There was little drama all through the ten spherical bout between Ardreal Holmes Jr. and Hugo Noriega on Thursday night time. That’s, till the scorecards have been learn.
Holmes emerged victorious in his homecoming bout, defeating the Miami-based Cuban by scores of 97-93 on two playing cards and 96-94 on the third on the Dort Federal Occasion Heart in Flint, Mich. Although the victor was as anticipated, the scores have been nearer than the motion would have advised, as Holmes barely needed to get out of first gear to drag off the victory.
“It meant every little thing to me,” stated the junior middleweight Holmes (16-0, 6 knockouts) when requested how he felt preventing in his hometown of Flint. “Want I may do it once more, I’ll do higher. Again to the drafting board. Wasn’t the very best efficiency however we acquired it.”
It was a much less explosive outing for Holmes this time than his final bout, when the 2015 US Nationwide newbie champion opened eyes with a second spherical knockout of Marlon Harrington final February.
Holmes, 30, managed the bout from the outset along with his southpaw jab and motion, utilizing his verify hook to show the nook each time Noriega (10-3, 5 KOs) acquired shut.
Holmes by no means took a couple of punch within the battle, which headlined a card on DAZN, but additionally hardly ever threw greater than separately, content material to land a pot shot right here and there earlier than returning to his sample of touching with the fitting jab to the top and physique to maintain his opponent at bay. In truth, Holmes by no means needed to do far more than that because the 34-year-old Noriega, who has now misplaced three of his final 5, walked in direction of Holmes with none head motion, making it simple for the grasp boxer to field his strategy to security.
Afterwards, Holmes known as for fights in opposition to prime fighters within the 154-pound division, together with Erickson Lubin and Jermell Charlo.
“Anyone within the prime ten. They see this wasn’t my finest efficiency. Come get me. I’ve been screaming on the prime of the division for the longest,” stated Holmes, who’s promoted by Salita Promotions and managed by Break up-T Administration.
Within the co-featured bout, Joseph Hicks (11-0, 7 KOs) of Grand Rapids, Mich. outworked Ronnie Austion (10-3, 7 KOs) of Las Vegas, defeating him by unanimous scores of 80-72, 78-74 and 79-73 in a junior middleweight bout.
