ShoBox results: Figueroa Bocachica, Shishkin, Montoya pick up wins

Janelson Figueroa Bocachica stayed unbeaten with a majority decision win over Mark Reyes Jr in tonight’s ShoBox: The New Generation main event, edging scores of 96-94 and 97-93 on two cards, with the third even, 95-95.

Bad Left Hook scored the fight 96-94 for Bocachica (17-0, 11 KO), with a good handful of swing rounds at the very least in what was a close, interesting fight that both young welterweights should learn from in the end.

Bocachica may have gotten a boost from his opponent, actually, as the 24-year-old Reyes (14-1, 12 KO) may walk away from this fight kicking himself for being a bit inactive in some of the middle rounds especially, with some questions about his stamina and conditioning coming into play. Reyes did better in the last couple of rounds, throwing what he had left into the fight, and Bocachica took a lot of the 10th off, seemingly feeling he had enough of a lead by that point and not needing to take risks.

There was some fire here, both in terms of action and just fighter behavior. Bocachica talked quite a bit, while Reyes had his moments of taunting, too, though not as many as his opponent. There was actual fighting action early especially, though the bout did hit some lulls in the middle period, before a good exchange in the ninth round in particular.

Both guys took some good shots and showed solid chins, and in the end, Bocachica got a nod. Not controversial, a fight that just went his way and there’s no real issue with that.

For what it’s worth, CompuBox saw Bocachica landing 156 of 579 (27%) total punches, and Reyes was right there at 158 of 579 (27%), essentially identical. Reyes did land more power punches, scoring on 144 of 390 (37%) to Bocachica’s 118 of 292 (40%), but while Bocachica certainly didn’t dominate with the jab, he did land 38 to Reyes’ 14, and threw a lot more of them. The activity levels just throwing punches in rounds five through seven in particular really might have won Bocachica this fight more than anything.

The 22-year-old Bocachica now moves forward. He’s an interesting prospect, tall and long at welterweight (5’10”, 72-inch reach), has some skills, has some good confidence swagger to him, has some pop. He’s got more polishing to do with his overall game, he’s a ways off being a legitimate contender, but he’s putting himself on the map.

Vladimir Shishkin UD-10 Sena Agbeko

Relatively easy win, in that Shishkin (12-0, 7 KO) did suffer a cut early that got pretty bloody as the fight went on, but also Agbeko (23-2, 18 KO) never really threatened to do much in terms of, like, winning rounds or the fight.

Scores were 98-92, 100-90, and 100-90 for Shishkin, and we had it 100-90 for the Russian, too. Shishkin is a 29-year-old super middleweight, this was his third fight on ShoBox, it’s really time to try to do something with him sooner than later.

In all reality, I don’t think he will become a top contender, but he’s a very solid fighter and is probably about a finished product. In the next year, two max, he’s got to fight an actual contender, even a fringe contender. Showtime’s Steve Farhood suggested Caleb Truax or Alfredo Angulo, and I suppose both would be fine. Angulo still fights with a ton of heart but I think he’d be fairly simple for Shishkin. Truax might be more interesting, still a decent fighter with good ring smarts, knows his way around the ring. Question would be more whether Truax wants to train and fight to be at that level.

Personally, I’d throw in a few names: Lionell Thompson if you want a step against a veteran, or Steven Nelson, who is 32 and kind of in the same spot Shishkin is, they’re good fighters who need something notable.

Abraham Montoya MD-8 Alejandro Guerrero

Despite the majority decision, no controversy here, the most coming from the 76-76 card turned in by judge Glenn Feldman. John McKaie had it 79-73 for Montoya, and Steve Weisfeld 77-75 for Montoya. We also had it 79-73 in Montoya’s favor, as did Showtime’s Steve Farhood.

But it was a good fight, it was hard-fought, gritty, and competitive. I gave the sixth round to Guerrero (12-1, 9 KO), and could have seen the fourth and eighth for him to draw it a bit closer, but I think the fight was pretty clearly Montoya’s, and it’s a good win for him. Both guys were throwing a lot of punches from the get-go and through the end of the fight, no big drama but consistent, strong action, a really good TV fight. Montoya wound up throwing north of 1,000 punches in eight rounds, and Guerrero wasn’t trigger shy, either.

Montoya (20-2-1, 14 KO) moved up to 135 for this fight, having fought at 130 previously as he was trying to climb the ladder. This is probably a career-best win for him, or at least among them. At 26, he doesn’t look a big threat to the top guys at lightweight or anything, but he’s got a fan-friendly style and is welcome on my screen any time. The same goes for the 22-year-old Guerrero, I don’t want to write him off or forget him. Bring him back on ShoBox any time, he’s a tough fighter who has given good fights twice on the series now.