Perez bests Mauras, Ayala returns, Williams wins & more

Khiary Gray-Pitts scored a 1st rd KO

20 rounds to Victory for Joseph Chip Perez

Ringside Report from Mohegan Sun Arena

By Alex Pierpaoli

Photos By Sean Laydon

(our Twitter Recap with round-by-round description is here)

(Our Video wrap-up is here)

On Saturday night Joseph "Chip" Perez of Hartford, CT, hammered out a unanimous decision win over Agustine Mauras of Lawrence, MA, in their third fight and the first with a definitive victor. Having boxed two six round draws in 2014, first in July and then again in September, Perez and Mauras were matched a third time in hopes of finally determining a winner over the 8 round distance. Pitting young prospects against each other is something that occurs too infrequently in professional prizefighting; too often prospects engage in predictable mismatches in which little is learned and all that is showcased is one fighter's dominance. But hopefully, the lesson learned from the Perez-Mauras trilogy is that when matched against each other, young prospects deliver intriguing style clashes, entertaining fights and learning opportunities that can improve both fighters along the way to greater accomplishments. And on Saturday night, although a winner was clearer to determine in the main event this time, it became obvious Perez and Mauras would make for an entertaining bout each time they fought. And if this model used by promoter CESBoxing has proved anything it is that a rematch in the co-featured bout of the night, Abiague-Crespo, which ended in a split-decision, would likely be just as entertaining the second time around as it was the first.

Joseph Chip Perez, 132 1/2lbs, of Hartford, CT would probably match-up well with Agustine Mauras, 133lbs, of Lawrence, MA, if they fought 3 more times. Their styles just seem to mesh well,
with Perez in the role of athletic brawler who throws hard volleys of power punches and Mauras using a bit more science in his style with speedy jabs and a sneaky overhand right. In the first each man was a bit hesitant, perhaps checking to see what each brought to the ring this third time through the ropes. Mauras' punch output was greater early but two heavy rights from Perez in the final minute of the second won him the round and got Mauras' attention. As the bout continued, it was Mauras Massachusetts fighter with hard body-punches and well-timed rights. At the end of eight rounds the judges were unanimous, seeing it 79-73, and 78-74, twice, all in favor of Joseph "Chip" Perez who improved to 11-3-2 (3) while Agustine Mauras fell to 6-1-3 (3). But most importantly, neither fighter has been hurt by their 3 bout series, in fact it is quite the opposite. And hopefully other promoters might learn from the model of the Perez-Mauras trilogy; difficult competitive matches early in a young fighter's career are not something to be avoided.

Chip Perez lands a right to the head of Agustine Mauras

landing more frequently but Perez' heavier hands were the ones scoring the points. Perez looked tired in the sixth as Mauras controlled the range and the tempo but in the final two rounds Perez was able to control the

Super Bantamweight Josh Crespo of New Haven, CT, met Jorge Abiague of Portland, ME, in the 8 round co-feature. After a close first round, Crespo found his groove in the second countering well and forcing Abiague to reach for him. In the third Crespo nailed Abiague with a long right that had him reeling and clinging until the cobwebs cleared but Crespo was unable to finish him. A collision of heads in round five produced a cut up high near the hairline of Jorge Abiague and injected more drama into the match-up. Abiague switched to southpaw in the sixth, perhaps to try and protect the cut, then switched back to orthodox in the seventh as the fight became more tactical than thrilling in the final two rounds. When the scorecards were read the decision was split, two judges seeing it 78-74 in favor of Abiague overruling the third who saw it 77-75 for Josh Crespo. But considering the i3-2-2 (1) and Abiague improves to 8-1 (1).

Crespo, in black, rumbles with Abiague, in red

ntrigue generated from the encounter and what was learned in the rivalry between the Main Event fighters, a rematch between Crespo and Abiague is a foregone conclusion at least in the mind of this observer. Josh Crespo is now

Middleweight Jimmy Williams of New Haven, CT, defeated Jose Felix of Albuquerque, NM, by 3rd round knockout with a big overhand right. Williams, fighting for the first time with chief second Brian Clark of Ring One Boxing, counterpunched more, picked his shots better and fought more deliberately, likely hallmarks of the work with Clark, the trainer who developed both Tramaine Williams and Chad Dawson. On Saturday night after a mostly cautious first round, Williams put Felix down with a right uppercut left-hand combination in the second. Another hard uppercut at the end of the second gave Felix something to think about in his corner before the third. When the bout continued Williams walked Felix down and finished things with a well-placed right and Ref. Danny Schiavone counted Felix out at 2:34 of round three. Williams improved to 8-0-1(4) while Jose Felix dropped to 11-17-2(4).

New Haven, CT's Elvin Ayala, 170lbs, defeated Aaron Mitchell, 171lbs, of Philadelphia-via Vero Beach, FL, by six round unanimous decision. Mitchell landed the harder shots in the first but was Curtis Stevens, almost two years ago to the day. But on this night Ayala was in control with speedier, busier hands even in the face of Mitchell's heavier but more infrequent blows. After six the scorecards were 58-56, 59-55 and 60-54 all in favor of Ayala who moved to 27-6-1 (12) and Mitchell fell to 27-2-1 (21).

Ayala slips a jab from Mitchell

quickly befuddled by Ayala's movement, well placed body-shots and busy combinations. As the bout continued Ayala kept Mitchell hesitating outside, falling for feints and eating quick combinations. This was a chance to rebound for Ayala, in his first fight since a crushing 1st round kayo defeat in the same ring to

Middleweight, Khiary Gray-Pitts of Worcester, MA, scored an impressive body-shot kayo which left his opponent Jake Constant of Springfield, IL, writhing in pain and struggling to rise at 1:20 of round 1. The win, which looked more like an outright blitz brought Gray-Pitts to 4-0 (2) while Constant falls to 0-3.

Six foot six inch, two hundred sixty pound heavyweight Zhang Zhilei of Zhoukou, China, scored his second knockout win in as many fights in just 1:10 of round number one. Perry Filkins of New Hampshire was making his pro debut as a late substitute and was quickly outgunned and overwhelmed when Ref. Danny Schiavone waved it off, perhaps a bit prematurely. Filkins is now 0-1 as a professional prizefighter while Zhilei moves on at 2-0(2).

Junior welterweights Kin Moy of Cambridge, MA and Wang Zhimin of Ningo, China were making their pro debuts against each other in the second bout of the night. Zhimin landed the heavier blows throughout but Moy refused to give any ground and landed several bolting power-punches of his own in each round. At the end of 4 the officials saw it 40-36, 39-37 and 39-36 all in favor of Wang Zhimin who picks up victory number one as a pro, while Moy goes to 0-1.

One hundred seventy-nine and a half pound, Meng Fanlong of Inner Mongolia, China, debuted against one hundred seventy-eight pound Marcellus Yates of Washington, DC. Yates pressed the action early and paid for it as the southpaw Fanlong controlled the range of the fight with a stabbing right jab. Yates scored with a heavy right hand of his own in the 3rd round but was outgunned over the four round distance. The scorecards read 40-36 twice in favor of Fanlong with Judge Dick Flaherty's card of 38-38 making it a majority decision debut win for Fanlong. Yates is now 0-2.

And one hundred thirty eight pound, Briam Granado of New Bedford, MA made his pro-debut against one hundred thirty-seven pound, Theo Desjardin of North Attleboro, MA. Granado thrilled a large group of his supporters in the arena, scoring two knockdowns and stopping Desjardin in the first round of a scheduled 4 rounder. Granado is now 1-0 (1) while Desjardin is 0-5.

Post by K.O. Fantasy Boxing.