By Darrin Doyle
ESPN brought it's latest installment of PBC Boxing to televisions across the country on Saturday night, however the true soldiers were those who were able to suffer through the entire telecast.
Junior Lightweight prospect Mario "Golden Boy" Barrios (16-0, 8 KO) faced off against little-known Italian contender Devis Boschiero (39-5-1, 21 KO). The resulting contest would have been sleep inducing if it were not for Teddy Atlas' ramblings to keep the audience at attention, demonstrated by the constant "booing" by the attending crowd from the onset of the main event.
Barrios, standing at a whopping 6'1'', was a heavy favorite entering the bout, and the 5'5'' Boschiero did virtually nothing to test the young fighter in his first scheduled 12 round fight.
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To better put Barrios vs. Boschiero in perspective, there were numerous rounds in which Boschiero landed literally 0 punches, and Barrios barely cracked a connection percentage of 10% on total punches thrown. "Golden Boy" kept his foe at bay with a steady jab most of the evening, but refused to engage aside from the occasional power punch, which were lost in Boschiero's tight defensive shell. The scuffle finally heated up in the 12th, as the underdog realized his only hope was a flash knockout. This led to Barrios knocking down his opponent with a nice uppercut in one of the few highlights of the fight.
Mario Barrios took home the win from this snooze fest with unanimous scores of 120-107 including the knockdown in the last round, however he will certainly need better opposition with a more fan-friendly style if he wants to make a name for himself in the division. Being his first stop on prime time tv, the young prospect will need to provide much more action to be put in another position to showcase his talent.
On the undercard, rising welterweight prospect Eddie Ramirez (14-0, 9 KO) took out late replacement Jessie Roman (20-3, 9 KO) with a clear unanimous decision in what was a very exciting fight.The action came early and often in this one, although it became evident as the skirmish progressed that "El Scorpion" was too much for his adversary. Roman showed an incredible amount of heart to sustain the blows he was taking, but Ramirez seemed to be one step quicker at all times. With a few more good showings, we could see Ramirez's stock rising very soon