas, at which point he made it to his feet only to end up on the receiving end of more punishment. The fight was waved off by referee Robert Byrd moments later.
In the evening’s co-feature, Arif Magomedov stopped veteran Darnell Boone, although it was a bit questionable. In the first round Magomedov landed a right hand that was perfectly turned over on the chin of Boone who then crashed to the floor.
The punch was a thing of beauty, but it should be noted that Magomedov was delivering a mixed attack that lead to the knockdown. His body work was a little under the radar, probably because he wasn’t landing solid like he was upstairs, but they were hard enough to get Boone’s hands down a bit.
Magomedov continued to attack once Boone made it to his feet. But Boone didn’t just lay down and die. With his back to the ropes, Boone started throwing some nice uppercuts and he was at least trying to fight out. Boone took a couple of shots and started crashing forward without trying to hold, and from the referee’s position his legs might’ve looked wobbly, at least that’s the only excuse I could come up with for why Russell Mora (the ref) would stop the fight at that point.
