Jamel Herring Remains Champion With Win Over Lamont Roach Jr.!

(Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

On the Top Rank on ESPN+ card at Chukchansi Park in Fresno, California Jamel Herring successfully defended his WBO junior lightweight world title by unanimous decision over Lamont Roach Jr.. 

In the opening round both Herring and Roach Jr. spent the majority of their time in the center of the ring. It was a good round where the fighters tested each other with jabs and body shots. The fighters tangled feet causing Herring to fall to the canvas in the second round because of his southpaw style while Roach being the conventional orthodox fighter. For the next couple of rounds both guys spent a lot of time trying to counter each other. It was Herring who did the most bodywork to open up more opportunities to land his jab. Roach Jr. did not have the punch output to match what Herring was putting out in the middle rounds, but he did land some scoring shots. Herring looked in complete control of the bout while Roach Jr. had to take more risks to put himself back into the contest. In the opening of the eighth round Roach Jr. became more aggressive by letting his hands go. Roach Jr. started stepping inside to land hooks and uppercuts. Herring did a good job of keeping his composure to continue landing his jab. In the ninth round Roach Jr. was more of a defensive fighter as Herring kept his jab working along with a few counter right hooks. In the eleventh round Roach Jr. landed a hard hook early to get Herrings attention, and another right hook that staggered Herring at the end of the round. In the final round Roach Jr. kept up the pressure as he tried to land more big shots while Herring avoided those shots with good defense. The judges scored the contest 115-113, and 117-111 twice all for Herring.

Herring remains champion with a record of (21-2, 10 KO's) while Lamont Roach Jr. suffers his first defeat and is now (19-1-1, 7 KO's).