By Joshua “City” Brewer

Thursday, April 19, featured a night of boxing action live from San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was another installment of Golden Boy Promotions on ESPN. The featured bout was a matchup between rising Washington, D.C., area prospect Lamont Roach, JR., 16-0-1, 6 KO’s, against Puerto Rico’s own, Orlando Cruz, 25-6-2, 13 KO’s. The island was only hours removed from an island-wide power outage. That said, where there’s a fight, there’s always light.

The action was fairly sparse through the first several rounds as both fighters jockeyed for position. With Roach, JR., being orthodox and Cruz being a southpaw, the fighters battled through a few head clashes early on as well. The 36 year old Cruz was actually the busier fighter in some spots and his 13 year experience edge played to his benefit. After eight rounds it was pretty much an even fight and while both fighters had their moments, neither had the definitive edge.

The most critical and controversial moment came in ninth round when during an exchange, Cruz was rocked with a short and flush left hook from Roach, JR. Cruz was visibly hurt and went down after a follow up shot in what was a clear knockdown for viewers. Referee Luis Pabon ruled the knockdown as a slip in what would prove to be a fight altering error.

Cruz managed to hang on for the remainder of the ninth and the next round leaving it up to the judges. With scores of 97-93 for Roach, JR., 96-94 for Cruz, and 95-95 from one judge, the fight was officially ruled a draw. The missed knockdown may have likely ensured a victory for Roach, JR. That aside, the fight legitimately could have gone either way. Afterwards, both fighters seemed eager for a rematch, possibly in Washington, D.C., so for the time being it’s back to the gym. With all other major sports adapting to technology, it begs the question. Should there be use instant replay in boxing? Let us know your thoughts.

* indicates required field

Select a contact:*

Select "Bad" Brad Berkwitt Debbie "D2" Edwards Mel Walker

Name:*

Email:*

Subject:*

Message:*

CAPTCHA Code:*