All Photos Provided By MVP Promotions
The Fear No Man Fight Night at Amalie Arena was a huge success as the stadium was packed to the rafters with fans. They came in droves to see the 5 main card PPV fights headlined by BKFC’s Mike Perry taking on Jake “The Problem Child” Paul.
The first fight featured veteran boxer Julio Ceasr Chavez Jr. taking on a 1-0 ex MMA fighter Uriah Hall.
In the first round Chavez landed 3 good left hooks against Hall and a few shots to the stomach. The experience factor was obvious. Hall was consistent with the jab and threw a solid combination that got Chavez’s attention.
In the second round, Chavez didn’t do much at all and didn’t through a single punch for over 45 seconds. Not sure if Hall was confusing him with his stances or just decided to take the round off.
In the third, Chavez landed a big left hook to the body and was much more active. Hall landed a few puches and a big combination late to try to steal the round but Chavez hit Hall with another short flurry. Chavez concluded the round with a swooping left hook landing again to the side of Hall’s head.
Hall then dominated the 4th round by pressing Chavez and the people are wondering what the hell Chavez is doing in this fight. Not one significant punch the whole round and it looks like Hall has more gas in him at this time.
It was anyone’s fight after the fifth and we had the scorecard at 3-2 either way as a big exchange between Hall and Chavez ended round 5. This was the most active round for both fighters.
In round 6, Hall got stunned by a Chavez combination and fired back to make round 6 close and on press row, we had the fight a draw at 3-3 but that’s not how the judges at ringside saw it.
Two judges had it 59-55 and the other 58-56 for Chavez which was highly questionable. Interesting start on main card for the judges. Granted this was the first fight for Chavez in 2.5 years, with his pedigree, he should have knocked out Hall early in the fight. Afterwards, Chavez called out Jake Paul for his next fight which got a round of boos from the audience.
After Corey Marksman defeated Tony Aguilar in a 8 round majority decision in their rematch, the fight that true boxing fans were looking forward to was up next as Ashton “H20” Sylve (11-0) took on Lucas Badhi (16-0.) Badhi hails from Niagra Falls, Ontario and he took the fight with only 3.5 weeks left to train as Floyd Schofield backed out the fight against Sylve due to injury.
It was a slow fight but interesting as both fighters landed blows against each other with Sylve winning the fight with his fast hands and leading the punch totals at 101-39. That lead only lasted only until the 6th when the best 4 punch combination of the fight card was thrown by Badhi.
The first three punches landed flush on H20’s face with the third hitting him on the “button” which caused Sylve to lose consciousness before hitting the mat. Thankfully the forth punch only grazed him on the way down.
Sylve laid face down on the canvas for many minutes after being knocked down as medical attention was provided within seconds of him being counted out. It was a scary moment for Sylve and his team and family but he’s due to make a full recovery.
The knockout was so scary that ring announcer Joe Martinez uttered these words before declaring Bahdi the winner: “Ladies and gentlemen, before we announce our winner, we ask you to please extend your thoughts and prayers to H2O Sylve and may God restore him.”
With the win, Bahdi remained undefeated at 17-0. The result was Sylve’s first loss in 12 fights
Badhi discusses the fight and the knockout in the post fight presser. https://www.facebook.com/peter.h.blake/videos/469253089385546
Amanda Serrano v Stevie Morgan was a mismatch on paper and in the ring as Serrano dominated Morgan from the ding of the bell. They exchanged punches for the first 90 seconds and after that it was all Serrano.
Morgan played defense until the end of the round and as soon as round two started, Serrano was on Morgan like a dog on a bone. Serrano threw nonstop punches until the referee stepped in with a minute gone in the round to give Serrano the TKO.
Serrano after her easy win and knockout: “It was great to be back in Tampa and with the win as its my 50th fight and 31stknockout.”
With the win Serrano is now 47-2-1 31and is looking forward to her Nov 13th rematch with Katie Taylor at the 140 pound undisputed lightweight championship.
She talked about her relationship with MVP Boxing and what it has done for her and her family.
https://www.facebook.com/peter.h.blake/videos/1203816487277141
Paul v Perry looked like a huge mismatch when this fight was announced and it lasted longer than most thought it would which was a true testament to Mike Perry’s chin and heart.
Upon entry to the ring, Mike Perry got a huge pop and support from the fans in the stands in Tampa. In contrast, Jake Paul received a mixed bag of cheers and boos from the crowd as he made his way to the ring on a chariot dressed in grey, purple and black gladiator armor.
Side note: Can’t say enough about how Paul markets himself and how he portrays himself as a hero or heal depending on the circumstances.
Round one started with Perry stalking Paul but Paul’s reach and in-ring boxing skills are noticeable. Paul was double-jabbing Perry and Paul caught Perry off balance with a right hand and knocked Perry down but Perry got up immediately and fought hard until the end of round one.
In round two, Paul caught Perry with a thunderous right which put Perry on the mat for a second time and many thought the fight was over. Perry thought otherwise and took it to Jake for the rest of the round as Paul held back.
Even though the round should have been scored 10-8 for Paul due to the knockdown, Perry came back to win the round but still have it be scored 9-9. Chants of Perry bellowed throughout the arena during many parts of the fight that inspired Perry.
Third round Perry hit Jake with bigger shots but Jake continued to establish his heavy jab and won the round easily.
The fourth round was all Jake Paul with Paul dominating the round despite noticeably breathing very heavy out of his mouth. This continued into round 5 as both fighters sort of took the round off.
We asked ourselves how Perry would fair going deeper into the rounds as BKFC rarely goes longer than 5. That answer came soon enough as Paul in Round 6 hammered Perry once again with a hard right and big flurry of punches on the ropes to drop Perry again. Perry rose to take the count but stumbled to his right and the referee then stopped the fight at 1:12 of Round 6.
Jake Paul vs Mike Perry
After the fight, Perry apologized which wasn’t necessary at all. He gave it his best but was outclassed by Paul due to his experience in the ring and overall size.
Paul said afterwards in the press conference “He’s tough as nails, I’m sorry it took so long,” Paul said of Perry after the fight. “He’s tough man, respect to Mike Perry. He’s the king of violence and BKFC champion.”
Paul guaranteed the Tyson fight was a done deal before praising the former heavyweight champion and saying that the time had come to take Tyson’s crown.
