Rosemont Rumble: Andy Lee Beats Alex Bunema by Decision
At the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, on Wednesday night, middleweight contender Andy Lee did something most fighters who have appeared on HBO recently haven’t done; he stayed active. To headline Hitz Boxing Entertainment’s “Rosemont Rumble,” Andy Lee scored a shutout unanimous decision victory over journeyman Alex Bunema. The fight was his second in just three months.
The fight started off slow and established a pattern, with Lee coming out each round, flicking his southpaw jab out, backing Bunema into a corner. Once there, Lee cautiously took his time picking apart his man. Bunema, who threw punches sparsely, ate a left straight to the body and then a right hook to the head all night. Lee did what he wanted for the first six rounds and Bunema did next to nothing to try and change that.
In round seven, Bunema had his best round of the fight. After landing a right hand early in the round, Lee took caution, trying to sit back and counter. Bunema found success with various right hand leads throughout the round. For a moment, it seemed the pace of the fight was about to change.
However, Lee established full control once the next round started. Round eight was perhaps Lee’s most impressive round. Instead of slowly coming forward and jabbing, Lee doubled his jab and mixed in his attack with left hand leads. The attack killed any momentum that Bunema might have picked up in the previous round and he went back into his shell.
The next two rounds were dominated by Lee but at no point did Bunema seem close to hurt. The fight went back to the pace of the earlier rounds and Lee coasted to a dominant victory. Afterward, Lee seemed disappointed that he couldn’t stop the inactive, faded veteran.
“When the guy just wants to survive, it’s hard to knock him out,” said Lee. “I kept telling my corner I want a KO but they said I was boxing beautifully.”
With the win, Lee improves to 26-1 (19), while Bunema fell to 31-8-2 (17). Although Lee did not capture the knockout, the Irish native was grateful that Chicago fans came out and paid to see him.
“I love the Chicago fans. The Bulls are playing tonight and they could be watching at home but instead, they were here watching me.”
More importantly, Andy Lee stayed active while he looks to work his way into title contention.
Rosemont Rumble Undercard Results
Heavyweights Felix Abner, 3-2 (2), and Keon Graham, 2-6, opened up Hitz Boxing Entertainment’s “Rosemont Rumble” with a one-sided fight. Chicago native Abner dominated Graham from the opening round. Landing a overhand right in the second round, Abner downed Graham where he was counted out by referee John O’Brien. Time was 1:10.
In what was a sensational fight, Russell Fiore, 5-1-1 (5), spectacularly stopped southpaw Aaron Lucky, 0-2 (2), in just 1:52 of the first round. Fiore, 132, was dropped in the opening seconds by a right hook but didn’t seem too hurt, tying up Lucky when action resumed. Moments later, Fiore landed a ferocious uppercut that put Lucky out on his feet. Referee Genaro Hernandez sprinted to step in as Fiore followed up the uppercut with a combination.
The first decision of the evening featured junior welterweight George Esho, 1-1, winning the fight by unanimous decision against Nalo Leal, 3-11-1. Esho controlled the fight, fighting in flurries and landing the cleaner punches throughout the fight. Each round was repetitive as Esho would come and blast Leal with a combination. Leal was the aggressor throughout the fight but was countered all night as Esho captured the decision. Scores were 39-37 and 40-36, twice.
Lightweight Yakubu Amidu, 19-2-1 (17), did what he had to do and stopped journeyman Damon Antoine, 9-31-2 (4), in just three rounds. Amidu, fighting out of Ghana, controlled the whole fight with a lengthy jab and an overhand right. In round three, Amidu was awarded his first knockdown despite the ropes supporting Antoine and not long after, Antoine hit the deck again going down twice from body shots. Referee Genaro Rodriguez stopped the fight at 2:13.
With a tremendous right in the fifth, Heavyweight prospect David Latoria, 9-0 (5) scored a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Detroit native Phillip Jewel, 4-7-1 (3), to win by knockout. Jewel, 213, had the upper hand throughout the fight, even causing Latoria to go down in round three from an overhand right. Latoria survived the round by holding on, even pushing Jewel over the ropes. In the start of the fifth round, Latoria’s power finally caught up with Jewel’s chin and Jewel went crashing to the canvas. Time was :55 as referee John O’Brien called off the fight.
Irish middleweight Henry Coyle, 15-2 (12), captured his fifth win in a row with a second round TKO win over Keith Collins. Coyle caught Collins with a chopping right hand that sent him to the canvas in round two. After taking an eight-count, Collins stood up only to get stopped on his feet with a barrage of punches. Time was 2:22. |
