Kerman Lejarraga Wins But Looks Unimpressive
Once a rising contender expected to give some notable names trouble within the junior middleweight division, Spain’s Kerman Lejarraga returned on his quest to seek a world title with a TKO victory over Jez Smith.
Lejarraga hit rock bottom in 2019. Sporting a 27-0 record with 24 knockouts to his credit, he welcomed another rising contender in David Avanesyan to a fight in his home country. In a bout in which the Spaniard seemed to be controlling early on, he succumbed to the pressure of his opponent moving into the middle rounds. This eventually led to a ninth round stoppage where he was getting pummeled in a corner, prompting the referee to save him from anymore damage.
RELATED: David Avanesyan Gets Upset Victory; Stops Kerman Lejarraga in 9!
Believing the comeback of Avanesyan to be a fluke, Lejarraga opened up the challenge for the man that gave him his first loss to return to Spain for a rematch six months later. Not only did Avanesyan win, he dropped the Spaniard twice en route to a first round stoppage. It would be an understatement to say the two loses made Lejarraga irrelevant!
Now in 2021, he finds himself boasting three straight wins that includes on over former BBBofC junior middleweight champion Tyrone Nurse. The wins also gained Lejarraga a #7 ranking with the WBA before entering the ring with Smith.
DEJA VU?
One could say Deja Vu happened as the Spaniard found himself in a tough fight early on. The problem here is Smith should have been more of a tune-up. With Avanesyan, at least his opponent had been in the ring with names like Lamont Peterson, Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Shane Mosley before their meeting. This meant Avanesyan presented a problem on paper. Smith’s claim to fame was a draw against the undefeated British prospect Macaulay McGowan. Therefore, this should have been a walk in the park right?
Not quite! Smith actually controlled the fight early as he dented the chin of Lajarraga multiple times. In the process, he scored two knockdowns, on in the third and another in the fourth! It really looked as if Lejarraga would be upset again in his home country!
Then things took a turn. Smith seemed to lose sight of the working game-plan as the fifth round started. Almost instantly, he looked lost and confused in the ring. Lejarraga took full advantage and swung the momentum in his favor. This led to Smith taking a number of shots in the sixth round where the referee would jump in and halt the bout.
While Lejarraga’s win streak continues, he did not look impressive in this bout. Even with the seventh spot in the WBA rankings, it may be a bit premature to have him in with any of the top contenders at junior middleweight.
By: EJ Williams
