Jose Pedraza made easy work of Mikkel LesPierre
Jose Pedraza and Mikkel LesPierre were supposed to fight in mid-June, but COVID-19 got in their way. They got a mulligan on Thursday, July 2.
Junior welterweight boxers Jose Pedraza and Mikkel LesPiere were supposed to meet on June 18, but LesPierre’s manager tested positive for COVID-19, and the bout was canceled. On Thursday, July 2, they finally met in what turned into a one-sided contest on Top Rank on ESPN’s showcase.
Pedraza and LesPierre usually campaign as junior lightweights, but they fought as welterweights on this pandemic showdown. Ultimately, it wasn’t much of a contest.
Pedraza (27-3, 13 KOs), 31, of Puerto Rico, came into his fight with LesPierre desperately needing a victory. The former two-time world champion last fought in September of 2019, dropping a unanimous decision to Jose Zepeda.
LesPierre, (22-2-1, 10 KOs), 35, of Brooklyn, New York, won his last bout at the end of 2019, but at 35 years old, time was running short on his boxing dreams. A win against Pedraza would have buoyed his career, but a victory wasn’t in the stars.
From the opening rounds, Pedraza boxed circles around LesPierre. LesPierre is a southpaw while Pedraza fights out of the orthodox stance, but Pedraza switched stances regularly. Pedraza came out with tremendous vigor and bloodied LesPierre’s nose.
In round 2, Pedraza fought primarily as a southpaw with great success. He trapped LesPierre on the ropes and treated his opponent like an over-matched sparring partner. Pedraza looked like he could end the night early, but he missed several opportunities to KO LesPierre.
Target practice for the Sniper 😳@sniper_pedraza looking sharp in early rounds. #PedrazaLesPierre | LIVE on ESPN pic.twitter.com/3lGtlxTtQn
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 3, 2020
Mikkel LesPierre was nearly out against Jose Pedraza several times, but he stayed in the fight due to a strong will and toughness.
The tempo slowed until round 5 when LesPierre surprisingly knocked Pedraza down with a body punch that didn’t seem to do much damage. Pedraza’s pride was hurt, and he returned the favor by dropping LesPierre with a big right hand. LesPierre got up, but his legs were gone. If Pedraza had the luxury of 10 more seconds, he could have ended the fight.
The bell rang to start round 6, but referee Kenny Bayless called time. He took several minutes to confer outside the ring with replay officials, which is a new wrinkle under the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s guidelines.
Instant replay is a wonderful tool, but it came too late. LesPierre was hurt in the previous round, and he greatly benefitted from the respite. LesPierre’s knockdown of Pedraza was ruled a trip. That helped Pedraza on the scorecards, but hurt him in terms of momentum.
Pedraza boxed intelligently for the remainder of the fight but lost his knockout instinct until the final two rounds. He cut LesPierre’s right eye with heavy right hands in round 9. In round 10, he had LesPierre is serious trouble.
Pedraza danced around the ring in the final round but stung LesPierre with a left hook that sent him down to the canvas. He got up, but Pedraza did all he could to try and knockout LesPierre. LesPierre proved to have a strong chin and made it to the final bell.
The judges’ scores were 100-88, and two scores of 99-89 for Pedraza. It was an impressive triumph that puts him back in the win column.
“I put it all together this evening because I couldn’t afford not to,” admitted Pedraza during the post-fight interview.
Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor control all the belts in the junior welterweight division, but Pedraza’s win means that he’s still in the hunt. Time will tell if he gets another shot.
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