In front of a crowd of no more than 70 people, the product of the coronavirus pandemic that has caused cancellations of sporting events across North America, Brandun Lee collected his 17th career knockout as he made short work of Camilo Prieto in the main event of a "ShoBox" quadrupleheader Friday at the Grand Casino Hinckley in Hinckley, Minn.
The atmosphere was more akin to a slow day at the boxing gym than a televised fight night because of the lack of fans in attendance. But while multiple sporting events have fallen victim to the spreading coronavirus/COVID-19, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Department of Athletic Regulation and the Grand Casino Hinckley decided to move forward with Friday’s event without a live audience.
Landed punches were heard loud and clear, the advice of cornermen echoed off the Grand Casino ballroom walls and it’s almost certain that the fighters could hear the commentary team calling their fight.
Nevertheless, the fights went on with the favorites coming away with victories.
Lee (19-0) faced little adversity against Prieto (15-3) as the super lightweight knockout artist sought to get some rounds in, but there was little in the way of learning because he was facing an overmatched opponent.
After Prieto failed to land a single punch in the first two rounds, Lee decided the Cuban wasn't worth his time and put him out of his misery. Lee spent much of the fight posturing and posing while Prieto was unable to get any offense in. Lee then put his foot on the gas and began landing thudding combinations at will.
With Prieto unable to respond with punches of his own, Lee clobbered his opponent around the ring until the referee called a halt to the fight at the 2:34 mark of Round 3. It's clear that Lee is ready for a step up in competition.
In the co-main event, 19-year-old prospect Brian Norman Jr. was tested early and often by Flavio Rodriguez, but an accidental head-butt at the beginning of the seventh round abruptly ended the fight and led to a technical unanimous decision in favor of Norman.
Although Rodriguez was game, he was clearly outclassed by Norman, who routinely beat his opponent to the punch and used an effective body attack. Neither fighter was really hurt in the fight, but Norman showcased his ability with quick-twitch reflexes and the skill to fight both on the inside and at range.
Unfortunately, the clash of heads split Rodriguez in the middle of his forehead and caused the fight to be halted. All three judges saw it in favor of Norman, with scores of 69-64, 68-65 and 68-65.
In an eight-round lightweight bout, Alejandro "Pork Chop" Guerrero improved to 12-0 with a majority decision over Jose Angulo (12-2).
The fight was a lot closer than two of the judges had it (one blasphemous 79-73 scorecard and a 78-74 score) as Angulo used his height and reach early on to neutralize his smaller opponent. Guerrero did rally strong down the stretch and rocked Angulo several times in the second half of what was an exciting fight.
After suffering knockdowns in each of the first two rounds, Aram Avagyan rallied to win a majority decision over Dagoberto Aguero in an eight-round featherweight bout.
It appeared that it would be a short night for Avagyan (10-0-1, 4 KOs) after Aguero landed a hard right hand that put him down in the first round and then duplicated the feat in the second frame. That was all that Aguero (17-1, 11 KOs) had in the tank, however. Avagyan applied pressure on his exhausted opponent to take over the final third of the fight.
While one judge scored it 75-75, that draw score was overruled by the other two judges, who saw it in favor of Avagyan, 77-74 and 76-74.