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(continuation)
Preliminary 1
South Korean-born Californian Sean Hargraves joined Jones as a victorious debutant when he defeated Russia's Vasily Anyukov by unanimous decision (58-55, 60-53, 59-54). In an entertaining bout, Hargraves wore down his determined opponent and floored Anyukov for the only time in the fight midway through the final round.
Despite being clearly outclassed the Russian provided stubborn resistance for much of the contest. The opening round gave a good indication of what was to come as Anyukov outlanded Hargraves 30-23 in a thrilling first three minutes. After an even 2nd Hargraves picked up the pace in round three, tagging Anyukov with some bruising, flush combinations and single power punches. He landed 39 punches in the round and remained consistent and on the front foot for the rest of the bout. Anyukov was unable to match the Los Angeles-based 31 year-old's aggression and workrate but was given an appreciative round of applause at the conclusion of the bout.
The final punch totals were:
Hargraves 155/413 (37.5%)
Anyukov 106/219 (48.4%)
"I'm pretty happy," said Hargraves, nodding. "My defense could have been a little better, maybe. He hit me with some shots that I should have avoided, but that's what happens I guess when you go out aggressive like I did. I'll have to work on that for the future, no doubt."
Hargraves was one of the few bright spots from the federation's Los Angeles auditions back in early June and it will certainly please HBF officials to see him make such an impressive debut. The story of his life is quite a fascinating one. Adopted by an American serviceman and his Korean wife soon after birth, he grew up in the USA where he quickly became used to different scenery. The conditions of his father's position in the military saw to it that the family was often relocating and at one stage they lived in three different states during the one calendar year. Once he was old enough to look after himself Hargraves decided to settle in Los Angeles, eager to leave that life of constant upheaval behind. If he continues to produce performances like tonight's one, he won't be going anywhere but up as far as the HBF is concerned.
(to be continued)
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