Roach Looks Great In Front Of His Hometown Crowd
Golden Boy on ESPN put one of their rising stars on the main event tonight in could be described his coming out party. In his hometown of Washington, DC, Lamont Roach Jr, 16-0 6KO, put his undefeated record on the line against an gamed Rey Perez, 21-9 6KO. The D.C. native won an unanimous decision in front of his hometown crowd.
The fight started out a bit slow with Perez, 29, having some success in the second round with good body work that appeared to bother Roach Jr. However after that it was ALL Lamont once he settled down and starting making adjustments. Using his superior hand speed and accuracy he was able to stay in the pocket and counter with good uppercuts followed by sharp right hands.
Lamont showed great footwork moving side to side and excellent pivots. He was able to use his jab to keep Perez off balance most of the night. The scorecards at the end of 10 rounds showed just how lopsided this fight was with Roach winning 99-91 on all three cards. At just 22yrs old and a solid amateur pedigree already behind him it’s easy to see he’s worthy of the attention.
Sometimes the pressure of fighting in front of your hometown crowd can make a fighter a little jumpy. But Roach seemed focused and allowed the fight to come to him by taking advantage of what Perez was giving him. There was even a moment of high praise as Bernard Hopkins, working ringside, said that Lamont was showing glimpses of a young Pernell Whitaker at his best.
Such high praise is a lot to live up to but one thingseems certain and that’sif what we saw tonight is a glimpse of what this kid can do,then LamontRoachJrhas a bright future and I for onecan’t waitto see more. With the boxing public followinglet’s hope he isready cause the spotlight just got brighter.
By: Garrisson “Bo” Bland
You can follow Bo on Twitter @Truth_Factbox1
Email: [email protected]
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