Edner Cherry wins unpleasant decision over Lydell Rhodes in PBC main event

Over the course of ten agonizing rounds, Edner Cherry and Lydell Rhodes stunk out the Sands Bethlehem Events Center in the latest installment of PBC on Fox Sports 1, thoroughly ruining the bit of momentum the show had gathered with solid opening bouts.

Cherry (35-7-2, 19 KO) came out swinging awkward haymakers, while Rhodes (23-2-1, 11 KO) ducked to his right and stepped into the clinch with clockwork regularity. This pattern basically repeated itself every ten seconds or so for all ten rounds, although Rhodes seemed to land more and more on the inside as things progressed.

Cherry’s fruitless aggression wound up swaying the judges, however, as he took home the decision on scores of 98-92, 97-93, and 97-93. I personally had it 97-94 for Rhodes, although the fight was so bad I can’t bring myself to get worked up about it.

Anyway, let’s just stop talking about it. Deal?

Antonio Russell (7-0, 5 KO), younger brother of Gary, had a couple of tough rounds but generally dominated Jamaican opponent Rudolph Hedge (10-4-3, 3 KO) in their six-round bout. Russell showcased his dominance at range from the get-go with a solid jab and quick combinations, breaking Hedge’s nose in the process, but his decision to engage at close range gave the game Hedge a bit of ground. Though Russell was never losing, per se, he wasn’t dominating to the extent that someone of his obvious talent should have.

This changed around the fourth round, when Russell decided to simply dominate at range as he had before. He obliged Hedge once again in the sixth, but by that point he had worn Hedge down enough that there wasn’t much return fire. Two judges gave Hedge a round, while the other gave Russell the sweep.

Russell’s young and visibly talented; here’s hoping they manage him well.

Omar Douglas (17-0, 12 KO) snapped a two-fight decision streak in the opening feature with a seventh-round TKO of Alexei Collado (19-2, 17 KO). Douglas, a PBC regular, controlled the early going with a stiff jab, trading body shots with the Cuban amid the attack. Collado seemed to wake up in the third round, flicking out combinations as Douglas marched after him, but his second wind faded around the sixth as Douglas continued to target the body. The implacable Douglas stung him in the seventh with a pair of right hands, then forced him to a knee with a left uppercut. Collado elected not to get up.

It was a chippy fight throughout, speckled with low blows throughout, but Douglas gave a good account of himself. Though he’s still not ready for the upper chunk of the super featherweight division, he did what he needed to do.

For quick results and round-by-round coverage of the night’s proceedings, click here.