Ardreal Holmes easily outpointed Vernon Brown on Friday in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Ardreal Holmes picked up where he left off.
The 2016 U.S. Olympic alternate, who had been off for more than two years, easily outpointed late replacement Vernon Brown in a 10-round middleweight bout on Friday in Deadwood, South Dakota.
And Holmes (12-0, 5 KOs) did it fighting the shorter Brown’s fight much of the time, toe to toe.
Holmes, who had a seven-inch height advantage, started off jabbing and throwing combinations from a distance as Brown (13-2-1, 9 KOs) tried to get inside.
Then Holmes accommodated him, at least much of the time. The two engaged in inside warfare, where Brown was able to have his most success in the middle rounds.
However, Holmes held his own during the toe-to-toe exchanges and also stepped back at times, which gave him the space to pepper Brown with hard, accurate shots.
And the winner finished with a flurry, landing many of his biggest, most-damaging punches in the last three rounds. Brown survived but took a pounding down the stretch, which seemed to seal the deal for Holmes in his first 10-rounder.
The official scores were 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94. Boxing Junkie scored it 98-92, eight rounds to two.
Holmes, who plans to fight as a junior middleweight, probably caught the attention of the major sanctioning bodies with his strong performance on national television.
That means we’re likely to see more of him in the near future.
Ardreal Holmes easily outpointed Vernon Brown on Friday in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Ardreal Holmes picked up where he left off.
The 2016 U.S. Olympic alternate, who had been off for more than two years, easily outpointed late replacement Vernon Brown in a 10-round middleweight bout on Friday in Deadwood, South Dakota.
And Holmes (12-0, 5 KOs) did it fighting the shorter Brown’s fight much of the time, toe to toe.
Holmes, who had a seven-inch height advantage, started off jabbing and throwing combinations from a distance as Brown (13-2-1, 9 KOs) tried to get inside.
Then Holmes accommodated him, at least much of the time. The two engaged in inside warfare, where Brown was able to have his most success in the middle rounds.
However, Holmes held his own during the toe-to-toe exchanges and also stepped back at times, which gave him the space to pepper Brown with hard, accurate shots.
And the winner finished with a flurry, landing many of his biggest, most-damaging punches in the last three rounds. Brown survived but took a pounding down the stretch, which seemed to seal the deal for Holmes in his first 10-rounder.
The official scores were 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94. Boxing Junkie scored it 98-92, eight rounds to two.
Holmes, who plans to fight as a junior middleweight, probably caught the attention of the major sanctioning bodies with his strong performance on national television.
That means we’re likely to see more of him in the near future.
Junior middleweight prospect Ardreal Holmes has gone from a 2½-year hiatus from the sport to fighting in the main on national television. The folks at Showtime must see something special in him. The rest of us will learn a lot about Holmes when he …
Junior middleweight prospect Ardreal Holmes has gone from a 2½-year hiatus from the sport to fighting in the main on national television. The folks at Showtime must see something special in him.
The rest of us will learn a lot about Holmes when he faces late replacement Vernon Brown on “ShoBox: The New Generation” in a 10-round middleweight bout Friday at Deadwood Mountain Grand in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Holmes (11-0, 5 KOs) last fought in November 2019, when he stopped Jose Antonio Abreu in three rounds.
“The long layoff is due to the pandemic and just waiting for the right opportunity to come along,” he said. “I was dealing with a lot of things at the time, deaths in the family, so part of it was getting myself mentally ready to take advantage of the opportunity when it came along.”
Do you think Ardreal Holmes (left) has a height advantage over Vernon Brown? Amanda Westcott / Showtime
He went on: “After being off for this long, I’m super excited for this opportunity. I just kept my head on straight and stayed positive and here we are.”
Holmes was an outstanding amateur fighter in the mid-2010s, culminating with his alternate status on the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.
And the product of boxing hotbed Flint, Michigan, has maintained the momentum as a professional, using his unusual height (6-foot-2), long jab, southpaw stance and all-around ability to win each of his 11 fights handily.
Now he hopes to pick up where he left off against a solid opponent in Brown, who replaced the injured Mekhrubon Sanginov. He had been scheduled to fight in the co-featured bout.
“I feel good for this fight,” Holmes said. “There’s nothing that I’m not expecting. I’m tall so everyone’s plan is to come forward and put pressure on me, but I’m expecting him to come forward and I plan on catching him on the way in.”
Brown (13-1-1, 9 KOs) fought at 140 pounds in his most-recent fight, a second-round knockout of Fabian Lyimo in February of last year. And he says he’s most comfortable at 147, although he was set to face a 154-pounder on Friday’s card. And the Chicago fighter is 5-foot-7, seven inches shorter than Holmes.
Still, Brown, an aggressive fighter who compared himself to Marvin Hagler, seems to be confident.
