Posted on 12/16/2023
By: Sean Crose
Heavyweights Fernley Feliz and Raphael Carolina squared off in a scheduled six rounder Saturday that was part of Boxing Insider’s Holiday Fight Night II card in midtown Manhattan. Both men fought with a degree of caution in the first. Things remained rather quiet in the second, yet Feliz appeared to dominate the third. A huge right dropped Carolina in the fourth. Carolina got to his feet, but he was clearly losing a lopsided battle. Felix continued to grind away at his man in the fifth. A short overhand right ended matters in the sixth, as Carolina went down and the referee wisely stopped the fight.
Caesar Francis took center stage next as the junior middleweight battled Windry Martinez in a scheduled six rounder. Francis’ height and jab told the story in the first. He then battered and stopped his man in the second. “I didn’t want a soft opponent,” Francis said after the bout. “I brought the people out,” he added, referring to his fans in attendance.
As impressive as Feliz and Francis were, however, it was Tsendbaatar Erdenebat and Yohan Vasquez and their 8 round war in the junior lightweight division which stole the show Saturday night at the Sony Theater. This fight was good. Fight of the year contender good. The 7-0 Erdenebat and the 25-4 Vasquez gave it all they had in a battle that saw it’s share of twists and turns. No major titles may have been at stake, but this was high calibre action for the fans.
Vasquez started strong, dominating the first few rounds and landing on his man with power and precision. Erdenebat, however, was able to turn the tide through his disciplined use of his jab. Soon it was the Mongolian southpaw who was landing on his man with power and precision. Matters eventually worked their way into becoming a battle of attrition. And in the end, it was Erdenebat who vanquished his foe with crushing body work. Vasquez went down under the assault, and the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.