The OTX junior middleweight tournament final is set.
Brandon Adams scored a knockdown en route to a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Francisco Veron Friday on DAZN from Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Scores were 98-91, 96-93, and 95-94 for Adams, who improved to
Adams will face Andreas Katzourakis, who defeated Robert Terry by split decision earlier on the card.
The clash between Adams and Veron was competitive and even early on. Veron—who represented Argentina in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics—relied on his youth and athleticism to outbox Adams.
It was a flawed strategy which Adams exploited and hit his offensive stride in the fourth.
Veron boxed from distance in the fifth. The 25-year old landed a series of right hands, but Adams’ punches slowly took their toll. Towards the end of round six, Adams landed a left hook to the body that hurt Veron.
Adams landed a right cross behind a jab one minute into round seven. Veron momentarily staggered but managed to get away from Adams or clench to avoid getting hurt. Later in the round, a barrage of punches sent Veron to sit down on a ring ropes, prompting referee Ansel Stewart to administer an eight-count.
Adams continued to punish Veron, outboxing and outlanding to the head and body over the next two rounds. Sensing he was down on the scorecards, Veron went on the attack and Adams against the ropes. However, Veron did little to land anything significant during the round.
Adams (25-3, 16 knockouts), 35, earned his semifinal slot with a third-round knockout of Ismael Villarreal on April 19. The same show saw Veron (14-1-1, 10 KOs) defeat Angel Ruiz via decision in their quarterfinal contest.
Katzourakis and Terry scored quarterfinal wins on a May 31 OTX show to set up Friday’s semifinal matchup. Katzourakis (14-0, 10 KOs) won a majority decision over Kudratillo Abdukhakorov, and settled for a split decision victory on Friday. The Houston-based Greece native won by matching scores of 98-92 on two cards. They overruled a 98-93 score for Terry (12-1-1, 4 KOs), who previously defeated Estevan Villalobos to earn his place here.
One judge scored the bout 98-93 for Terry, but the other two judges scored the bout 98-92 for Katzourakis, who improve 14-0, 10 KOs.
Katzourakis was effective with his lead left hook, which Terry took well. Terry was the busier fighter between the two. There were instances when Terry landed more punches and combinations during exchanges.
It was the late surge by Katzourakis, though, which sealed the victory. The 26-year-old increased his punch output over the final three rounds. Katzourakis put Terry on the defensive, with vicious hooks and crosses to the head and body.
Adams and Katzourakis will now meet in the tournament final on an OTX show later this year.
Katzourakis earned the semi-final bout against Terry by winning a close majority decision over former world welterweight contender Kudratillo Abdukakhorov on May 31. He is managed by David McWater.
Terry, who resides in Jersey City, New Jersey, falls to 12-1-1, 4 KOs. In the opening-round tournament bout, Terry defeated Estevan Villalobos be decision, which also took place on May 31.
PIERCE SURVIVES GUT CHECK
Elijah Pierce notched another win that he hopes will lead to a world title shot in 2025.
Pierce, rated No. 9 by The Ring at 122 pounds, outboxed Jose Sanmartin over 10 rounds, winning by unanimous decision. Scores were 97-93, 97-93 and 99-91 for Pierce, who improved to 20-2, 16 knockouts.
Sanmartin was the aggressor from the opening bell, walking the southpaw Pierce down in an attempt to back him up against the ropes and split his guard. The taller Pierce was effective in utilizing lateral movement and angles, but Sanmartin would occasionally land a left hook above Pierce’s right hand or uppercuts to the head.
Pierce varied his offense, including a three-punch combination, all with right hooks to the head and body of Sanmartin.
Midway through round four, Sanmartin dropped to one knee on the canvas. Referee Malik Waleed ruled a Pierce punch landed on Sanmartin’s upper left leg, but replays showed a right and left punch Pierce landed on the beltline. As action resumed, sensing Sanmartin was hurt, Pierce was on the attack, but was not able to again land anything flush that again hurt Sanmartin during the rest of the round.
Despite Pierce focusing his attack to the body in round five, Sanmartin was able to land a lead right hand and a counter left hook to the head. Sanmartin was also able to sneak a right uppercut to the head as well.
Both fighter had their moments during the second half of the fight, each connecting with their share of combinations and punches.
Sanmartin began fighting more on the outside in round eight. Pierce initiated more exchanges during this round rather than looking to counter as he had done earlier in the fight.
During the final two rounds, likely sensing he needed to swing momentum his way, Sanmartin was back to being the aggressor. He was able to find some success on the inside, but Pierce was more effective in the pocket, varying his offense, but connecting with sweeping left crosses to the head of Sanmartin.
Friday’s win over Sanmartin took place five months after Pierce stopped former world title challenger Arthur Villanueva in round 4. Pierce had been knocked down earlier in the fight.
The 27-year-old had won his last 11 bouts since a majority decision loss to fringe featherweight contender Sulaiman Segawa in September 2019. Pierce also has wins over former junior featherweight contender Mike Plania and former world title challenger Tramaine Williams.
Sanmartin, who resides in Barranquilla, Colombia, fell to 35-9-1, 21 KOs. The 31-year-old has now lost four of his last six bouts, including defeats to Mauricio Lara and Kevin Gonzalez.
PRELIMINARY UNDERCARD
Junior lightweight Maliek Montgomery knocked out former world title challenger Oscar Escandon in round two.
Montgomery, who resides in Macon, Georgia, improves to 19-0, 17 KOs.
The taller Montgomery rained punches down on the game Escandon. Montgomery walked down Escandon to the ropes, with Escandon looking to counter with looks to the head.
About a minute into round two, Montgomery backed Escandon into a corner. Moments later, Montgomery unleashed an uppercut to the head that produced blood from the nose. A combination from Montgomery forced Escandon to take a knee, where he remained as Ansell Stewart counted him out at 1:39.
Escandon, originally from Ibague, Colombia and now resides in San Jose, California, fell to 27-8, 18 KOs. The 40-year-old has now lost seven of his last 10 bouts.
Super middleweight Donte Layne of Elmont, New York improved to 4-0, 4 KOs, knocking out Noah Kidd (8-11-2, 5 KOs) of Jefferson City, Missouri at 1:52 of the opening round. A left hand, followed by a right hook to the top of the head dropped Kidd to the canvas, where referee Malik Waleed counted him out
In the opening bout of the OTX 10/ Cold Summa card, junior lightweight Gustavo Rivera Rio overcame a knockdown in round one to defeat Brazil’s Carlos Dos Santos Rocha (3-6, 2 KOs) by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 58-54 for Rivera, who improved to 10-1, 7 KOs.
Rivera, who is originally from Acapulco, Mexico and now lives and trains in Houston, Texas, dropped Rocha with a left hook to the body in round two.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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