Worlds Collide Fight Report: Jessie Vargas & Thomas Dulorme Battle to A Draw — Jarrell Miller, Artur Beterbiev, Daniel Roman & Jessica McCaskill Victorious!

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By Rich “Lite It Up” Lopez (At Ringside)

What a great boxing night it was in Chicago at the Wintrust Arena, which was promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. The event was streamed live on DAZN and we witnessed a night of knockouts, rising stars, a history making female title fight, and a main event that ended in controversy.

The main event was a battle for the WBC Silver Welterweight Title and was between Jessie Vargas, 26-2-1, 10 KO’s, of Las Vegas, NV Vs. Thomas Dulorme, 24-3, 16 KO’s, of Puerto Rico. Vargas coming off a disputed draw in April against Adrien Broner was looking to make a big statement against Dulorme. Dulorme was looking to make a statement himself and looking to upset Vargas. What we got was a very close fight that was competitive.

As the fight started, we can see right away the speed and movement of Dulorme was giving Vargas trouble. Dulorme was beating Vargas to the punch with quick power shots. Towards the end of the 1st round, Dulorme against the ropes landed a left hook on Vargas that almost dropped him. Vargas managed to stay on his feet and keep his balance. Same thing happened in the 2nd round with Dulorme using good movement to give Vargas trouble. A slicing jab from Dulorme opened a cut on the left eye of Vargas. Round three was another good round for Dulorme and Vargas was still having a hard time trying to catch Dulorme. Vargas had a better round in the 4th and was starting to land some of his own punches on Dulorme.

In the 5th round, Vargas seem to be warming up and landed a nice right hand which backed up Dulorme. In round six, which was a very close round, both fighters were landing some good exchanges. As both fighters were fighting in the inside, Vargas landed a left hook and Dulorme came back with a right hand. Rounds seven and eight were very good rounds for Vargas. He was starting to let his hands go and was far more busier than Dulorme. Just when you think Vargas was coming back, Dulorme would have a good round in the 9th.

Dulorme seemed to have a second wind and was hitting Vargas with some nice punches. Round ten would seem to be the game changer in the fight. As both fighters threw right hands at each other, Vargas landed his first and dropped Dulorme. Dulorme got up and finished the round. Round 11 was a nice bounce back round for Dulorme but Vargas looked fresher of the two fighters. In the final round, both fighters were giving all they had. In the final seconds of the fight, in a heated exchange, Dulorme dropped Vargas with a left hook. Vargas got up and both men finished on their feet at the end. Vargas did look embarrassed to be dropped in the final seconds of the fight.

There was drama in the air as the fight was too close to call. As the decision was read, one judge scored the fight 115-111 for Vargas and the other two judges scored the fight 113-113, which resulted in a majority draw. This was not the result that each fighter was looking for but they both put a great effort and fought a competitive battle. If Vargas did not go down in the last round, he would of won the decision. I’m not going to complain about the decision, because to me it was a very close fight that could of gone either way. I felt the draw was fair. The best thing to do is for both fighters to fight each other again.

Co-feature:

The co-feature was the battle of the heavyweights and featured heavyweight star Jarell “Big Baby” Miller, 21-0-1, 18 KO’s Vs. Poland’s hero Tomasz “Goral” Adamek, 53-5, 31 KO’s. The Polish crowd was definitely in full force for their hero Adamek who is a legend in Poland. As the fight started, Adamek was doing a good job of boxing and sticking and moving against the 300 pound plus Miller. Miller was putting the pressure and you can see Adamek was already having difficulty with the size and strength of “Big Baby”. The end was near for Adamek and in round two everything will go down hill for him. Miller landed a right hand that hurt Adamek and Miller followed it up with a right uppercut that dropped Adamek.

Adamek could not continue. Miller had scored a crushing 2nd round knockout and silenced the Polish crowd. Miller now continues on his quest to become a heavyweight champion but let’s not be fooled. Miller did what he was supposed to do and knocked out his aging opponent. In the future, Miller should come in lighter under 300 pounds if he wants be considered a threat against the likes of a Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua. As for Adamek, this might be the last time we see him fight as a professional, but he deserves all the respect from fight fans and he was a true warrior.

Main card bouts:

In a battle of punchers in the Light Heavyweight division, it was a battle between Artur Beterbiev, 12-0, 12 KO’s, of Russia Vs Callum Johnson, 17-0, 12 KO’s, of the United Kingdom. Beterbiev was making his 1st defense of his title and coming off some inactivity. Both fighters were undefeated and looking to make a statement. There was a lot of hype on this fight and it turned out to be the slug fest that we anticipated.

In the opening round, Johnson wasted no time and came after Beterbiev which produced some furious exchanges. Beterbiev landed a right hand that dropped Johnson. Johnson got up and finished the round. Johnson had a good comeback round in the 2nd round and flipped the script. With both fighters exchanging hooks, Johnson landed a left hook that floored Beterbiev. Beterbiev got up and was shaky but managed to finish the round. Both fighters slugged it out in round three, with Johnson being the aggressor most of the time.

It was a good round 4 for Johnson as he was coming forward and pushed Beterbiev on the ropes. However, Johnson walked into a right hand by Beterbiev that landed on the temple of Johnson. Johnson fell forward and could not continue. Beterbiev won by knockout with a time of 2:36 in round four. Beterbiev is back and a threat to any of the top fighters in division. Also, his style makes for fan friendly fights and we would like to see more of him. As for Johnson, I believe he would make good fights against the top fighters in the division as well.

