In a revenge match, unbeaten featherweight Michael “Mick” Conlan (13-0, 7 KOs) outscored 2106 Rio nemesis Vladimir Nikitin (3-1, 0 KOs) over ten rounds on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Conlan was cut over the right eye in round eight, but posted a clear 98-92, 99-91, 100-90 decision. Nikitin was 2-0 against Conlan in the amateurs.
Unbeaten super middleweight Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga (13-0, 13 KOs) extended his streak of first-round knockouts to 13 against Cesar Nunez (16-2-1, 8 KOs). Berlanga dropped Nunez twice. Time was 2:45.
Berlanga said he came into the fight determined to keep his first-round knockout streak going in honor of his late cousin, Anthony Santana, who he said was murdered during training camp. “Next fight I want to go more rounds, but I wanted the first-round knockout for my cousin,” Berlanga stated. “I want to be the one to carry the Puerto Rican flag and represent the island in New York.”
Junior welterweight Josue “The Prodigy” Vargas (16-1, 9 KOs) scored a hard fought ten round unanimous decision over Noel Murphy (14-2-1, 2 KOs) in a clash for the IBF North American belt. Scores were 98-92 3x.
Unbeaten super lightweight Julian “Hammer Hands” Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) won an eight round unanimous decision over Manuel Mendez (16-6-3, 11 KOs). Rodriguez dropped Mendez in round one and nearly got a referee’s stoppage, however the very tough Mendez went the full eight. Scores were 80-71, 80-71, 79-72.
Conlan’s record is not 22-0-1. It’s 13-0, with 7 ko’s
I’ve watched Mick Conlan since his early fights and never thought of him as an A level fighter. He has decent boxing skills but doesn’t really have pop in his punches. His biggest claim to fame is that he was robbed in the Olympics by Nikitin. He did outbox his opponent easily last night.
After watching Nikitin in last night’s fight, there’s good news and bad news regarding him. The good: he’s relentless, throws a lot of punches, and can take a punch. The bad: he looks top heavy, lunges way too often, looks off balance much of the time, doesn’t have a lot of sting in his punches either, and is not accurate in his punching. I can see why he won a lot of fights in the amateurs but is a B level fighter in the pros.
I believe Conlan will go on to have a good career, but I just don’t see him rising to the top. He does have a huge following so he can be a major attraction in future cards. However, there are just too many good fighters in the featherweight class and he just doesn’t have the tools to deal with the elite fighters in his division.
Could not agree more.He will put people to sleep but not in the ring .