Tonight's special Shobox lived up to its knockout hype and set the stage for tomorrow night's card with a great start to the weekend.
Cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek ate some shots early against challenger Johnathon Banks, but he drilled Banks down in the eighth with a right to the temple. Though Banks got to his feet, he was knocked out brutally with a corner flurry moments later. Adamek (37-1, 25 KO) took control of the fight after the first few rounds with effective aggression. Banks (20-1, 14 KO) is back to the drawing board, but with some fixes could be a contender for a good while. Losing to the tough, vastly more experienced Adamek is no shame.
In the opening bout, Giovanni Lorenzo (27-1, 19 KO) stopped Dionisio Miranda (19-4-2, 17 KO) with one punch in the second round, a perfect lead right hand that turned the Colombian's lights out for the evening. Lorenzo was so much bigger than Miranda it was ridiculous; just a huge frame for a middleweight on that guy, sort of like a bigger Juan Urango. Thick, sturdy and wide-shouldered.
Lorenzo's win puts him in line for a shot at Arthur Abraham. I think he gets destroyed by King Arthur and may want to wait a little while before exercising his right, but he probably wants that payday.
In ESPN2's Friday Night Fights main event, Daniel Judah was completely outlcassed by Glen Johnson, losing a wide ten-round unanimous decision and going down in the first round.
We'll be back tomorrow night with the massive fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz for the world lightweight championship. Join us then!