Friday Night Fights Delivers As Glen Tapia and Chris Avalos Emerge Victorious From Grueling, All-Action Bouts

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In the build-up to its July 12th broadcast, ESPN and the Friday Night Fights crew advertised the two fight card as one that would be sure to deliver in regards to action and entertainment, and boy, were they right. Featuring both junior middleweights and super bantamweights, this week’s edition of Friday Night Fight’s was undoubtedly one of the bloodier and more action-packed broadcasts of the season.

In the opening bout of the evening, a pair of undefeated fighters put their records on the line as Abie Han (19-1, 12 knockouts) took on Glen Tapia (19-0, 11 knockouts) in a 10-round junior middleweight contest. Going into the bout, many thought the fight was too even on paper to comfortably pick a winner. In the first round of the fight, Tapia made all of that difficulty seems silly as he seemed poised to put Han away both early and viciously. After finding a home for his jab and body work, Tapia began pounding away at Han with a one-two combination that sent him reeling.

Although Han managed to survive the early onslaught, the fight already seemed to be over after what seemed to be one of the worst opening round performances in Han’s young career. However, Han managed to come out especially aggressive, almost desperate, in an effort to erase the impression Tapia had left on the judges in that first round. As he came forward, Han managed to not only apply seemingly endless pressure, but find some success with his body shots and lunging uppercuts.

With this new-found aggression being displayed by Han, Tapia took on more of the boxer role and became much more calculated in both his movement and attack. Ultimately, this proved to pay dividends for the New Jersey native as he was able to pick the plodding Han apart at will. Where Han managed to carry the fight on a mix of heart and power punches, it was Tapia who proved to be the much more complete fighter on July 12th.

After six rounds which saw Tapia begin to build a solid lead over his opponent, Tapia finally managed to drop Han late in the 7th. Things didn’t get much better for Han in the 8th round as he continued absorbing punishment from Tapia, and as the blood poured from his head, it was enough for his corner to call for an end to the contest in between the 8th and 9th rounds. Tapia was awarded the TKO, and with this victory he comes one step closer to proving that he just might be the real deal.

Capitalizing on the momentum set by the co-main event, the main event of the evening proved to be just as exciting, maybe more, than the bar that was set by the junior middleweights. In another 10-round clash, super bantamweights, Chris Avalos (22-2, 16 knockouts) and Drian Francisco (24-2-1, 19 knockouts) engaged in a fight that was as exciting as it was competitive.

From the opening bell, both fighters came forward with every intention of stopping their opponent. This led to a volley of power punches being thrown by both fighters that translated to the kind of brawls that are often reserved for the more “premium” networks. As the fight went on, it quickly became a story of the two fighters’ styles. Avalos’ style of fighting seemed to be one that relied on a high output and seemingly endless barrage of power punches, while Francisco’s unorthodox style is much more rangy but powerful. It’s this mastery of range that allowed Francisco to be so effective in the early rounds, even with both fighters seeming to competitive.

Francisco’s ring generalship, awkward fighting style, and power proved to be his biggest tools going into the fight as he managed to hurt Avalos while also avoiding the ropes as best he can. Still, Avalos managed to make up for his shortcomings by attempting to smother Francisco with an all-pressure style that allowed him to get on the inside and really set up some offense. It’s this kind of back and forth that allowed the fight to be so exciting for the entire 10-rounds, but from the 7th round on, it was obvious that Avalos was beginning to get the best of Francisco. Still, both fighters brought an end to the bout in an exciting manner and both traded hellacious shots from bell-to-bell for the last two rounds, causing an eruption amongst the crowd.

After ten competitive and hard fought rounds, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Chris Avalos on scores of (96-94), (97-93), and (97-93). It was a big win for the young fighter, and it’s exactly the kind of performance he needed to show that he has the potential to be a legitimate force in the division.