Harmon Gets Nod Over Johnson After Ten Dull Rounds!

                                             By: Mike Sloan

            Derrick Harmon won a tough, yet boring, 10-round unanimous decision over the awkward Glen Johnson in the main event of the Goossen/Tutor Promotions card at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino this afternoon. Plenty of boxing/combat sports celebrities were on hand to watch the show, including former world champs “Cool” Vince Phillips, Wayne McCullough, Bones Adams and “Boza” Edwards. Also in the crowd were Richard Steele, Laila Ali, Johnny McClain, mixed martial arts veteran and WFA founder/promoter John Lewis, K-1 fighters Duke Roufus and Dwayne Ludwig, UFC heavyweight prospect Ricco Rodriguez, Christy Martin, David Tua, Julio Garcia, and the legendary Hall of Famer Gene Fullmer. The card on the whole was entertaining, but the main event left a little to be desired. Mohamad Abdulaev win via DQ in a war against the extremely tough Joel Salas and Robert Guerrero, Patrick Dominguez and Ruslan Chagaev all scored wins. Read on:

Derrick Harmon                   W 10 (unanimous)                Glen Johnson

            What can I say about this fight, other than it was virtually uneventful for the entire ten rounds? The fight was competitive and Johnson, the WBO International champ, was a tough guy to hit cleanly, but Harmon, the WBC Continental Americas titlist, stuck to his guns, clinched when he needed to and landed enough shots to win the verdict. Harmon, Las Vegas, connected with a stiff lead left early on, slightly offsetting Johnson, but the first round wasn’t too exciting. Johnson, Miami, landed a solid right cross later in the round, but Harmon took it well and jabbed his way from danger.

            Going into the second round, it was obvious that the fight was going the full ten. Most of the crowd backed Harmon, but even their spirited cheers couldn’t get their man to really open up his arsenal. Throughout the majority of the fight, Johnson would connect with a crisp right cross, sometimes hurting Derrick, but wasn’t quick or aggressive enough to do a ton of damage. Harmon used his southpaw style to offset most of Glen’s offense. There were a few decent flurries and exchanges scattered throughout the fight, but for the most part, the action was non-existent.

            When the final bell sounded, most in attendance felt that Harmon did enough to win the contest, though he didn’t blow Johnson away. The gorgeous Amy Hayes announced the final verdict of 98-92 and 97-93 (twice), all in favor of Harmon. I also scored it for Harmon, but by the tally of 96-94. Derrick wins again and raises his pro record to 22-2 (10) and hopes to maybe land another shot at light heavy king, Roy Jones. Johnson, on the other hand, drops to 38-8 (27).

Mohamad Abdulaev              W DQ 9                      Joel Salas

            Abdulaev, originally from Uzbekistan but now living in Vegas, had the toughest fight of his young career, going almost 9 full arduous rounds. Abdulaev was to be tested against another young fighter with respectable credentials, and the rugged Salas definitely proved that. Right off the bat, it was clear that Salas was not going to take a dive or get his clock cleaned early; he was here to stay.

            The opening stanza of the bout began the action in what would end up as clearly the best fight of the day. Salas was the busier fighter, but Abdulaev landed the harder shots and was more accurate. Salas unfurled combo after combo, mainly targeting the body, but Joel lacked the raw power to effectively damage Mohamad. Abdulaev’s stiff left jab was a key weapon early, as it prevented Salas from unloading his bombs. Late in the round, Salas was warned by referee Tony Weeks for a low blow.

            Abdulaev utilized his jab to it’s fullest in the second, keeping Salas at bay for most of the round. Salas got inside a few times, but Mohamad cracked him with a crisp left hook, sending Salas off-balance into his corner. Joel fired back with a series of body shots, but Mohamad delivered a sizzling right cross dead on the jaw just before the bell sounded.

            Seconds into the third, Abdulaev reeled off a beautiful right hook to the body, followed by a left hook to the jaw. Joel was unnerved and rattled off a few flurries of his own, mostly to the body. Salas sustained a moderate cut under his left eye, but it wasn’t clear if it was from a punch or butt. Shortly after, Salas was again warned for a low blow. Joey was clearly the busier fighter in that round as his furious combos took the round.

            Abdulaev connected with another hard left hook early on in round four, but Salas took it well, reinforcing the strength of his sturdy chin. Joel became cut on the right side of his head, probably from a head butt, but it wasn’t anywhere near bad enough to have it examined. Once again, Salas’ flurries carried him through the round. Halfway through the fifth, Abdulaev popped off two perfect right crosses that caused Salas to slump over and clinch. Once the fighters broke and Mohamad rushed in, Salas threw another low blow, this time costing him a point. Salas, pissed because of the penalty, really opened his artillery and threw everything he had at least twice, but his anger prevented him from landing anything worthwhile.

            Salas, beginning to fatigue and taste more and more left hooks from Abdulaev, still plugged away, undeterred of his bloody, swollen face and point deficit. By the end of the seventh round, Abdulaev was freely finding homes for most of his punches, but was somehow unable to put away his foe. Most observers were wondering what in the world was keeping this tough kid up, especially during the eighth round. Early on, Mohamad ducked under a right cross and smashed a brutal left hook square on Salas’ jaw. Joel instantly buckled and stumbled back into the ropes. Abdulaev charged in to finish the young slugger from Oxnard, but once again was unable to. This kid took a tremendous beating and flopped all over the ring and desperately held on and still was able to survive the round!

            Less than a minute into the ninth, Abdulaev landed another hard left hook just as Salas tried to clinch. Joel backed away and when Mohamad ducked in for a body shot, he hit him blatantly low again. For the second time in the fight, Weeks deducted a point. With nothing to lose, Salas gave it all he had, trying for that unforeseeable knockout. After a wild exchange, Salas again hit Abdulaev below the cup, prompting Weeks to call it off, disqualifying Salas much to the chagrin of the crowd, Joel’s team and self. The DQ came at the 1:56 mark of round nine and it really was an anticlimax to a tremendous fight.

            Abdulaev proved that he could fight through adversity and last at least nine rounds with little stamina problems. He rises to 7-0 (5) while Salas bravely falls to 10-2-1 (2). This kid, even though he got the unfortunate DQ, displayed true heart, class and guts. He also has a sturdy chin to boot and I look forward to seeing him wage war in the future.

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