Live on ESPN from The Bubble in Las Vegas, Richard Commey (30-3, 27 KOs) faced Jackson Marinez (19-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight bout.

 

Commey, former IBF world lightweight champion, looked great tonight. Marinez didn’t come to lose, but he just wasn’t able to hang with Commey, a strong fighter who packs a punch and has good fundamentals. He simply wore down Marinez, landing far more punches and applying excellent pressure that made Marinez uncomfortable.

 

In the fourth round, the pressure really started to show. Marinez began to break down and showed signs of fatigue, making attempts to rest. Commey continued coming on strong, doing what top fighters do when their opponents want to rest: he didn’t allow him to.

 

In the sixth, Commey landed a terrific right hand, dropping Marinez immediately against the ropes. Marinez was able to make the count, but he was hurt and dazed. When the action resumed, Commey jumped on Marinez. He landed another clean right hand upstairs, again dropping Marinez, who was far too hurt to continue. Referee Kenny Bayless waved it off.

 

Earlier, Adam Lopez (15-2, 6 KOs) faced Jason Sanchez (15-3, 8 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight bout. It was a busy, active fight with both men showing a lot of good things. Sanchez started out the bout stronger, landing more punches and applying good pressure. About halfway through, though, Lopez came on, making some adjustments to his defense so he wasn’t getting hit as much and was better able to use his superior footwork to achieve the angles he needed to land his own offense.

 

It was a close fight. The official scorecards read 95-95 even, 97-93 and 96-94 for Adam Lopez.

 

The first bout of the broadcast featured heavyweights Jared Anderson (8-0, 8 KOs) facing Kingsley Ibeh (5-2-1, 4 KOs) in a 6-rounder.

 

Anderson displayed excellent use of the jab, mobility with his feet, and speed of hand and foot. Over the past year on various ESPN broadcasts, Ibeh has proven he’s a talented fighter with good fundamentals and a lot of trickiness to him. It was a nice step up fight for Anderson, and he met the challenge nicely. Ibeh put up a very tough fight, but his nose was busted early in the fight and gushed blood as the rounds went on. Anderson effectively utilized feints and slips, countering Ibeh’s shots much of the time. Ibeh did land some good shots himself, but by and large it was all the 21-year-old Anderson.

                                                                                         

In the final round, Anderson delivered a hook upstairs on Ibeh that wasn’t flush, but it was enough to drop Ibeh flat onto his back. He was seriously hurt, showing no sign of being able to rise, and the fight was waved off.