Wednesday Nights Fights From The Hard Rock, Hollywood, Florida

Joel Julio blitzes Jose Varela on ESPN2!
By Alden 'The Kid' Chodash (13-Aug-2008)

Alden Chodash was live at ringside for another exciting edition of ESPN2’s ‘Wednesday Night Fights’ live from the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida. Read on for a complete recap of the action!

Joel Julio TKO 6 Jose Varela

Joel Julio proved once again why he was once regarded as one of the premiere prospects in the game with his dominant knockout victory over the game Jose Varela. The bout was stopped after the sixth round, when Varela’s chief second indicated to the referee that his fighter had enough after the one-sided beating he took at the hands of Julio, who decked him five times in the bout.

Julio began his onslaught in the second round when a big right hand put Varela down for the first of five knockdowns. Shortly afterwards, a left hook put Varela on the deck for the second time. Julio also scored a knockdown in the third before an uneventful fourth round followed. However, a huge left hook in the fifth dropped Varela in what appeared to be the conclusion of the fight but Varela once again found a way to finish the round. A combination put Varela down towards the end of the sixth round and although the referee permitted the beaten Varela to continue, his cornerman intelligently put an end to the mismatch shortly after the end of the round. With the victory, Joel Julio makes another step towards rejuvenating his career which was interrupted by a setback at the hands of Carlos Quintana in the summer of 2006. Julio also advanced his record to 34-1 with a resounding 31 career knockouts. Varela drops to 23-4 with 16 career knockouts.

Joe Greene W UD12 Jose Miguel Torres

Undefeated Brooklyn native, Joe Greene got his hands dirty in his winning effort against the awkward Jose Miguel Torres, brother of former WBO Light-Welterweight champion Ricardo Torres. Torres made it a dirty fight from the get-go, although occasionally catching the attention of Greene and the crowd when he was able to connect, most notably in the third round where he rocked Greene with a right hand and was able to follow up with a series of punches. In the fourth, Greene put the onrushing Torres on the deck with a well-placed left hand. Greene was also able pick up a three point round as Torres cost himself another point via deduction for roughhousing tactics. Down the stretch, Greene was able to score with his left hand frequently, even managing to hurt Torres with it in the tenth. The scoring was unanimously in favor of the undefeated Joe Greene, who picks up his 20th victory in arguably his toughest fight to date.