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By Arne K. Lang
Taken in its entirety, tonight’s PBC show at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island, New York, was a rather humdrum affair. The main go, a 12-round welterweight contest between veterans Devon Alexander and Andre Berto, was marred by excessive clinching, despoiling what was otherwise a tight, well-matched affair between former title-holders.
When the smoke cleared, Andre Berto, an 8/5 underdog, pulled out a split decision, much to the surprise of the Fox Sports announcing crew. Two judges favored Berto, now 31-6, by 115-112 scores. The dissenter had it 114-113 for Alexander (27-5-1).
Alexander started strong. In the third round, he knocked Berto to the canvas with a pair of clubbing overhand rights, both of which appeared to land on the back of Berto’s neck. But in the later rounds, similar to his last fight against Victor Ortiz, which was ruled a draw, Alexander took his foot off the pedal and allowed Berto to sneak his way back into the fight.
There was a comical moment during the match when Berto had an equipment malfunction. In the eighth round, his black rubber groin protector fell out of his trunks. His quick-thinking cornermen were able to replace it with a red one.
Co-Main
In the co-main, former WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin (33-1-1) was successful in his first important outing at 168, scoring a lopsided 10-round decision over J’Leon Love (24-2-1). The tallies were 99-91 and 98-92 twice. Quillin, once considered a major force as a middleweight, was making his second start in 19 months. In his lone defeat, he was stopped in the opening round by fellow Brooklynite Daniel Jacobs.
Other Bouts
In an uneventful 10-round welterweight match, Sergey Lipinets (14-1) won a 10-round majority decision over Eric Bone (20-6). Lipinets, a California based Kazakh, was making his first start at 147 after losing his IBF 140-pound belt to Mikey Garcia.
The scores were 99-91, 98-92, and a curious 95-95. Lipinets stalked his Ecuadorian adversary throughout but was never able to land an especially hurtful punch.
In a battle of southpaws, Luis Collazo won a 10-round majority decision over Bryant Perrella. The scores were 98-92, 96-94, and a bizarre 95-95. There were no knockdowns, but Colazzo, who improved to 38-7, had Perrella (15-2) in trouble in the fourth and seventh rounds.
A veteran of five world title fights, Collazo rejuvenated his career in February with a KO 6 of Sammy Vasquez. With this victory, the 37-year-old Brooklynite insinuated himself back into the welterweight picture.
In a 10-round light heavyweight match, Marcus Browne improved to 22-0 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Lenin Castillo (17-2-1). It was a rather ho-hum fight, but punctuated by a moment of drama when Castillo knocked Browne down with a swift combination in the fifth round. The scores were 98-91, 98-91, and 97-92.
A three-time New York City Golden Gloves champion and 2012 Olympian, Browne is ranked #2 by the WBC, WBA, and WBO. He was slated to fight Sergey Kovalev, but the promoter pulled the plug on him when it came to light that Browne had been arrested for domestic assault in December and again in March.
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