Michael Plania got off to a fast start with a pair of knockdowns but then had to hold on late to pull off an upset majority decision victory over Josh Greer Jr. on Tuesday in the main event of Top Rank's card from the MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom in Las Vegas. The card was held without fans and was the third event since boxing's return to Vegas.
Plania (24-1) made his mark against one of the bantamweight division's rising talents. He set the tone by dropping Greer (22-2-1) with a hard left hook in the opening minutes of the fight.
Greer had difficulty rattling Plania in the early rounds. He was stuck on the outside as his Filipino opponent plucked away with a whip-like left hook and a sharp jab. Greer — who entered the fight as the No. 1 contender for the WBO title held by Johnriel Casimero — simply couldn’t figure out what to do as he remained on the outside and allowed himself to be picked apart.
Greer found himself on the canvas again in the sixth round after another left hook — and in a deep hole on the scorecard. Greer bounced back in the seventh and finally found his way inside with combinations late in the round.
Recognizing that Plania was fatiguing, Greer cranked up the pressure in the final two rounds by committing to pushing inside and letting his hands go.
Unfortunately for him, it was too little, too late. Plania earned scores of 96-92 and 97-91 to go with a head-scratching 94-94 card.
Nevertheless, Plania pulled off the upset. Now he finds himself in the mix in a crowded division.
In the co-feature, Giovani Santillan remained undefeated with a controversial majority decision over Antonio DeMarco.
This fight was supposed to be the rising star (Santillan) using the seasoned veteran (DeMarco) as a launching pad to contention. Instead, DeMarco outworked Santillan for much of the fight. The 34-year-old used pressure and body punching to keep Santillan honest.
It looked as if Santillan was going to be worn down by the consistent pressure, but he dug deep and fought hard in the final two rounds to claw his way to the victory by scores of 96-94, 96-94 and 95-95.
It wasn’t a highway robbery, but it certainly seemed that DeMarco had done enough to earn the victory. Instead, the former WBC lightweight champion fell to 33-8-1 overall and 2-5 in his last seven. As for the 28-year-old Santillan, this was certainly a learning experience. He improved to 26-0, but he still has a long way to go before he can compete with elite welterweights.
In other action, Nikoloz Sekhniashvili rolled past Isiah Jones for a unanimous decision in six-round middleweight action. Sekhniashvili (6-0) continuously pressed forward and loaded up on big punches to keep Jones (8-2) fighting off his back foot and unable to muster much offense. Sekhniashvili cruised to 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55 scores.
Hector Perez (6-3) easily outboxed Juan Torres (5-3-1) to take a clear unanimous decision in six-round heavyweight action. Perez, who was outweighed by 30 pounds, used his superior conditioning and boxing ability to make it an easy night for himself, with scores of 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55.
Bobirzhan Mominov kept his undefeated record intact with a hard-fought victory over journeyman Cameron Krael (17-16-3). Mominov (11-0) started fast and kept the pressure on throughout the eight-round super welterweight affair. Krael attempted to fend off the Kazakh fighter by popping the jab, but Mominov was simply too strong and active. All three judges saw the fight in his favor, with scores of 58-55, 58-55 and 57-56.