Boxing

Local boxers take unkind hits

Nate Campbell suffers a disheartening split decision that was not greeted kindly by the home crowd.

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published June 15, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Tampa promoter Terry Trekas brought boxing back to the St. Petersburg Coliseum Tuesday night, but might be wishing he hadn't.

Trekas saw two of his fighters suffer lopsided knockout losses on national television.

But the loss by a third, Nate Campbell, truly stung.

Campbell, hoping to get back in the 132-pound title picture and ranked No. 8 by the IBF, was the jewel in Trekas' stable, but he lost a split decision to Francisco Lorenzo in the main event, televised live on ESPN2.

Campbell had to forsake his slick skills to pound it out with Lorenzo, who was the busier fighter. But he seemed to land few damaging punches, while Campbell opened up a cut over Lorenzo's right eye.

Two judges scored it 97-92 and 96-93 for Lorenzo, while a third had it 95-94 for Campbell.

Lorenzo was able to overcome a point deduction for hitting low in the fourth round.

The decision was booed and stunned Campbell, who dropped to 26-4-1 with the loss.

Lorenzo fought an aggressive style that seemed to frustrate the Jacksonville native, doing most of his best work inside while pinning his head into Campbell's shoulders.

Lorenzo (21-3) was penalized for hitting low, and also was warned about head butting and hitting Campbell in the back of his head. At the end of more than one round, Lorenzo had to be pulled away from Campbell.

If he meant to turn the fight into a brawl and keep Campbell from using his quickness, it worked. Lorenzo took some of Campbell's best shots and burrowed forward to keep him from getting off anything from a comfortable range.

In the sixth round, Campbell cut Lorenzo, and peppered the cut in the seventh as he finally found a way to keep his distance and land some of his cleanest shots.

It was the end of a bad night for Trekas and his One Punch Productions as Hudson's Brian Chiary and Oldsmar's Carlos Manuel Rivera already had lost.

Bouncing his left jab off Chiary's face at will, Chicago's David Estrada scored an easy technical knockout as referee Jorge Alonso stopped the bout with two seconds left in the fifth round.

Rivera was beaten as soundly by Mexican Jose Hernandez.

Rivera, 5-0 coming in, was knocked down in the first round, appeared to take a knee twice in the third round when backed into a corner, and was knocked down once more and took two knees in the fourth round.

The fight was stopped due to the three-knockdown rule.

On the undercard, St. Petersburg's Glenn LaPlante scored a unanimous decision over Joseph Benjamin of Miami in a four-round fight, and 4th Street Boxing Gym stablemate Anthony Brooks nearly pulled off the upset of the night.

The 43-year-old Brooks (14-16-3) knocked down light heavyweight prospect Rowland Bryant in the sixth and final round, but it wasn't enough to make up a deficit as the judges scored it 57-56 on two cards and 58-55 on the other.

Sarasota heavyweight Sam Tillman gave away 10 inches to towering Earl Ramon Hayes and ate a stiff jab all night in dropping an six-round unanimous decision.

The 2004 Trainer of the Year, St. Petersburg's Dan Birmingham, was in the corner for the debut of light heavyweight Akinyemi Laleye, who knocked out Howard Gatch in the first round.

[Last modified June 15, 2005, 00:44:10]