Escalante Emerges Victorious
Before this evening’s contest, Escalante 23-2 (14) had rattled off eight straight victories (five by stoppage) and sat at a lofty number eight in Ring Magazine’s featherweight ratings – a terrific place to be for the technically gifted youngster as he attempts to navigate his way to a world title shot.
Against Roman 28-7 (20), in front of a national audience via ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, the contender was pushed to the limits in a ten round slugfest, knocking his valiant opponent down in the eighth en route to a highly entertaining unanimous decision nod that will certainly further the Golden Boy promoted fighter’s appeal.
The pace was brisk from the opening bell as Roman immediately surged forward looking to draw his man into a brawl. He was successful but, in the opening half of the frame, the more polished Escalante ripped him with fast, scoring combinations. Roman enjoyed more success later in the round; however, as he connected with a stiff right hand and huge left hook that stunned the contender in the closing stages.
Roman attacked consistently in the second and, although was out-landed by the flashier Escalante early on, the gritty Mexican buzzed his man again with a left hook midway through the round. Escalante responded well and connected with three and four punch combinations for the remainder of the frame with a fired-up and fist throwing Roman breathing down his neck.
Escalante was being forced to work extremely hard and was rarely allowed a second to catch his breath. This led to jaw breaking and kidney bruising exchanges in the third and fourth rounds as both men teed off on each other with stunning ferocity. For the most part, Escalante’s punches were more accurate and plentiful, but he was toe-to-toe with an opponent that very few boxers would relish facing.
Although he absorbed a stream of punches, the now red faced Roman remained on the front foot and he harassed his opponent relentlessly with both hands – wobbling Escalante in the fifth with a left hook. The contender bared his teeth, shook away the cobwebs and shot back but Roman continued to blast away and he clearly out-fought and out-landed the 24-year-old throughout the three minutes.
The battle continued in vigorous fashion in the sixth with both guys forcing their fists against the jaw of the other. Roman was stapled to the chest of his opponent, it seemed, and he asked every imaginable question of the contender – his cinderblock chin smashing through the fists of Escalante and putting him in position to shoot back.
Escalante’s faster, shorter and straighter punches taxied him through an impressive seventh round that saw him heavily target the body of his opponent for the first time. Roman reset himself in the eighth and tagged his man with hard punches for much of the action. With thirty seconds remaining, however, Escalante exploded with a searing onslaught of punches that dumped Roman to the canvas.
The tough-as-nails Mexican got up and traded with Escalante for the remainder of the round and, in a show of respect, he hugged his man in the center of the ring after the bell had sounded.
After another grueling non-stop action round in the ninth, the exceptional efforts of an exhausted and bloodied Escalante looked in danger of collapse as Roman attacked in the tenth and final round. Just when he looked most in peril, however, he managed to find final, dogged bursts of energy to fight his way out of trouble and cement a hard earned victory in a breathtaking ten round fight.
Scores: 97-92; 96-93; 96-93
Undercard Report
In a junior welterweight contest, former US national amateur champion and undefeated, blossoming young professional Danny Garcia carved out a hard-fought ten round split decision victory over experienced Londoner Ashley Theophane.
Both guys had similar punch numbers in a quiet first round but it was Theophane 25-4-1 (7) that landed the more eye-catching shots – most notably with a right hand/left hook sequence near the end of the frame that stiffened Garcia 16-0 (10) for a beat.
The Englishman was also successful in the second and third rounds with single, digging shots, many of which landed cleanly, as his young opponent abandoned his jab and struggled to answer back effectively. Theophane’s punches were wide and really should have been countered by Garcia, but the American was reduced to landing occasional, glancing punches upstairs and sporadic body shots that failed to trouble the Londoner.
Garcia finally began to time his opponent’s reckless advances in the fourth and he connected with hard shots throughout the three minutes in a much improved showing. Feeding off that success, a more solid Garcia began to come on strong in the middle rounds as the action powered up a little. The Philadelphia fighter clearly possessed the quicker and stronger hands and he played the role of counter puncher well in the fifth and sixth – pocketing points and confidence as Theophane’s punches became wider and his chances began to recede.
Garcia hurt his man midway through the seventh with a monstrous right hand to the head and he furthered his control by landing a series of counter shots as Theophane habitually fell to the inside, directly into the path of the American’s right hand.
Theophane almost struck gold in the first minute of the eighth, however, when one of his looping right hands snaked its way past a Garcia hook and wobbled the young prospect. With his opponent losing focus, the Englishman continued to land his right hand for the remainder of the frame – bloodying the 21-year-old’s nose and arguably collecting the round.
Things got worse for Garcia a round later when referee Roberto Velez, who had already issued a warning, deducted a point for low blows. The undefeated fighter smiled, accepted the penalty, and then stepped on the gas in a solid attempt to soften the effects on the cards.
Garcia again was content to adopt the role of counter-puncher in the tenth and final round and he scored frequently with both hands as Theophane gamely campaigned in an aggressive but narrowly unsuccessful fashion.
Scores: 95-94; 96-94; 94-95
