Joseph “Blessed Hands” Adorno, a former amateur standout with heavy hands, was forced to rely on his cunning and discipline to fend off Hugo Alberto Roldan’s tenacious effort to win a 10-round unanimous decision in the super lightweight main event of SHOBOX: The New Generation on Friday, September 9 live on SHOWTIME.
The broadcast took place in the Grand Ballroom of Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, site of the first SHOBOX® more than 20 years ago, on July 21, 2001.
Adorno, who won by scores of 95-94, 95-94, 95-94 and recorded a knockdown in the second round, slumped to the canvas, overcome with emotion as the judges’ scorecards were read.
After losing a competitive decision to lightweight contender Michel Rivera in March for the first loss of his career, Adorno (17-1-2, 14 KOs) won his third fight in a row on Friday, showing poise and composure to avoid the Unorthodox advances from Roldan, who suffered his first loss and dropped to 21-1-1 with 7 KOs.
“I feel like all the hard work I’ve put in since I was a little kid is finally starting to pay off and it’s coming together,” said Adorno, who took the fight with Roldan on four weeks notice after the Shinard Bunch pulled out of the event. major. . “I lost a little bit of love for boxing for a while. But I am proud.
“He was an awkward fighter. I accepted the fight on short notice. He is a weight class above me. I am a 135 lbs. All hard work is rewarded by him. I went through a lot in the ring tonight, as any fighter does. I hurt my hand. I got a head butt that almost closed my eye. But I got over it all. I have what it takes.
“I can hang in there with the best. Give me a couple more fights and I’ll be ready for anyone.”
Adorno of Allentown, Pennsylvania, seemed headed for an easy win when he dropped Argentina’s Roldan to end the second round with a counter left hook at the bell. But Roldan’s aggressive and gruff style seemed to confuse and frustrate Adorno in the second half of the fight.
Roldan’s engine never slowed down. It was like a sling shot out of the corner to start each round as Adorno, a skilled counterpuncher, did his best to fend off Roldan’s onslaught.
After showing off and dancing a bit in the ring after stunning Roldan with a right hand to end the fourth, Adorno calmed down and relied on his deft boxing skills and the occasional power punch to come out with a narrow victory. When the fight ended, both boxers showed the badges of his efforts: Roldan’s left eye was nearly swollen shut, while Adorno had a deep swelling under his left eye but a victorious smile.
“You learn a lot from a fight like this,” Adorno said. “In boxing, you are going to face guys with different styles. Not everyone is going to be the same. Weird guys like Roldan make you look ugly. But you have to get over it, listen to your corner and adapt. That’s what we did tonight. He came out with that aggressive style because he knew he had to throw a lot of punches to win the fight. I understand that. He’s not a power puncher, so he had to throw punches to stand a chance. I’m glad we got the win.”
In the co-feature, Frency Fortunato showcased his boxing skills, power and grit to hold off a late attack from the aggressive and well-conditioned Bernard Angelo Torres to capture a split decision in a 10-round featherweight bout. Fortunato, who dropped southpaw Torres in the fourth round, won by scores of 97-92, 95-94 and 94-95 to improve to 14-1 with 10 KOs as Torres suffered his first loss and fell to 16- 1 with 7 KOs.
“I definitely think I won the fight solidly, but I respect the judges’ decision,” Fortunato said of his second fight in the US “I admit I lost a few rounds, but no more than that. I was in the best shape of my life going into this fight and I think it showed. I feel very happy about my performance and I think I clearly won. Torres was a good, fast fighter, but he lacked power.”
Torres was surprised by the 97-92 scorecard margin that tipped the fight in favor of Fortunato.
“It was a close fight that could have gone either way,” the 26-year-old Torres said. “But I don’t entirely agree with the 97-92 scorecard. I started slowly and gave away the first four rounds. That cost me the fight. I did better in the second half of the fight, but I should have started better.”
Constantly sizing up the shorter Torres and boxing comfortably off his back foot, the Dominican Republic’s Fortunato attacked Torres with hooks and rights as Torres scrambled in and paid for his aggressiveness in the first half of the fight.
Fortunato dropped Torres with a hard right counter with 40 seconds left in the fourth, the first time Torres had ever hit the canvas. It was a short, compact punch that landed on top of Torres’s head and Torres got up with a sheepish grin at being hit.
Filipino Torres, who has beaten former featherweight champion and countryman Mark Magsayo three times in the amateurs, was a different fighter after that fourth-round setback. He stunned Fortunato with a right counter late in the fifth and buzzed Fortunato again with a left and a right to end the eighth round. It was an impressive turnaround as Torres stepped forward and attacked Fortunato with punches.
Fortunato tested the canvas in the final seconds of the ninth, but referee Mary Glover ruled it a slip that seemed more the result of fatigue than a hit.
The tenth round was the best of the fight when Torres landed a left hand in the first minute of the frame that had Fortunato on the ropes. But Fortunato showed his courage and stood his ground as he landed a pair of uppercuts and then landed bloody right hands on Torres’ nose in the last 20 seconds of the fight to punctuate his close victory.
Roiman Villa made a successful US debut on Friday in the SHOBOX opener, dropping Janelson Bocachica and pummeling him in eight rounds to capture a unanimous decision by scores of 78-73, 79-72 and 79-72 in the eight-round welterweight fight. As well as delivering the flashier and heavier shots, Villa also hit Bocachica’s mouthpiece, breaking off five times, resulting in referee Harvey Dock deducting a point the third time he went airborne.
Villa (25-1, 24 KOs), a lanky and explosive boxer from Venezuela, dropped Bocachica 30 seconds into the second round with a slicing right hand as Bocachica was pinned against the ropes in the first knockdown of his career. The Detroit fighter rose quickly but found himself on the defensive again when a heavily tattooed Villa threw punches, causing Bocachica (17-1-1, 11 KOs) to lose his mouthpiece three times in the second, which ultimately caused Dock to deduct a point. in a nightmarish sequence for the 23-year-old.
“Although I would have liked to have gotten the knockout, I am very happy with the performance,” said Villa. “We had a short training camp of only five weeks and two of those weeks we had issues where we weren’t able to prepare the way we wanted to. I was 50 percent tonight. I am very happy to get the victory.
“This was my debut in the United States and I am happy for the opportunity to show my skills,” continued Villa. “We will definitely stay in the United States and get more fights. Whoever my promoter Sampson wants me to fight, I’ll follow his plan. We want to have great fights in the welterweight division and start making my case as a true contender in the division.”
Bocachica admitted he may have been a bit overconfident ahead of Friday’s fight against the virtually unknown Villa.
“I was overconfident thinking I would knock him out,” Bocachica said. “He hits hard, but I’ve been hit harder. He should have done more. All of my mouthpieces are a bit too short. We have to go to the drawing board and we will come back.”
The event was promoted by Sampson Boxing.
Hall of Famer Barry Tompkins called the action from ringside with veteran combat sports reporter and MORNING KOMBAT host Brian Campbell and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts with Hall of Famer Steve Farhood performing unofficial scoring tasks remotely. SHOBOX: The New Generation was produced by Gordon Hall with Chuck McKean producing and Rick Phillips directing.
The SHOBOX triple header will air again on Monday, September 12 at 10 pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME®.
