Capital One Arena, Washington, USA. In perhaps the most intriguing (on paper) fight of the show in the welterweight limit (up to 66.7 kg), the American Rashidi Ellis (24-1, 15 KOs) and puncher from Venezuela Royman Villa (26-1, 24 KOs). Underdog pulled out the victory.
The Venezuelan hid behind a high block, slowly, without punches, without work, crushed Ellis with his body. In response, he moved well, threw out lightning-fast jabs, hit the body well several times. The round is for the favorite, but it is better for him to stay away from the ropes – at times he drives himself into a corner of the ring.
Villa is not at all opposed to missing two blows, but responding with one. But in fact, he throws about as much as Ellis brings to the target. The puncher has a couple of overhands, one uppercut and several badipunches. He would like to increase the density of the battle, but he still can’t find the distance.
In the 4th round, Ellis beautifully caught the forward Pitcher Villa with an uppercut. He withstood the blow, but his legs buckled slightly. The Venezuelan works well in the body. Perhaps it would be nice to throw a little more of these blows. The favorite successfully counters almost every hit thrown by the slugger. It is important to note the Ellis jab – it works very clearly and hard.
The fight was suspended in the 7th round as the Venezuelan struck below the belt. A little later, he fouled again, but this time the referee did not notice the violation. The round turned out to be more competitive, ending with an exchange at the ropes. In a fight like this, Villa has a chance. Very reckless of Ellis.
The underdog had a very good 9th round. The favorite is tired of constantly backing away from the opponent, he misses more and more and feels the power of the opponent. Villa even more aggressively spent the next three minutes. Hooray, we finally have some intrigue!
The Venezuelan is now boxing (or rather fighting) with his hands down. Ellis leans more and more on the bike. This is justified – he minimized the missed blows, took the 11th three-minute period. Will there be a final assault from Villa?
Blimey! The Venezuelan knocked down the American with a left hook. Will he be able to get it? 30 seconds before the gong, Ellis was knocked down again. Final gong. Too late, Villa joined the fight.
The score of the judges: 113-113, 114-112 and 114-112 in favor of the underdog. Blimey! The fight, by the way, was an eliminator.
Villa MD 12.