Martin dug hard to the body before coming back with a left hand upstairs. Puello looked a bit discouraged by his inability to land cleanly. Martin landed a good straight left hand and continued to pick off the majority of Puello’s punches or simply move out of the way of them. Martin landed a short hook to the body as he continued to be the more effective fighter both offensively and defensively. The fight could be closer on the cards than our unofficial card but Martin is doing very good work thus far.
Martin was back on the pressure and that allowed him to land a pair of good right hands early. Puello landed a good jab before Martin landed a good lead right hook. Martin spent a stretch working well to the body. Both men landed good counter punches in a very short stretch. These have mostly been close rounds but Martin’s pressure and forward movement seems to be shading them slightly in his favor.
Martin was complaining in his corner that he got hit in the eye and was seeing double. Martin landed a good right hook in the opening moments of the round. Martin landed a good jab. Martin landed a few jabs and then a good left hand. Puello landed to the body and pushed Martin into the ropes where he did good work before Martin landed an uppercut and then to the body, backing Puello up. Martin landed a good combination and then Puello cracked with a good left hand counter that was the most telling shot of the exchange. A very close round that could be scored either way.
Martin landed a slick counter right hook as Puello tried to come forward. Puellow connected with the second jab of a two-jab combo. Martin landed good to the body and then an overhand right. Another right upstairs landed for Martin before Puello landed his own right hand. Puello landed a nice inside left hand. Martin landed a good left uppercut late that may have won him the round.
Martin worked off the jab while Puello kept his gloves up to pick off shots. Similarly, Martin showed some solid defensive responsibility in picking off or avoiding Puello’s early shots. Martin pushed forward and let a good combination go but Puello countered with a good left hook. Martin went downstairs with a left in this southpaw vs. southpaw contest. Martin ended the round with a good flurry.
Puello is a -130 favorite in this fight, meaning the bout is very close to a pick ’em. This should be a solid fight with a world title on the line.
A nice effort from Tellez against a veteran and former champion. Had he maybe shifted up a gear, he likely could have dropped Williams, if not gotten the stoppage. But Tellez got the win and challenges should only get more difficult from here in his career. 108-106 advantage in landed punches for Tellez in the fight.
Tellez dipped down with a hook to the body but Williams did land a short uppercut. Tellez again landed twice to the body and then moved to the head with a few good jabs. Williams connected with a solid jab, continuing to try his best to figure something out even as the final seconds ticked by.
Williams was checked by a doctor before the start of the round, but the doctor did allow the fight to go on. Williams sat down on some early punches with a bit of urgency after being checked out but then went back to moving as Tellez settled in again. Tellez landed a good right hand and then trapped Williams against the ropes where he landed a good uppercut. Tellez connected with a left hand to the body. Williams landed a body shot but then ate a better one from Tellez. Tellez connected wit a right hand and then a good uppercut. Whenever Williams has success, Tellez comes back with more and recaptures those moments.
Tellez connected with a good right hand and then an uppercut in the early part of the round. Williams landed his own short left hand before a good Tellez right hand. Tellez worked hard to the body along the ropes and used that to set up three uppercuts in a short flurry. Williams has remained game but has been pretty badly outclassed since the end of the fourth round.
Tellez trapped Williams along the ropes and let his hands go with a nice flurry. A series of three Tellez jabs stung Williams and then another upstairs before a final to the body had Williams on his heels. Williams was also bleeding from a cut below his left eye at this point. Tellez trapped Williams along the ropes and landed heavy shots to the head and body before Williams was finally able to fire back with a few power shots of his own.
Williams again found himself on the back foot as the younger Tellez pressed forward. Williams landed some good shots to the body and Tellez responded with two left hooks to the body of his own. Tellez again landed a pair of left hooks to the body before a right hand upstairs. Unless Williams figures out how to significantly change things up, this result is starting to feel pretty academic.
Tellez was, again, pressuring from the jump and landing shots to the body. Tellez connected with a good jab as Williams continued to back up but Williams did finally sit down and land a one-two combo. Tellez stung him with a solid hook and again forced Williams into backing up again. Tellez connected with a left hook. When Williams planted his feet, Tellez threw four punches, finishing with a good shot to the ribs.
Tellez pressured early, forcing Williams onto the defensive. That opened up body shots for Tellez as Williams’ back touched the ropes. Aside from the occasional jab, Williams’ effective offense had slowed to a crawl, either missing shots or being too busy moving backward to sit down on shots the way he had earlier in the fight.
Tellez walked down Williams and landed a few good jabs. Tellez forced Williams’ back into the ropes and landed a nice combination, dipping down to the body with power. Tellez again was able to get off with multiple punches before Williams could let his hands go and then Tellez tagged him with a hard jab. Williams has not made this easy but when Tellez is active, he’s the more effective fighter by a clear margin.
Tellez landed a hard left hook to the body, a shot which Williams did not seem to enjoy taking. Tellez continued to force Williams backward until Williams committed to planting his feet and returning first. Tellez’s defense remained solid until he found his back against the ropes, where Williams was able to land some heavy body punches. Williams scored with a good right hand late. This was a nice round for Williams.
Williams looked to slow things down early in the round but Tellez caught up to him, ripping to the body and then landing power to the head. Again, Williams responded by firing his own shots in return, not willing to back down but Tellez was clearly starting to take over the fight. Tellez mixed up hard right hands to the head with work to the body. Another round where Tellez’s power and aggression just dictated the majority of the action.
Tellez landed a hard right hand in the opening seconds, backing Williams up. Williams fired back, including with a good three punch combination. Williams stuck Tellez with a stiff jab to the body. Tellez started biting on Williams’ feints, which opened him up to a few more punches before Tellez tagged him with a hard left hook to the body. While Tellez was coming on more, Williams still fired back to try and keep the younger fighter honest in his attack. Williams landed a hard left hook before eating one in return. Williams is not making it easy on the youngster in this one.
Williams came out to start the fight as the more active fighter, throwing a steady stream of jabs with the occasional straight right behind them. Tellez kept a high guard and picked off most of the incoming fire before trying to walk Williams down. Williams did connect with a left hook around Tellez’s gloves. Tellez partially connected with his own overhand right. Williams kept being the busier fighter before Tellez came on a big with a few good looping shots but it was Williams landing the more telling late shot with a short hook.
Yoenis Tellez vs. Julian Williams will be the first fight up. Tellez is a big -1300 favorite heading into this interim WBA junior middleweight title bout.
We are live for tonight’s card headlined by Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. Davis is a heavy favorite ahead of the fight but Roach has promised to be ready and up to the challenge. We will have live updates all night so stick with us!
