Alberto Palmetta evidently didn’t feel it was wise leave his fate in the hands of the judges.
Palmetta and Erik Vega were engaged in a competitive welterweight fight when, in the 10th and final round, Palmetta scored a dramatic technical knockout Friday night in Sloan, Iowa on Showtime.
Palmetta, a 2016 Olympian from Argentina, got off to a quick start and dictated the pace most of the fight. He was the more accurate puncher and seemed to slip many of his Mexican opponent’s best shots.
Vega (16-1, 9 knockouts) came on in the middle rounds, as he stood his ground more than he had been and got busier. The fight was close going into the final rounds.
In the end, Palmetta (13-1, 9 KOs) didn’t know it but he didn’t need a knockout in the 10th to win the fight. He was leading 87-84 on two cards and 86-85 on the third; all he had to do was win the round.
However, perhaps the fate of countryman Marcos Escudero in the co-feature entered his mind or that of trainer Charles Mooney, who also worked Escudero’s corner. Escudero seemed to outwork opponent Joe George but lost a split decision.
So when Palmetta stunned Vega to some degree with a short right early in the final round, he followed with unrelenting barrage of largely unanswered punches that forced referee Mark Nelson to stop the fight.
The official time was 1:03 of the round.
With the victory, Palmetta, 29, took a significant step toward becoming a contender. The 24-year-old Vega, a significant prospect going into the fight, will have to work on deficiencies.
In the co-feature, a 10-round light heavyweight bout, Escudero (10-1, 9 KOs) came out firing at the opening bell and never stopped throwing, outlanding George (10-0, 6 KOs) roughly 2-1 in punches. The Argentine routinely forced George against the ropes, where the winner was content to cover up and take punches.
George had his best moments when he had space to work in the middle of the ring but he didn’t have the opportunity often, as Escudero controlled distance for most of the fight. In other words, he imposed his will on George.
That’s why Boxing Junkie scored it 97-93 – seven rounds to three – in Escudero’s favor. The official scores: Two judges scored it for George (97-94 and 97-93), one had it for Escudero (96-94).
Escudero definitely was busier than George. Perhaps the two judges who scored it for the winner gave the loser little credit for the punches he threw when George was against the ropes because they believed he landed mostly on his gloves and arms.
And maybe they thought George landed the bigger shots. He seemed to stun Escudero with a right hand in the ninth round, arguably the biggest punch in the fight, but he couldn’t follow up as Escudero held on until he recovered. When he did, he went back to outworking George.
And, in a scheduled eight-round middleweight fight, Amilcar Vidal Jr. (10-0, 9 KOs) stopped Zach Prieto (9-1, 7 KOs) with one second remaining in the opening round.
Neither fighter had dominated the first few minutes when, in the final seconds, Vidal landed a left hook-upper cut that put Prieto down and hurt him. The product of Las Crucez, New Mexico was able to get up but went down again under a barrage of hard shots, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
Videal, from Uruguay, was making his U.S. debut.