El Paso is the site for tonight's broadcast of Friday Night Fights, headlined by Antonio Escalante and Miguel Roman. Joe Tessitore lets Escalante talk a little bit about his story and his history with Roman growing up.
Teddy Atlas is also on hand, as usual. Escalante is 22-2, but he's won eight in a row, including five by KO. Atlas says that even though Roman is thought of as a power guy, he expects Escalante to flex his power tonight.
Andre Ward is in the studio with Brian Kenny. Ward acknowledges the thinking that Mikkel Kessler was the Super Six pre-tournament favorite, and though he was pleased with his victory, he doesn't consider it a coming-out party like many observers did.
The first fight is a 10-rounder between Ashley Theophane and 15-0 Philly product Danny Garcia. The 21-year old Garcia has been showcased a bit on pay-per-view undercards but he's yet to make it past eight rounds in any of his pro fights.
Theophane lands a few nice shots at the end of the first round. The fans aren't digging the action in the first two frames as Theophane is moving in and out a lot and Garcia is patiently stalking him.
Atlas wants to see more jabs from Garcia. Both men are scoring semi-regularly with hooks but no one has put together much sustained offense. Garcia finally comes to life in the second half of Round 4, landing a nice two-punch combo to the head and strafing Theophane with body shots.
Ward offers his two cents from the studio, saying that even though Garcia seems to be setting up Theophane for a KO in the later rounds, he still should be boxing more. Danny is warned for a low shot in the last minute of Round 6, but things are going his way now thanks to his success landing hard counter shots.
Escalante is interviewed between rounds. He says he needs to stay smart and throw punches in bunches. Antonio also discusses his personal feud with Roman and the pressure involved fighting in front of his home fans.
Garcia has landed more punches and at a higher percentage through six rounds. The seventh and eighth rounds are more of the same, and Teddy has given Danny every round since the third.
We'll see how Garcia does in his first trip into the late rounds. He does get deducted a point in the ninth round for another low blow, so that may play into the scoring if the judges have it close.
Both men stay pretty lively down the stretch, and we'll go to the scorecards. The judges have it 95-94 Theophane, 95-94 Garcia and 96-94 Garcia. The winner by split decision is Danny Garcia. That was a decent outing, but nothing spectacular by any means.
Back to the studio with BK and Ward. Andre talks about the slow build of his pro career and the thinking involved. He also discusses the success he had in the Olympics and the state of the U.S. program.
Naturally, the talk turns to the Super Six. Ward narrates highlights of his victory over Kessler.
Kenny brings up some recent quotes from Allan Green, who isn't short on confidence. Ward claims he was not surprised that Jermain Taylor withdrew, and he says that since he wasn't training yet, it wasn't a big deal to switch his focus to Green.
Posted by The Franchise
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