Round Up: Lucky Boy Wins By TKO

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J.

12 Rds., Featherweights

YURIORKIS GAMBOA, 20-0, 16 KOs, Miami vs.

DANIEL PONCE DE LEON, 41-3, 34 KOs, Huntington Park, Calif.

UNDERCARD

FIGHT: WALE ‘LUCKY BOY’ OMOTOSO, 18-0, 16 KOs, Nigeria vs CALVIN ODOM, 15-10, 11 KOs, Inglewood, Ca.

DIVISION: 8 Rds., Welterweights

RESULT: Lucky Boy Wins By TKO

DETAIL: Things did not look good for Lucky Boy in the opening round. He’d just gotten done walloping Odom with a pair of solid punches, when Odom swung and caught him with a shot from nowhere, knocking Lucky Boy down. Lucky Boy got up, but he looked badly hurt. For the rest of the round, he was in survival mode, as he stumbled and staggered while trying to prevent Odom from finishing him.

Lucky Boy recovered, and in the second, he went on the attack. As the seconds ticked by, he increasingly appeared to be finding something of a rhythm. He was landing crisp, clean punches and keeping Odom from doing too much damage. In the third, Lucky Boy stepped up his game even more and leveled Odom with a big right hand. Odom flopped flat on his back, but got back up and fought on until the bell rang.

Nevertheless, the momentum had swung clearly toward Lucky Boy; and the fifth began with Lucky Boy once again in offensive mode. He backed Odom against the ropes and loosed a barrage of heavy punches which Odom failed to defend himself against, prompting the ref to call the fight only 33 seconds into it. The crowd unleashed a chorus of boos, but it didn’t matter: The bout was over, and Lucky Boy had won.