HBO Latino Recap: Did Mikhaylenko’s 8RND Stoppage Steal the Show for the Weekend?

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Welterweight Dmitry Mikhaylenko was able to stop Johan Perez (20-3-1) in the 8th round of their HBO Latino main event, live from Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.

 

Mikhaylenko (20-0) started off well in the fight and put himself in a position of control. He wasn’t dominating, but he was fighting his fight, which wasn’t all that different from Perez’s fight, to be honest. Still, Mikhaylenko was controlling the tempo of the fight.

 

Perez was definitely making an effort to fight back, but he didn’t do himself any favors by taking 2 to get 1. Mikhaylenko was landing hard and often. He made his shots count much more, and that is why he made it a point to get in close without regard for his own protection.

 

There were plenty of reasons to admire Mikhaylenko from the offense side of things. But there was very little defense being shown from Mikhaylenko at any one point in the fight. In fact, I’d argue that Perez had as easy a time finding Mikhaylenko as Mikhaylenko had finding Perez – the difference being that Mikhaylenko made his shots count far more.

 

Mikhaylenko was impressive throughout the fight, but he looked better as the fight continued. As for Perez, he looked more discouraged as the fight got closer to the end.

 

Perez was taking a real beating and there were signs everywhere that he had little left to offer in the fight. He was feeling the effect of Mikhaylenko’s offense, and he was also physically tired, which was more evident in the final couple rounds of the fight.

 

Mikhaylenko was really putting in work in the 8th and Perez was barely fighting back, and taking considerable punishment in the process. After being on the receiving end of a relentless attack consisting of several big power shots, referee Ray Corona decided to step in and save Perez.

 

It was a great performance from Mikhaylenko as he considers stepping up even further as the year progresses.

 

In the evening’s televised opener, the revitalized Tevin Farmer continued his efforts to get back-on-track since suffering his last loss in 2012 by stopping Daulis Prescott in the 8th round to make it his 13th straight victory.

 

Farmer was excellent with his offense, throwing multi-punch combinations with accuracy and speed. He battered his opponent for the majority of the fight and essentially broke him down in the lead up to the knockout. The straight left from the southpaw Farmer was one of the best knockdowns this year.