Pittsburgh Boxing: Sammy Vasquez Jr. Wins Unanimous Decision Over Wale Omotoso
By Larry Snyder
Sammy Vasquez, Jr., his face covered in blood, kept his undefeated streak intact Sunday with a unanimous decision over Wale Omotoso at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The welterweight bout was the co-feature of the Premier Boxing Champions broadcast on CBS.
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The three judges, Robert Hoyle, Patricia Morse Jarman, and Dave Moretti, all scored it 98-92 in favor of Vasquez (19-0, 13 KOs). Omotoso (25-2, 21 KOs) captured just the fourth and seventh rounds on the judges scorecards. The referee for the 10-round match-up that went the distance was Robert Byrd.
Vasquez, 29, took charge early, connecting with jabs at a quick pace that seem to bother Omotoso. The “Who Can Mexican” put together a succession of cominations that punished both the body and head of the 30-year-old Nigerian in the center of the ring. Vasquez, a southpaw, landed a powerful overhand left in the fifth round that sent Omotoso’s mouthpiece flying out.
A quick look at Vasquez’s left on Twitter…
TAKE A LOOK: @Sammyv2169 kocks the mouthpiece out of Lucky Boy's mouth! #PBConCBS pic.twitter.com/fnxHDTSVGJ
— Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) June 21, 2015
Omotoso started to take care of business in the fourth round when he opened a cut over Vasquez’s right eye. The Monessen, Penna. native would also be cut when the two bumped heads in the sixth, and Vasquez suffered an accidental elbow in the seventh.
The two combatants stood in the middle of the ring as they put up furious two-way action in the eighth. Omotoso got in an uppercut in the round that busted Vasquez’s nose.
Vasquez, who served two tours in Iraq with the National Guard, remained strong and proved to everyone that he can take a punch from a fighter who was known for his knockout power. He told Michael Martinez of the Associated Press on Yahoo Sports, “My objective was just to box him, move him around and not let him hit me because I know he has the power. He does hit kind of hard, but it’s not anything I haven’t seen before.”
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From The Clipboard: The loss was the second in Omotoso’s career. His first defeat came at the hands of Jessie Vargas in 2013 on HBO.
The other co-feature of the afternoon saw Cuba’s Rances Barthelemy (23-0, 13 KOs) defeat Mexico’s Antonio DeMarco (34-5-1, 23 KOs) by unanimous decision in super lightweight action.
The three judges, Adelaide Byrd, Richard Ocasio, and Burt A. Clements, all scored it 99-89 in favor of Barthelemy. DeMarco did not take a single round on their scorecards. The referee for this 10-round match-up that went the distance was Kenny Bayless.
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