The June 28th edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights series was a broadcast that could simply be described as surprising. Both of the two featured bouts involved a match-up in which the outcome seemed all but sure. The only real question was how and when the favorite or much younger fighter would manage to overcome their opponent. By the time the broadcast ended, fans were left asking a very different sort of question: “Why would I ever think that an outcome was so sure?”. That’s the beauty of boxing.
The opening bout of the broadcast featured a 10-round Junior Middleweight scrap between Patrick Texeira (20-0, 17 knockouts) and Marcus Willis (13-3-2, 3 knockouts). At first, it seemed the contest had “showcase bout” written all over it. With a record like Texeira’s, one wouldn’t be wrong to assume that ESPN was trying to set Texeira up as the next up and coming force in boxing. Almost everyone seemed to be under that impression, except for Marcus Willis ofcourse.
As soon as the fight began Willis seemed determined to prove that he’s capable of far more than simply being a part of a prospect’s growing highlight reel. With constant pressure, slick movement, and some decent power, Willis managed to put Texeira through the first real fight of his fairly padded record.
With Willis’ constant pressure throughout the entirety of the bout, Texeira was forced to dig deeper than he ever had before. With a cut over his left-eye that only made matters worse, Texeira showed that he may not be the powerhouse his record makes him out to be, but he’s certainly tough.
Every round saw both fighters exchange thudding (albeit sloppy) power shots that both managed to find their mark, but Texeira’s punches were the ones that were landing cleaner, faster, and much harder. It’s these kinds of exchanges in rounds three and seven which almost sent Willis crashing into the canvas as well as obscurity. Still, Willis managed to stay tough, and continued in his efforts to overcome or even stop Texeira.
Unfortunately for Willis, the judges just couldn’t ignore that for the most part Texeira was landing the cleaner and more effective punches throughout the ten round bout. Patrick Texeira would be deemed the unanimous decision victor on scores of (98-92), (96-94), (97-93). Although some cold water and doubt certainly been cast on Texeira’s budding record, there’s no ignoring that he does show some potential as a prospect. All we need now are more of these competitive match-ups to prove that.
The most surprising results of the evening came in the main event of the broadcast. In another ten round bout, Sergio Mora (24-3-2, 7 knockouts) took on Grzegorz Proksa (29-3, 21 knockouts) that would potentially decide both fighters fighting futures. A win for Proksa may prove to be just what the European fighter needed to get finally earn some success and recognition State-side, but a loss for Mora would simply cast further doubt on a fighter and career that many can’t help but criticize. Mora knew this coming into the bout, and it was exactly why he worked so hard for this win.
At the start and duration of the bout, movement was key between both fighters. While Mora remained calculated and determined in his come-forward approach, Proksa would erratically weave in and out of range hoping to frustrate his opponent. With a KO ratio like his, many were eagerly anticipating a stoppage win. Much to those fans dismay, the stoppage never came. Instead, Proksa was treated to an absolute boxing lesson by Mora. Granted, Proksa did have his moments in the bout and seemed to land the harder shots at times, but Mora’s punch out-put, aggression, and landed punch rate ultimately won him the bout.
After ten hard fought rounds, Sergio Mora emerged victorious after the judges scored the contest (96-94), (96-94), and (98-92) all in his favor. There’s no telling whether Proska will ever be seen in an American broadcast again, but with this win one has to believe that Mora has finally managed to fight off the obscurity that threatened to engulf him and his boxing career.
