Mashantucket, CT (BoxingGurus.com) - The almost sold out crowd at Foxwoods Casino and viewers on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights got a nice treat by seeing two great warriors battle it out and throw over 2,700 punches between them.
The challenger Ben "Wonder" Tackie (23-2, 14 KO) won a close majority decision to win the NABF Super Lightweight title over "Sucra" Ray Oliveira (42-8-1, 19 KO). The judges scorecards read 114-114, 115-113 (Tackie) and 116-112 (Tackie). BoxingGurus.com, at ringside, had the fight 116-113 (Tackie).
To show how action packed this fight was, Oliveira/Tackie had the second highest amount of punches thrown in a fight according to CompuBox. There were 2,729 total punches thrown. Oliveira connected 283 of 1371 for 21%. Tackie connected 232 of 1358 for 17%. The highest total ever also had Ray Oliveira involved from the Oliveira/Padilla fight on 12/16/93, where they threw 3,020 punches.
"I was prepared to win every round as I knew I was going into his (Oliveira's) hometown," said Tackie. "I feel really good at 140. I would like to get a shot at a world title with either Kostya Tszyu or Zab Judah."
In the first two rounds, Tackie took it to Oliveira landing big punch after big punch, but the steel chinned Oliveira didn't even look phased. Tackie kept landing clean 4-5 punch combos and Oliveira just had no answers.
Oliveira finally became more active in the 3rd round, throwing many great 3-4 punch combos. In the middle of the round, both fighters stood toe-to-toe and had a great exchange of punches for like 30 seconds. Oliveira clearly won the round.
Tackie came back in the 4th round landing a 10 punch barrage toward the end of the round. He appeared to have Tackie hurt just prior by landing a triple left hook combination, but Tackie might have just been playing possum to try and catch Oliveira.
The 5th round was one of the best rounds we have seen in person in years. Oliveira and Tackie exchanged punches for the last half of the round and both fighters had to throw well over 100 punches each. The conclusion of the round yielded an explosive flurry of punches by both fighters with complete disregard for defensive tactics. With the constant change in momentum, this round could have gone either way.
Tackie came out strong again in the 6th and 7th rounds and just flat out took it to Oliveira. Tackie was landing many power shots that appear to be wearing down Oliveira. Tackie is just controlling the action and throwing the better power shots.
Oliveira stepped it up a bit in the 8th and 9th rounds throwing more punches, as Tackie appears to be saving himself for the championship rounds. Tackie won the 8th with a big burst at the end of the 8th, but Oliveira clearly won the 9th by landing the more clean shots and trying to take the momentum back.
Both fighters maintained the bouts' furious pace in the 10th round. Tackie was controlling the round with great crisp combos, but right at the end of the round, Oliveira landed a triple left hook that clearly stunned Tackie, but it wasn't enough to win the round.
Oliveira came out in the 11th round seeming to know he had to either win the last two rounds or score a knockout. Oliveira pushed the action and Tackie became a bit tentative. The crowd really started getting behind local boy Oliveira and it definitely seemed to help win him the round.
The 12th round had Oliveira trying to do the same as the 11th, but after a few seconds Tackie caught Oliveira with a big right hook that made him back peddle and get on his bike a bit. Tackie went on to control the rest of the round to close out a very impressive victory.
UNDERCARD:
In an entertaining Lightweight bout, former 1992 United States Olympian Julian Wheeler (20-6-2, 8 KO) and Daniel Alicea (24-4-2, 19 KO) fought to a draw. The judges' scorecards read 97-93 (Wheeler), 96-94 (Alicea) and 95-95. BoxingGurus.com, at ringside, had the fight 97-93 (Wheeler).
Alicea was the more active fighter, but Wheeler was the more accurate, landing solid combinations throughout the fight. The punch stats supported Wheeler winning the fight: Wheeler (176 of 635, 28%) and Alicea (113 of 1,100, 10%). Neither fighter was seriously hurt during the fight, but Wheeler's shots clearly had the more power behind them.
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Hot local Middleweight prospect Peter Manfredo Jr. (7-0, 4 KO) looked good enough to win a unanimous decision over Ghana native Rhon Roberts (8-3, 3 KO). Manfredo Jr. was very active and landed a few left hooks that momentarily stunned Roberts, but at no point were either fighter in trouble. All the judges scored the fight 40-36 (Manfredo Jr.). BoxingGurus.com, at ringside, also had it 40-36 (Manfredo Jr.).
