Long Island’s own Chris
Algieri,13-0 (6), returned again to his hometown of Huntington, New York to
square off in an eight-rounder against southpaw Curtis Smith, 10-6 (5), on
January 28th 2012, in front of another packed house at the Paramount
Theater.
As is always the case
whenever Chris Algieri fights, the crowd was not disappointed.
The first round was
uneventful as both men were feeling each other out. Smith tried to launch a
body attack but Algieri either blocked most of the shots with his elbows or
simply danced out of harm’s way, using his jab to keep Smith at bay.
In round two, Algieri started
unloading right hands and hard shots to the body but Smith showed some slick
southpaw movement and started introducing his jab. Algieri cleverly covered up
when Smith threw but his counters did not find their mark. Seeming a little
frustrated, Algieri began lunging at Smith, smothering himself- and his punches-
on the inside.
Smith found his rhythm in
round three, pinning Algieri against the ropes and ripping hard shots with both
hands. About halfway through the round, it appeared that Smith had punched
himself out as Algieri took over, dominating the second half of the round with
vicious body punches and right hand leads to the head.
Rounds four through six were
pretty much mirror images of each other as Algieri stalked Smith, landing hooks
off a stinging jab. At times, Algieri pinned Smith against the ropes but the
cagey Smith survived and fired back.
In round seven, Algieri
began to follow his jab with hard right hands to Smith’s body and at the end of
the round, one could see that the body work was taking its toll on Smith who
returned to his corner rather tentatively.
Round eight begins with
Algieri immediately resuming his attack to the body, trying to finish off
Smith. For a while, it looked like that would happen as Smith began to wilt. Suddenly,
Smith caught a second wind and began unloading on Algieri with both hands. The
crowd roared as both men finished the fight in the center of the ring, trading
blows.
Algieri took the unanimous
decision by the scores of 80-72 (twice) and 78-74.
After the fight, Algieri was
asked to evaluate his performance.
“In terms of my performance,”
Algieri said, “I’d give myself a C+.
“I felt a little off,”
Algieri continued, “and was having trouble finding Smith’s rhythm. I could have
used my jab more consistently to set up my power shots instead of stalking and
trading.”
Asked about Smith’s
performance, Algieri stated, “He took a good punch, which we expected.”
When asked what he’ll take
away from this fight, Algieri said, “This was a learning experience for me. I
need to listen to my coaches and use my boxing skills instead of trying to get
the knockout.”
“But,” Algieri continued,
“I’ll be back in the gym this week to work on those things and I want to get
back in the ring as soon as possible.”
And that’s a good thing for
boxing fans.
