Undefeated Prospects Shine on Shobox
Young prospect Erislandy Lara outworked and controlled his toughest opponent to date, Danny Perez, to remain undefeated by unanimous decision Friday evening on ShoBox: The New Generation. In the SHOWTIME® co-feature Carlos Velasquez impressed with a fourth-round knockout over late replacement Ira Terry to also remain undefeated.
The evening of fights took place at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
Lara (11-0, 6 KOs) from Miami, Fla., controlled the 10-round junior middleweight bout from the opening bell. The more experienced Perez (34-7, 17 KOs) of Carlsbad, Calif., struggled to find his rhythm and had no answer for Lara’s quick punches and swift footwork. Perez’s corner urged him to throw his combinations and let his hands fly but he wasn’t able to answer their pleas.
Lara refused to back down and was awarded the unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 99-91. After the fight he only had praise for his team and his new trainer Ronnie Shields. “I felt great. I can really feel the difference my new team has made. My preparations were strong and we executed it tonight, especially now that I have Ronnie in my corner. I know my team will guide me to my dream of a world title this year.”
Velasquez (12-0, 10 KOs) of Las Vegas, started off strong wreaking havoc on Terry’s body with fierce and unrelenting shots, taking away any movement he hoped to have. Terry (24-3, 14 KOs) of Memphis, Tenn., was a late replacement, taking the fight on only five days notice when Velasquez’s originally scheduled opponent Alejandro Perez had to pull out of the fight due to injury.
Ten seconds into the fourth round Velasquez unleashed a hellacious flurry of punches that sent Terry to the canvas where Terry was counted out just 20 seconds into the round. The super featherweight bout was scheduled for eight rounds. After the fight Velasquez spoke about his victory. “I felt great in there. I worked really hard for this fight. I knew he was getting tired because I kept hitting his body with shots. This was the biggest fight of my career. It meant a lot to me because I haven’t fought in a while. But I came back strong with a big knockout.”
Boxing royalty Mike Tyson and Roberto Duran were on hand to watch the night’s fights along with two-time former world champion Fernando Vargas, mixed martial arts star Jason “Mayhem” Miller and kickboxing legend Ray Sefo.
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