Potakov, Young Fight to a Draw in Verona

Undefeated bantamweights Nikolay Potapov and Stephon Young bout goes to the scorecards as a majority draw. #Shobox https://t.co/cQdE6rUNO6

— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) April 16, 2016

They both shook their heads as they wandered the ring, after the decision was read declaring a 10-round majority draw between 27-year-old southpaw Stephon “Show Stopper” Young and 25-year-old Nikolay Potapov on Friday night at Showtime’s ShoBox show from Turning Stone Resort & Casino, in Verona, New York.

The bantamweights were looking to make another step in their careers. It didn’t work.

And the actuality of it was the fight couldn’t have been any closer.

Judge Don Trella called it 96-94 for Potapov, while judges John McKaie and Glenn Feldman each scored it 95-95.

The stats even bore it out:

Potapov landed 148 of 622 total punches (24%), connecting on 43 of 315 jabs (14%) and 105 of 307 power shots (34%). Young, who’s now fought to a draw for the third time in his career, went 10 rounds for the first time. His punch output was slightly lower, landing 102 of 425 punches (24%), with 12 of 11 jabs (10%) and 90 of 307 power shots (29%).

Neither fighter had the other in any kind of trouble. Potapov, who was fighting for only the second time in the last 18 months, was the aggressor early in the fight, and Young began taking a more assertive role in the later rounds, after his corner implored him to pursue.

In the third round, Young started letting his loose. He attacked using his exclusively. The fourth round Young again was more aggressive, and even looked like he knocked down Potakov. But referee Charlie Fitch ruled it a slip.

For once, this seemed a case where a draw appeared to have been the right decision.

Mason Menard, a 27-year-old lightweight coming off a layoff of over a year, looked scary impressive, flattening Eudy Bernardo at 2:11 of the third round in what was a scheduled eight-round lightweight fight.

The 29-year-old Bernardo (21-1, 15 KOs) came into the fight with all of the measurables in his favor. He’s listed at 5-foot-10, to Menard’s 5-6, and had a 7½-inch reach advantage (74½ inches to 67 inches).

In the first round, Menard (31-1, 23 KOs) was able to crack through Bernardo’s high guard, and jump in and out of the punching zone before Bernardo had a chance to counter the shorter fighter. Menard had Bernardo in serious trouble with a minute left in the second round. He downed Bernardo under a series of shots, with the right uppercut and a right hand making the biggest impact. Bernardo was back on his feet by the time referee Benjy Esteves reached eight. It was the first time Bernardo had ever been knocked down.

Bernardo appeared to have his legs under in the third, and boxed well for a portion of the round, until Menard unfurled a perfect counter overhand right, catching Bernardo right on the jaw. Esteves never bothered to count. Bernardo was out before he hit the canvas. The time of the knockout was 2:11, though Menard didn’t show much emotion, even kneeling and seeming to say a little prayer as the ringside medical staff addressed Bernardo, who was taken from the ring on a stretcher as a precaution.

In the first TV fight, an eight-round cruiserweight bout between undefeated Russian Alexey Zubov and Constantin Bejenaru, a compact, muscular 31-year-old southpaw from Moldova, Bejenaru (11-0, 3 KOs) kept his record clean with a unanimous decision. Judges John McKaie and Don Trella both scored it 78-73, and judge Glenn Feldman had it 77-74.

The 6-foot-2 Zubov (10-1, 6 KOs) did manage to knock down Bejenaru in the seventh with a right hand that referee Richard Pakozdi called a knockdown. It was the only blemish on what was a strong performance by Bejenaru. He’s 5-10 and fought a portion of his young career out of his true weight class.

After four rounds, Bejenaru’s dominance was evident in 48 of 181 total punches landed (15-80 jabs; 33-101 power shots). Conversely, Zubov, 29, did little to help himself, landing one total punch more than Bejenaru’s jab connects, landing 16 of 99 (4 of 49 jabs; 12 of 50 power shots). Zubov did pick up the pace in the final four rounds, landing a total of 45 of 219 (10-93 jabs; 35-126 power shots), while Bejenaru’s output took a slight dip, finishing with 79 of 317 total connects (18-128 jabs; 61-189 power shots).

Joseph Santoliquito is the president of the Boxing Writer's Association of America and a frequent contributor to Sherdog.com's mixed martial arts and boxing coverage. His archive can be found here.