Written by Brad Snyder – The Undercard
Photo by Bob Ryder
Carlos Linas and CLIP Promotions performed 10 matches on the Soundboard at the Motor City Casino in Detroit, Michigan. Although there were some very competitive bouts on the undercard, the focus of the night's events was the main event for the vacant WBC silver cruiserweight title. Cruiserweight Derrick Miller Jr. (16-0, 8 KOs) defeated Adrian Taylor (13-3-1, 5 KOs) by UD in his toughest challenge yet. The win showed Miller's improved cardio and greatly improved combinations. Promoter Carlos Linas admitted after the fight: “Miller has to improve his game and stay active. He's been the best ever…and we're heading in the right direction with Derrick.”
In the third round Miller began to pull away. This round produced the best punch of the fight so far, as Miller landed a right hook to Taylor's body. Miller continued to land good body shots in the fourth round. Taylor was also consistently receiving good right hooks from Miller. The fifth round was a key round for Miller's victory, as he showed the best cardio of his career while steadily racking up points against Taylor. The eight-round bout was deemed by all three judges in favor of new WBC Silver Cruiserweight Champion Miller (79-73, 79-73, 80-72).
This fight card resulted in two exhilarating matches for a capacity crowd. It's hard to choose which one deserves the “Fight of the Night” award. Both drew praise from the audience. However, the award goes to the welterweight contest between Justin Lacey Pierce (5-0, 3 KOs) vs. Trey Martin (3-8-1, 2 KOs). What Martin lacked in terms of record, he paid off in spirit as he won all six rounds of Lacey vs. Pierce in a closely contested match. Both fighters were able to land important shots and win the round. In the end, two judges ruled that Lacey Pierce (58-56 vs. Lacey Pierce, 58-56 Martin, 58-56 vs. Lacey Pierce) awarded the SD victory.
Another very entertaining fight that wasn't that close on the scorecards but sparked action with lots of blood. Junior lightweight Samuel Rizzo improved his record to (7 wins) with a UD win (59-55, 59-55, 59-55) over the extremely tough Nikolai Busorin (9-8-1, 5 KOs). (1 loss, 5 KOs). An accidental headbutt during the fight resulted in a gash on the side of Buzolin's right eye. This cut did not affect the match, as Rizzo also suffered a deep cut over his left eye. It certainly brought more dynamics to the fights and made them fun to watch despite the score difference.
Welterweight Savannah Tini improved to (2-0, 2 KOs) with a 0-1 victory over Timmesiah Phillips in her debut. She won Tini by TKO at 1:39 of round one.
Super middleweight Justin Johnson (4-0, 4 KOs) defeated Lamar Bolden (2-0, 10-1) by TKO at 1:10 in the third round.
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