Subriel Matias Becomes New IBF Champion; Jamal James Victorious in Return
This action-packed fight for the IBF title between #1 contender Jeremias “Jere” Ponce (30-1, 20KO) and #2 ranked Subriel “El Orgullo de Maternillo” Matias (19-1, 19KO) was birthed due to former undisputed champ Josh Taylor vacating the title. The bout lived up to expectations as both men slung leather in a phone booth throughout the fight. Ponce started off overwhelming Matias with volume. With over 100 punches thrown his way in the opening round, Matias was given no chance to find a rhythm. However, the Puerto Rican used his superior ring I.Q, ability to put punches together and land with great accuracy to make the adjustment.
While both men had hi-octane production, each round seemed to favor Matias as he looked to be more poised and in-control given the pace of the fight. In round 5, a combination that included a hook to the body caught an already off balance Ponce off-guard and dropped him to the canvas. He survived the round, however, members of his corner abruptly stopped the fight stating the words Roberto Duran made famous in boxing, “No Mas!” This was indeed an early Fight Of The Year Candidate.
Matias picks up the IBF belt and will undoubtedly look towards the other champs in the junior welterweight division.
RELATED: Regis Prograis On Subriel Matias: “I Will Eat Him Up & Shit Him Out!”
JAMAL JAMES (28-2, 12KO) VS ALBERTO PALMETTA (18-2, 13KO)
16 months out of the ring and returning off a loss did not deter the expected fast start from Jamal James. Furthermore, he seemed to have corrected a bad habit fans are used to seeing. James typically gives up his 6’1” height and 76” reach as a welterweight to elect to fight from mid-range to inside distance.
In this fight, he mostly used a six inch height and reach advantage to his benefit from the outside. Palmetta had his moments getting inside and punishing his opponent with big shots. However, this was more of a testament to James’ overall lack of defense. consistent ring generalship and reverting back to fighting small. Nevertheless, the volume from the outside was too much for the Argentinian as James virtually won every round en route to a unanimous decision.
ELVIS RODRIGUEZ (14-1-1, 12KO) VS JOSEPH ADORNO (17-2-2, 14KO)
On paper, this fight was expected to be fire-fight with multiple knockdowns leading to an eventual knockout. However, the fight was much slower than expected for the most part with both men being economical with their punches.
It wasn’t until round 6 where the power punches began to fly. In round 7, Rodriguez landed a right-hook that momentarily froze Adorno. The southpaw unloaded and scored a knockdown in the round. For the remainder of the fight, Rodriquez’ right-hook continued to stun Adorno who showed a ridiculous chin. The success opened up more opportunities to put combinations together for Rodriguez. Meanwhile, Adorno was relegated to looking to counter.
In round 10, Adorno would go down once more which ultimately sealed his fate on the scorecards. Rodriguez took home a slightly controversial majority decision by the scores of 97-91, 95-93 and 94-94.
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