Holmes leaps into semis after stopping Richmond
RICHARD ‘Frog’ Holmes booked his date with destiny by defeating Derick ‘Dangerous’ Richmond by a technical knockout at the Chinese Benevolent Association Auditorium on Wednesday night.
Holmes in the process booked a semi-final meeting with Tsetsi ‘Lights Out’ Davis in the 2015 Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum Contender Boxing Series.
With $2 million cash and the title of Jamaica’s Ultimate Middleweight up for the taking, it was an improved Holmes who entered the ring seeking a semi-final spot in the lucrative boxing series.
Holmes slowly as he measured the worth of his opponent with some exploratory left jabs and a few right crosses. Satisfied that he had seen enough of Richmond, Holmes exploded in the second round and had his opponent backing up. One fateful moment in the second round put Richmond out. He was rabbit punched with a blow to back of his head. It was a foul blow, but referee Peter Richards did not seem to think it was serious enough to allow Richmond time to recover. It was a big 10-point round for Holmes who, in the third round, followed up from where he left off in the second. It was later revealed that Richmond did not want to answer the bell for the third. Nonetheless, he did so probably to his own detriment as his response to Holmes attacks were feeble to say the least. The rest is now history, as Richmond decided to quit on his stool in answer to the fourth round.
Holmes, in response to the claim of hitting his Guyanese opponent behind his head, said: “In boxing anything can happen. You can hit an opponent in his groin or in other areas that are not allowed in the sport. But it is not deliberate. It is just boxing.”
Talking about his own preparedness from the one that was seen in his opening fight, Holmes added: “Of course it was a different Holmes you were seeing. Sometimes you have to play the fool to catch wise. The first outing was just a warm up.”
Richmond in his response to the loss said: “The game plan was to keep Holmes at arms length for the first three rounds and then take it from there. But the night was really Holmes’ night and I wish him all the best, and for him to continue on his journey.”