Challenger Thomas Falowo scored an eight-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Russell Lamour Jr. of Portland on Friday night to win Lamour’s New England middleweight boxing championship.
The fight was held at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, and televised live on ESPN2 as part of that network’s Friday Night Fight series.
The fight was close throughout, with the boxers throwing nearly an identical number of punches through seven rounds.
But Falowo connected on a larger percentage of his punches, and his ring presence as the aggressor for more of the bout earned him the victory.
While ESPN2 color analyst Teddy Atlas scored the bout as a 78-78 draw, the three judges at ringside favored Falowo 78-74, 77-75 and 77-75. That means the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based Falowo won six rounds on one of the judge’s cards and five of the eight rounds according to the other two judges according to the 10-point-must scoring system.
Falowo, who weighed in at 158½ pounds — the lightest he has been for a bout for 3½ years, improved his record to 13-3. Lamour, who weighed in at 159 pounds for the 160-pound regional championship fight, fell to 11-1.
Falowo and Lamour were familiar opponents, with Lamour winning four of their five amateur bouts before Falowo won the fifth and final meeting.
That familiarity left few secrets between the two boxers, with Falowo wanting to close the distance with Lamour in the ring while Lamour preferred to have more space with which to work.
Falowo won that territorial battle in most of the rounds, but virtually every round was close with the challenger’s propensity to move forward more often proving to be the difference.
The 32-year-old Lamour, fighting out of the Portland Boxing Club, had perhaps his best round in the sixth when he turned aggressor, connecting on a succession of body shots before the 26-year-old Falowo rallied in the final 30 seconds.
The fight then resumed its earlier tone over the final two rounds, with both fighters landing plenty of punches but Falowo more the aggressor.
When the decision was announced, Lamour offered a resigned look and applauded his opponent.
