FERNANDO GUERRERO W10 ISHE SMITH; SHAWN PORTER W10 RAY ROBINSON; MIKE DALLAS Jr. W8 LANARD LANE

ShoBox offered a cracking card on Friday, with three highly enjoyable fights. Favourites won but had to fight for the wins. Fernando Guerrero was severely tested by Ishe Smith in the middleweight main event but produced a high punch-count to earn the unanimous decision and Shawn Porter had all he could handle with Ray Robinson in a spirited welterweight bout.
 
Opening the show, Mike Dallas Jr. produced the smarter boxing to outpoint the physically stronger Lanard Lane in a tense eight-rounder between unbeaten junior welters.
 
Guerrero showed the instincts of a fighter in the win over Smith, which seemed clear enough to me although the TV commentary favoured Smith.
 
I liked the way Guerrero kept firing right back whenever Smith had him under pressure. Although Guerrero was dropped by a right hand in an eighth-round flash knockdown, and seemed to be slowing in the ninth, he dug down to produce a spirited last round of boxing and fighting.
 
Smith fought well, and his body punches might have had some young fighters wilting — but not Guerrero. There were times when both men were banging to the body, but in the earlier rounds it was Guerrero who always seemed to be doing a bit more. The 23-year-old southpaw boxed as well as fought, sometimes moving around Smith to pepper the veteran from an unexpected angle. It was a lively, fast-paced display. Smith, though, seemed to be gathering momentum towards the end, although a point deduction for a low blow hurt him on the scorecards. I didn’t think that Guerrero needed the last round to get the win, but I do like a fighter to finish strongly — one never knows how the judges might be seeing it — and the younger man produced the finishing spurt that made sure.
 
Porter often looked wild and reckless but he was simply too strong for the lanky southpaw Robinson. I had Porter a fairly wide winner — he was forcing the fight and he did some excellent banging to the body — but Robinson landed enough punches to make the fight highly competitive. Robinson showed great heart to survive a sixth-round knockdown and come back strongly. At the end it was Porter who looked the more relieved to hear the final bell.
 
Dallas, something of a Vernon Forrest type, was usually a bit too quick and clever for Lane and well deserved the unanimous decision in his favour. Dallas isn’t supposed to be a hard hitter but there was enough “on” his punches to make Lane respectful. Lane is a tough sort but Dallas was making him think twice about rushing in. Dallas did seem to have a bit of a fragile look, however, and I thought he was briefly in danger of getting overpowered in the seventh but — like Guerrero in the main event — he made sure that he had an assertive last round.