Troy Ross vs. Michael Simms: Round By Round

After the umpteenth replay of James Toney versus Fres Oquendo, it's time for a new edition of Fight Night on Versus, live from the Bell Centre in Montreal. Adrian Diaconu and Jean Pascal will battle in front of their local fans in the main event, but The Contender Season 4 champion Troy Ross is in action first.

Wally Matthews and Barry Tompkins are calling the action. They are reporting a crowd of about 15,000 on hand at the Bell Centre.

This is Ross' first fight since winning the TV show title. He is 21-1 and comes into the ring to Kanye West's "Jesus Walks." Ross turns 34 next month, so as the announcers correctly point out, he can't waste time in his career.

Opponent Michael Simms is generously being called a veteran, sporting a 20-10-1 pro record. He's lost six of his last seven but isn't necessarily an easy out, as he's never been knocked out.

The tale of the tape shows Simms with a height and weight advantage. Christian Gauthier handles the introductions in both English and French, and we're set to go for a scheduled 10 rounds in the cruiserweight division.

Round 1

Apparently these guys fought as amateurs, with Ross coming out on top. Ross reaches with some jabs. He lunges to the body. Simms pumps his jab as well. Ross works the body along the ropes as Simms covers his head. Nice right hook by Ross. Both men throw to the body and the ref steps in. Ross jabs twice and ties up. Left hand by Ross knocks Simms back a step or two. He throws more chopping left hands in the final 20 seconds.

Franchise: 10-9 Ross

Round 2

Ross uses jabs to try to set up his left. Left uppercut from Ross finds a home. They wrestle in close and Ross tries to punch his way free. Nice one-two by Ross in the corner. Simms is covering up and only throwing sporadic uppercuts in return. Ross tries to hook around Simms' high guard. They back into a corner again and trade uppercuts. Simms finally walks forward but he hasn't found anything effective thus far.

Franchise: 10-9 Ross

Round 3

Here comes Simms with a left hook right off the bat. Ross is swinging wildly with his lefts. Ross triples up on the jab. Right to the body by Ross. Simms waves Ross in, but they tie up. The announcers want to see more jabs from Simms. Now he gets off a two-punch combo upstairs. Ross peppering the jabs but missing follow-up shots. That was Troy's weakest round, but he probably won it with activity.

Franchise: 10-9 Ross

Round 4

We see a shot of Diaconu warming up. Ross jabs some more and throws right hooks. Troy just misses a big left. Simms comes forward off balance. Right hook to the head by Ross. Simms lands a right but has to cover up right away as return fire comes back. A right hand to the body makes Simms wince and his pants slip down. Ross works the body again in the final 10 seconds.

Franchise: 10-9 Ross

Round 5

Ross' corner works on some swelling and possibly a cut by his right eye. Ross forces Simms back along the ropes. A left to the body looked a little low from Troy. Simms is more active now but he isn't landing. Just as I say that, he smacks Ross on his swollen eye. Ross fires back to the head and body. Troy bullies Simms along the ropes as they lean on each other. They trade and Simms almost loses his trunks again. Simms gets some shots in during the closing seconds.

Franchise: 10-9 Ross

Round 6

Ross is winning easily but he's lucky his opponent isn't a big puncher. Simms comes forward and lands a nice right uppercut. They trade from super close range and the ref warns Ross for leading with his head. Ross jabs and ties up. The ref calls timeout for an accidental headbutt. Ross retreats and throws jabs as he goes. Both men try hooks and uppercuts in close. Nice flurry by Simms before the bell. Close round.

Franchise: 10-9 Simms

Round 7

Ross is bleeding a little from his left eye. Left hand scores for Simms. Both guys miss wild shots as they come in. Left upstairs and right to the body by Ross. Ross turns it up with a right uppercut and presses forward. Simms digs in and just misses a right hook. Troy throws clubbing left hands and backs Simms up again. Quick one-two by Ross. Troy showed more spark in that round.

Franchise: 10-9 Ross

Round 8

The cut over Ross' left eye looks worse than I thought. He trades along the ropes and circles back into the center. There's more wrestling that forces the ref to step in. They lean and grapple some more. Ross lands two left hands and they tie up again. Quick right hook counter by Ross. Not much of consequence in the last 20 seconds.

Franchise: 10-9 Ross

Round 9

Simms comes out with energy but Ross still has bounce in his legs. Troy jabs and tries to find his way through Simms' gloves. Left-right combo from Ross. Simms looks for uppercuts inside. Both men look a bit fatigued right now. Simms comes forward as Ross tries more left hands. Ross lands the last few shots of the round.

Franchise: 10-9 Ross

Round 10

Unless something crazy happens, Simms is looking at yet another decision loss. Ugly close range fighting as before. Simms is rocked by a right hook but doesn't look hurt. The ref gives Simms to recover from a shot below the belt. It looked pretty low. Left uppercut by Simms as they resume fighting. Ross takes it well and throws to the body. They are tangled along the ropes, but Troy finds room for a few right hands. Simms doubles over and gets a standing eight with ten seconds to go. Simms makes it to the final bell though.

Franchise: 10-8 Ross

Franchise: 99-90 Ross

The judges score it 98-91 and 99-90 twice, all to the winner by unanimous decision, Troy "The Boss" Ross.

Posted by The Franchise