|
Light Heavyweight Chris Henry faced his most
difficult fight as a pro against Rayco "War" Saunders, but
remains undefeated after winning the split decision.
HHenry's
big power ruled in round one, as he ripped big shots
to the body and head of Saunders. Saunders covered
throughout much of the round, but finally came back
with a right to the head near the bell. Henry
continued to take the fight to Saunders in round
two, although Saunders countershots became more
frequent.
Henry continued to punch
first in round three, with Saunders just walking in, gloves
up, waiting for the big counter shot. An accidental
head butt opened a cut over Saunders' left eye.
Sauders' counter right hand
began to land with more frequency in round four, and he
began to advance on Henry. The referee warned Henry for
pushing, but Henry continued to land more shots throughout
the round. Henry has a tendency to stand with his left hand
down near his waist though, exposing his chin, and Saunders
repeatedly took advantage of the opening.
Henry took to the jab in
round five, while Saunders continued to chop at the body.
The referee warned Henry for
a low blow in round six, while Saunders continued to land
quick inside combinations to the head. Henry came firing
back with big rights of his own, and the two traded bombs
for more than a minute straight. Henry, who had
knocked out all but one of his previous opponents, began to
show some fatigue and frustration.
Henry continued to land the
jab in round seven, while Saunders landed the solid counter
shots. A series of sharp countershots seemed to rattle
Henry and the referee warned him again for a low blow.
Saunders landed three big rights
early in round eight, but Henry blasted back with five
unanswered shots to the body and head. It was here
that the referee eventually deducted a point from Henry for
a low blow.
Henry was moving and sticking
the jab in round nine, and Saunders continued to land the
heavier counter shots.
Saunders opened the tenth
and final round with a big counter right again, but Henry
opened up with a frenzied final assault, firing off multiple
lefts and rights for more than a minute. Near the end of the
round it appeared as though Henry had Saunders hurt, but
Saunders came back with a couple more solid counters to end
the bout.
Two of the judges scored the bout 96-93 for Henry, while a
third saw the match for Saunders with a score of 95-94.
In the middle of the ring, Saunders was shouting, "Let's do
it again! Let's do it again!"
"He was headbutting a lot,"
Henry said after the fight. "I had to get up under him
before he could get up under me. He was real tough. He
stayed in there. He fought hard. I had to push that last
round. I knew it was pretty close, not too close I thought,
but after that point they took away for the low blow I had
to pick it up a little bit more."
Henry improves to 15-0 with
13 KO's while Saunders falls to 15-7-2 with 7 KO's.
|