“Accepting the fight late wasn’t a big deal,” he said. “I’d already been training. I’m excited for this opportunity and I feel good. … I’ve gone up and down in weight, my last fight was at 140, but I’m used to fighting big guys, so this is not a problem.
“I’ve fought a couple guys who were 6-2, so I’m ready. It’s been a year since February since my last fight, and I’m ready to get my feet back wet again. I feel strong.”
Junior middleweight prospect Ardreal Holmes has gone from a 2½-year hiatus from the sport to fighting in the main on national television. The folks at Showtime must see something special in him. The rest of us will learn a lot about Holmes when he …
Junior middleweight prospect Ardreal Holmes has gone from a 2½-year hiatus from the sport to fighting in the main on national television. The folks at Showtime must see something special in him.
The rest of us will learn a lot about Holmes when he faces late replacement Vernon Brown on “ShoBox: The New Generation” in a 10-round middleweight bout Friday at Deadwood Mountain Grand in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Holmes (11-0, 5 KOs) last fought in November 2019, when he stopped Jose Antonio Abreu in three rounds.
“The long layoff is due to the pandemic and just waiting for the right opportunity to come along,” he said. “I was dealing with a lot of things at the time, deaths in the family, so part of it was getting myself mentally ready to take advantage of the opportunity when it came along.”
Do you think Ardreal Holmes (left) has a height advantage over Vernon Brown? Amanda Westcott / Showtime
He went on: “After being off for this long, I’m super excited for this opportunity. I just kept my head on straight and stayed positive and here we are.”
Holmes was an outstanding amateur fighter in the mid-2010s, culminating with his alternate status on the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.
And the product of boxing hotbed Flint, Michigan, has maintained the momentum as a professional, using his unusual height (6-foot-2), long jab, southpaw stance and all-around ability to win each of his 11 fights handily.
Now he hopes to pick up where he left off against a solid opponent in Brown, who replaced the injured Mekhrubon Sanginov. He had been scheduled to fight in the co-featured bout.
“I feel good for this fight,” Holmes said. “There’s nothing that I’m not expecting. I’m tall so everyone’s plan is to come forward and put pressure on me, but I’m expecting him to come forward and I plan on catching him on the way in.”
Brown (13-1-1, 9 KOs) fought at 140 pounds in his most-recent fight, a second-round knockout of Fabian Lyimo in February of last year. And he says he’s most comfortable at 147, although he was set to face a 154-pounder on Friday’s card. And the Chicago fighter is 5-foot-7, seven inches shorter than Holmes.
Still, Brown, an aggressive fighter who compared himself to Marvin Hagler, seems to be confident.
“Accepting the fight late wasn’t a big deal,” he said. “I’d already been training. I’m excited for this opportunity and I feel good. … I’ve gone up and down in weight, my last fight was at 140, but I’m used to fighting big guys, so this is not a problem.
“I’ve fought a couple guys who were 6-2, so I’m ready. It’s been a year since February since my last fight, and I’m ready to get my feet back wet again. I feel strong.”
Ardreal Holmes vs. Vernon Brown: date, time, how to watch, background.
Unbeaten junior middleweight prospect Ardreal Holmes is scheduled to face Vernon Brown Friday on Showtime.
Ardreal Holmes (11-0, 5 KOs) vs. Vernon Brown (13-1-1, 9 KOs)
Date: Friday, March 11
Time: 9:35 p.m. ET / 6:35 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Deadwood Mountain Grand, Deadwood, South Dakota
TV/Stream: Showtime (“ShoBox: The New Generation”)
Division: Junior middleweight
Rounds: 10
At stake: No major titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: None
Odds: NA
Also on the card: Luis Acosta vs. Edwin De Los Santos, lightweights; Giovanni Marquez vs. Nelson Morales, junior welterweights
Prediction: Holmes UD
Background: Six-foot-2 junior middleweight prospect Ardreal Holmes will face once-beaten Vernon Brown in the “ShoBox: The New Generation” main event. Holmes was an accomplished amateur, including serving as an alternate on the U.S. Olympic team in 2016. He can box. The product of Flint, Michigan, is coming off a third-round knockout of Jose Antonio Abreu in November 2019, meaning he will have been out of the ring for more than two years. His most-impressive victory was probably a six-round decision over veteran Lanardo Tyner in May 2019. The fight on Friday will be the 27-year-old Holmes’ first scheduled 10-rounder. He’ll have a significant height advantage over Brown, who is 5-foot-7. The 32-year-old southpaw from Chicago last fought in February of last year, when he knocked out Fabian Lyimo in two rounds. Brown’s only setback came by a 10-round decision against Jamontay Clark, the fighter who drew with Sebastian Fundora. That was Brown’s only other scheduled 10-rounder.
