(Malik Scott, left, Vyacheslav Glazkov, right; photo via Star Boxing)
Nobody’s “O” actually, well, went.
Boos reverberated within the Paramount Theater in Huntington, Long Island, N.Y., in response to a split decision draw between undefeated heavyweights Malik Scott and Vyacheslav Glazkov on NBC Sports Saturday.
Low on knockout percentage and high on personality, Scott (35-0, 12) swept the first three rounds in professional fashion. He out-landed Glazkov 57-27 in those rounds, controlling distance with his long jab and mixing combinations upstairs and downstairs. Glazkov (14-0, 10 KOs) crept toward closing the gap in the 3rd and had a decent 4th, though Scott dropped a pair of swift counter left hooks on his opponent’s dome and finished the round strong with a left hook to the body before the bell.
Glazkov, 28, shifted the momentum in his favor in the 5th, throwing thudding blows while smothering the taller man. The 6th ended with Scott, a Philadelphia fighter, again landing more shots in a close round. Through seven rounds, the 32-year-old Scott held a 67-44 connect advantage.
A clearly perturbed Glazkov flexed like a weightlifter after Scott literally brushed his punches off at one point in round 8. Scott wiped both broad shoulders with his glove to taunt the power puncher. Scott maintained his lead in punches landed at 127-99 with only six minutes left. Glazkov, seemingly fighting with more desperation, smothered Scott for a decent 10th.
Total punch stats favored Scott (161-127) at a higher percentage (41-27).
One judge tallied a reasonable score of 98-92 for Scott. John McKay was evidently watching a different fight when he scored it 96-94 for Glazkov, and Julie Lederman surprised no one with her questionable card of 95-95 to solidify the dreaded draw. TQBR agreed with Potteray, favoring Scott, 98-92
“I think I won the fight,” Glazkov told Chris Mannix through his interpreter. “Malik was running as usual, never stood up to fight and exchange punches.”
“I don’t run,” Scott said in response. “I’m a boxer… If I’m running, stop me. Everything I wanted to do, I did tonight. I beat him with one hand… I’ll stop this kid next time. He’s lucky this went the distance.”
It wasn’t all jeers at the Paramount as Long Island’s own Chris Algieri put on an impressive display in his victory over Jose Peralta amid 300-plus family members and friends in the co-main event. The 28-year-old junior welterweight threw more than 1,000 punches in the 10-round contest, averaging 108 per round.
In his fifth consecutive fight at the venue, Algieri (16-0, 7 KOs) pumped his jab early and often, following it with tight body shots that dropped Peralta’s hands enough to finish combinations upstairs. Peralta (10-2, 6 KOs) began to build steam at the end of the second with body work of his own and matched Algieri’s 25 total blows landed in round 3.
The fighters continued their break-neck pace through the middle rounds, resembling Rock ‘em Sock ‘em robots with Algieri in blue trim and Peralta sporting red. Algieri—the former kickboxer, current nutritionist and future doctor —created separation at this point.
Though Peralta had not previously been past the 6th round, he nearly matched Algieri’s cyborg-esque output as the pair combined for a whopping 223 punches in the 7th stanza. The 22-year-old Dominican slowed drastically in the following round, firing a pedestrian 33 shots.
Once Algieri assumed control, he never relented. He finished the same way he started: with blistering combinations and inhuman intensity. But most importantly, he kept the zero in his L-column.
“The kid is super tough,” Algieri said to Mannix in reference to Peralta. “I had to throw more punches than I planned because he was so tough.”
Judges scored the bout unanimously for Algieri at 96-94, 97-93 and 98-92. TQBR also scored the fight 98-92 for Algieri.
“I thank Jose for bringing out the best in me,” Algieri said.
