Femke Hermans Upsets Mary Spencer On Makhmudov vs Wallisch Undercard
FEMKE HERMANS SCORES HUGE UPSET OVER MARY SPENCER
If Mary Spencer (7-1, 5 KOs) thought this fight was going to be a walk in the park, boy was she wrong. Former WBO super middleweight champion Femke Hermans (14-4, 5 KOs) has shared the ring with some of the top names in boxing. The difference in levels was painfully obvious. In the second round, Hermans did not get credit for a knockdown after landing a hard punch that put her opponent on the canvas.
Known for her power, Spencer was being overpowered and outclassed by the more experienced former champion. Hermans’ jab and counterpunching kept the hard-punching Canadian off balance. Furthermore, she used that footwork to perfection by providing angles before landing a flurry of punches on the slower Spencer. Going to the judge’s scorecards they had it 99-91, 97-93, and 96-94 for Hermans. This author does not understand what the scoring criteria was on the last two scorecards. However, 3Kings Boxing had it 100-90 for the former champion.
STEVEN BUTLER FAILED TO IMPRESS IN GIFT DECISION
Steven Butler (32-3-1, 26 KOs) came out amped up and missed a wild right hand that almost sent him out of the ring. In the early portion of the fight, Joshua Conley (17-5-1, 11 KOs) took advantage of the taller Butler. He elected to fight on the inside by landing a series of uppercuts and hard body shots. Butler got back into the fight by taking advantage of Conley’s nonexistent punch output and landing powerful body shots followed by hooks.
It was a phonebooth fight as neither man truly separated themselves down the stretch. Conley landed the more eye-catching shots bit Butler’s high work-rate may have influenced the judges. This author feels the referee should have issued Butler a warning for using the elbow to push off long before the final round. The judge’s scorecards were 99-91, 97-93, and 96-94 in favor of Butler who got a home-field advantage on two of those scorecards. 3Kings Boxing had it a draw.
By: Bo Bland
