After a strange second half, Chance and de Jesus ends in a draw
In a battle of the undefeated Super Bantamweight prospects, fans will see hard-punching Rajon “Picasso” Chance (5-0, 5ko) take on “El Leon” Elon de Jesus (3-0, 2ko). What makes this an intriguing fight is the fact it’s a rivalry between New York and New Jersey.
Jesus, a native of Dunkirk, New York, made a life-changing decision to go pro when COVID-19 shut down everything, including all amateur events. A good amateur winning the New York golden gloves, the 27-year-old started his career in Mexico, and he is looking to avenge an amateur loss to Picasso.
Chance comes into this fight as a decorated amateur. He has fought guys like Olympic Silver medalist Duke Ragan and fellow undefeated fighter Shon Mondragon. He won a National title as a Junior Olympian and made it to the finals of the 2019 National Golden Gloves. Moreover, his power has transitioned to the professionals by stopping all of his opponents.
THE FIGHT STARTED EARLY
Chance came out like a man that knows he has the psychological edge with beating de Jesus in the amateurs. He was using the jab and fancy footwork to confuse his rival. Moreover, his speed and counter-punching looked as if it was going to carry the day.
However, de Jesus came alive in round three, landing a hard overhand right and started going to the body to slow down Chance. He would land another compact right-hand that froze his arch-rival with a cut on the forehead. The complexity of the fight was changing.
A WEIRD TURN OF EVENTS
Over the next two rounds, there was a strange turn of events. Chance slipped with both hands on the canvas while trying to maintain balance. De Jesus hit the young man on the back of the head in the heat of the moment. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the referee took a point without issuing a warning. It was something fans complained about in the Oscar Valdez vs Robson Conceicao fight on September 10.
Things continued to get strange as Chance, for some reason, stopped fighting to tell the referee something while walking to his corner. Now rightfully so, de Jesus continued to fight since there was no call to stop the action.
As the fighters were exchanging punches in a phone booth, de Jesus landed a perfect uppercut on the chin, dropping his amateur rival. Once on his feet, Picasso told the referee he could not see. This prompted the doctor to be called into the ring to check on the fighter.
In the final round, Elon de Jesus continued to use his strength to land a few hard body shots. Chance got on the bicycle and was moving around the ring while looking to pop shot punches until the bell sounded.
Going to the judge’s scorecards, it was clear that the point deduction early in the fight was the difference maker, offsetting the knockdown. One judge saw it 57-55 for Rajon Chance, and the other two had it 56-56, a majority draw.
By: Garrisson Bland
