By Jake Donovan
All but one of the 22 career fights for Velez prior to Saturday had taken place either in Puerto Rico or areas enriched with Puerto Rican culture such as New York City or Orlando, Florida. Yet the unbeaten contender felt right at home deep in the heartland of America’s Midwestern region.
The opening round was fought at a brisk pace, with Velez throwing 90 punches. A steady jab and constant lateral movement disrupted Gradovich’s rhythm, key in offsetting the defending titlist’s aggressive style.
Gradovich found his way inside in round two. The unbeaten Russian brawler scored with body shots before bringing the attack upstairs. Velez was the more active of the two, but less effective with his punches as he was made to realize that it would take more than a jab and fancy footwork to get the job done.
Volume punching remained key for Velez, who threw with more aggression in rounds three and four, though never to the point of slowing down Gradovich. The exact opposite took place in fact, with the challenger forced to slow down just a touch in round five in order to reserve his strength for the second half.
Unfortunately, it provided the very window Gradovich sought to slug his way back into the fight. The unbeaten titlist continued to score to the body and landed the heavier blows throughout the contest. It was to be expected, despite the fighters’ knockout-to-win ratio (Velez had 16 KOs in 22 fights; Gradovich 9 KOs in 19 fights) suggesting the exact opposite.
The closing stretch saw both fighters leave it all on the line. Velez never stopped throwing punches, though its intended effect – to slow down his opponent – never came to fruition. Gradovich made his presence felt until the very end of the fight.
The three judges had varying views on how the 12 rounds of non-stop action played out, with both fighters leaving the ring unbeaten at the end of the fight.
Gradovich moves to 19-0-1 (9KOs), registering the fourth defense of his featherweight title. The reign began with a 12-round over Billy Dib last March, right around the time Velez was in line to challenge for a different portion of the featherweight crown.
Unfortunately, the Puerto Rican contender was forced to withdraw from a scheduled 12-round clash with then-titlist Daniel Ponce de Leon.
Saturday’s bout was a massive leap in competition for Velez, who proved his worth as a featherweight contender. However, the overall effort wasn’t enough to put a belt around his waist, as his record now stands at 22-0-1 (16KOs).
The 12-round featherweight title fight aired live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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