Tulsa, OK(GS). A Junior Welterweight face-off between Richard Commey of Ghana and Jose Pedraza of Puerto Rico ended in a split draw decision after 10-rounds of intense boxing action at the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino in Tulsa Oklahoma last night.
Commey, who is a former IBF Lightweight world champion, and Pedraza, himself a former IBO and IBF Super Featherweight title holder and a one-time WBO lightweight champion of the world, engaged in a very entertaining exchange of power punches right from the beginning of Round One in their 10-round non-title contest.
Jose Pedraza,(29-4-1, 14 KOs), who usually fights in an orthodox stance, decided to train for this fight in a southpaw position. His technique was very effective as it initially confused Commey (30-4-1, 27 KOs) in round one, with the Ghanaian having to make quick adjustments to his footwork and balance.
Both fighters entered the ring with high hopes for a win in the ESPN main event in the 140lb weight class. But in the end, the judges could not name a clear winner to the disappointment of the two pugilists. The first judge scored the bout 97-93 in favor of Pedraza, judge number two scored it 96-94 in Commey’s favor. with the third judge scoring the fight 95-95, resulting in a split draw decision.
After weathering the flurry from Pedraza in the first round, Commey came back a stronger fighter in the second round through to round 5 with heavy power punches which wobbled the Puerto Rican in a couple of instances and opened a cut under his right eye.
Round six started on a brisk note with both sides unleashing some dangerous and painful body shots and power punches in a give-and-take fashion. Unfortunately. a clash of heads between the two caused a deep cut on the corner of Commey’s right eye which evidently affected his vision. Pedraza took advantage of that mishap and pummeled the former IBF Lightweight champion with some spectacular combination shots.
From the seventh round onwards, Commey always exhibited some brilliant head movements and delivered some hefty clever punches to the head of Pedraza, but the Ghanaian kept losing concentration after the first minute of each round, allowing his Puerto Rican opponent to convey some devastating blows to his body in a clear statement to the very attentive scoring judges.
Commey, who had been ahead on almost all of the judges’ scorecards earlier in the fight, was given a serious admonishing by his corner entering into the final round to keep up the pressure on his opponent and to close out the bout on a strong note. The advice worked for Commey and he remain composed and effective with his punches till the bell rang to bring proceedings to an end.
