‘Gentleman’ George Arias hung on to his undefeated record with a tight split decision win over Alante Green in a heavyweight eight-rounder on Lou DiBella’s Shobox show at the Turning Stone Casino.
The first round was largely exploratory with Arias moving, looking for openings but Green worked to close the distance in the second. Both landed solid left hooks in the third and Green fired off a double jab right hand before switching lefty for a period in the fourth.
It was a pedestrian affair with referee Charlie Fitch having to break them several times but they started the fifth as though their lives depended on the outcome, with both firing combinations in to the body and head.
Arias, from the Dominican Republic but based in the Bronx, New York, then took a straight right but landed a right uppercut in an instant riposte and there were oohs and aahs from the crowd.
Arias landed another left hook with his back to the ropes and probably won the most exciting round of the fight to that point.
The contest continued to heat up in the sixth in what was becoming a bout of attrition but there were signs both might be running out of steam in the next and the eighth and final round was largely inconclusive as neither was able to establish real control.
The judges were divided. Tom Schrek and Eric Marlinski both scored for Arias 78-74 and 77-75 respectively while Don Trella had it 77-75 for Green. There wasn’t much in it.
Arias is now 18-0 (7), while Green, from Cleveland, Ohio, is 10-1-1 (7).