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(continuation)
PRELIMINARY 2
Italian-born Canadian Donato Paduano scored a minor upset when he defeated Yama Bahama (of the Bahamas) by unanimous decision (58-56, 59-55, 58-56). Bahama had been held in higher esteem than his compatriot Elisha Obed (who would score a shock win over Mike McCallum later in the night) but against Paduano he found only frustration struggling to come to terms with the Canadian's evasiveness. Paduano took the fight out of Bahama's reach with a confident middle section, all three judges scoring the 3rd, 4th and 5th in his favour despite each round being well-contested. Bahama worked hard throughout the bout, throwing almost twice as many punches as his opponent. But he missed with a large dose of them, being made to look reckless and foolish on a number of occasions.
Like the evening's previous bout this was a clash between a pair of light hitters and while there were no knockdowns there were an abundance of flush shots and wild exchanges that had the crowd cheering entrhusiastically. Neither man is regarded as a threat to challenge for a spot in the World Championship tournament but if they continue to produce efforts like tonight's that could change, especially in regards to the Canadian.
Punch totals
Paduano: 148/274 (54.0%)
Bahama: 142/504 (28.1%)
"He was really aggressive," said Paduano. "But I have to say that was his downfall. Maybe he was too eager 'cause a lot of his punches were way off the mark. It wasn't something we bargained for but it definitely helped our cause so I ain't complaining."
SUPPORT BOUT
The unrelated but highly regarded Smiths of New York faced off in the evening's fourth contest, Harlem Harry and Manhattan Jeff engaging in an entertaining stoush that ended as a draw (58-56, 57-57, 56-58). Both men had been amongst the numerous trialists who had impressed in June at this very venue and tonight they showed why as, after Jeff appeared to be in control of the fight through four rounds, Harry rallied late to sweep the cards in the last two rounds and avoid defeat. There had been a deal of talk surrounding this contest in the weeks leading in, being billed as for the unofficial New York Middleweight Championship by some. The Smiths played down any talk of a rivalry, stating that they had never met each other before the trials and highlighting the fact that sharing the same surname and being from the same city was nothing to make a big deal over.
Manhattan Jeff set a cracking pace during those first four rounds and produced some fantastic offense, especially in the 3rd and 4th. But he went out too hard and his Harlem-born foe, who had been more circumspect, was able to finish strongly. Jeff Smith landed 175 of 489 punches (35.8%), Harry 114 of 284 (40.1%). Those numbers might indicate a comfortable victory for Jeff Smith, but it was not the case. The rounds that he won, he won convincingly. But there were only three of them and in a six rounder that's usually not good enough for a victory.
"Honestly, I really didn't think I had a chance going into round five," said Harry Smith. "Jeff was just incredible up to that point and I'm lucky that he ran out of steam. You might say I'd kept some in reserve but the truth is that Jeff's aggression wasn't allowing me much of a chance to fire back. Once he started tiring I made the most of it."
(to be continued)
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