The opening fight of the main card was in the Super Bantamweight division. Daniel “Baby Faced Assassin” Roman, 25-2-1, 9 KO’s, from Los Angeles, CA was making the 3rd defense of his title. The challenger was former world title challenger Gavin McDonnell, 20-1-2, 5 KO’s, from the United Kingdom. From rounds 1-2, the fight was a battle of counter punchers and a chess match. There was good exchanges from both fighters, but early on it seemed Roman was having little trouble of the height of the taller McDonnell.

Rounds 3-4, Roman was the role of the aggressor and McDonnell the counter puncher. McDonnell was getting the better exchanges in these rounds. Round 5-6, Roman picked up the pace and did some good work in the inside landing some nice uppercuts. Both fighters did have moments landing hook shots. In round seven, Roman landed a nice over hand right on McDonnell. McDonnell was getting beaten to the punch by Roman. Round eight was also a good round for Roman as he was being busier and putting the pressure. In round nine, McDonnell did some good work and had a good comeback round, but at the end he was looking tired. Roman closed the show in round ten. As McDonnell was going to the body, Roman landed a crushing right hand that wobbled McDonnell. Roman went for the finish and unleashed powerful hook shots and dropped McDonnell.

McDonnell got up but was hurt and the ref called off the fight. Roman scored a TKO at 2:36 of the 10th round. Roman looked great and finished off a gamed opponent. It would be nice to see Roman unify the titles against the other belt holders such as Rey Vargas or Isaac Dogboe. Those would be some great fights.

Before the start of the main card, there was a fight that had a lot of interest in Chicago. It was for the WBC Female Super Lightweight World Title. Erica Anabella Farias, 26-2, 10 KO’s, of Argentina was making her 6th defense of her title. She was taking on local favorite Jessica “CasKILLA” McCaskill, 5-2, 3 KO’s, of Chicago. The fighters wasted no time and went at it from the opening bell. There were good power shots thrown from both women in the middle of the ring.

The 1st round was close. In rounds two and three, McCaskill was the aggressor and Farias was taking the role as the counter puncher. Round four was a good one for Farias as she was landing effective counter punches. McCaskill came back in round five with some power shots. Rounds six and seven were good rounds for McCaskill as she was landing right hands and she was finding a home with her uppercuts. Rounds eight and nine, McCaskill was still coming forward but Farias was letting her hands go as well. There were good moments for both fighters.

Everything was on the table in the final round and both women went at it with furious exchanges. McCaskill seemed more fatigued but fought with a lot of heart and so did Farias in the final stanza. The scores were 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 all for Jessica McCaskill. McCaskill accomplished her dreams of winning a world title and becoming the first female from Chicago to win a world title in her hometown. A possible rematch with Katie Taylor in the future could be in store for her.

Other undercard bouts:

Anthony “The Magician” Sims, JR. 15-0, 14 KO’s, of Plainfield, IN Vs Mario “El Ruso” Aguilar, 19-5, 16 KO’s of Mexico, in an 8 round Light Heavyweight bout.

Sims looks to be a promising prospect in the Light Heavyweight division. He showed off his speed and skills in the fight throwing straight punches to the body and head of Aguilar. Throughout the fight, Aguilar fought bravely and was very gamed. He also showed a very good chin for long as it lasted. Sims was hitting Aguilar with vicious shots snapping the head of Aguilar. Finally in round six, Sims backed Aguilar to the ropes and landed a right uppercut followed by a right body shot that finally put Aguilar down. Aguilar did not get up and the ref stopped the fight.

Sims scored a KO at 2:49 of round six. The Magician stays perfect and is a prospect to look out for in the Light Heavyweight division.

The 1st three bouts of the card featured three New York fighters making their pro debuts.

Reshat “Albanian Bear” Mati, of New York (pro debut) Vs Adan Ahumada, 3-5-2, 2 KO’s of Matamoros, Mexico, in a 4 round Junior Welterweight bout.

Mati showed off his speed and skills and overwhelmed his opponent. Mati had his hands down but his speed was too much for Ahumada. Mati came out landing power shots and landed a left hook that dropped Ahumada in round three. The ref counted him out.

Mati scored a KO at 1:52 of round three.

Nikita “White Chocolate” Ababiy of New York (pro debut) Vs Jake Henrickson 2-2, 1 KO, of Fargo, ND in a 4 round Middleweight bout.

What a pro debut for Ababiy. He came out firing hook shots and backed up Henrickson. He landed a left hook to the body that crumbled Henrickson. Henrickson did not get up.

Ababiy scored a KO at 28 seconds of the 1st round.

Nkosi “ King” Soloman of New York (pro debut) Vs Matt Cameron 2-1-1, 1 KO’s, of Chicago, IL, in a 4 round Heavyweight bout.

In the opening round, Cameron came out swinging hard punches but Soloman blocked most of them. Soloman did come back with hard body shots and hurt Cameron. In round two, Cameron came back and landed some nice hook shots that stunned Soloman. In round three, Cameron came forward and put the pressure. Both men exchanged and Cameron landed a right hand that dropped Soloman. Soloman got up but was hurt. In the final round, Cameron went for the stoppage and dropped Soloman with a left hook. Soloman got up and survived the round. Soloman was also deducted two points for low blows.

Cameron won by unanimous decision with all scores of 39-33.

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