There was a lot of booing for referee Tony Chiarantano in the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut, when he stopped the fight between Andy Lee, originally from Limerick, Ireland and Brian Vera of Austin, Texas at 2:17 of the seventh round, giving the fight to Vera. The truth is by this point in the fight Lee was a beaten man, and Vera seemed to be warming up. In spite of the left hand thrown by Lee as referee Tony Chiarantano stopped the fight, Lee was clearly done. He did Lee a favor. Lee has been highly touted , especially by Manny Steward and was expected to take this fight fairly easy, judging by everyones surprise.
I think just about everyone but Brian Vera underestimated Brian Vera. He showed tremendous heart, coming back from a knockdown in round one, and seemingly behind on the scorecards. It was as if he turned on the switch. At about round four he just had the look of a fighter that was not going to lose. Vera forced his way inside, and despite being a little sloppy and over anxious at times, he was landing the right hand. On the other hand, he took everything Lee had to offer and kept on coming. It was a well deserved victory.
This was an entertaining fight while it was competitive and reminded me of the great ESPN fights of the eighties when guys like Freddie Roach, Tommy Cordova, Charles "White Lightning" Brown, and my own cousin Louie Burke were putting on good competitive fights. This had that eighties feel about it.
It's back to the drawing board for Lee and Steward. Sometimes, a guy with the right attitude can become a better fighter after a loss. It's up to him. Kudos to ESPN for putting on a good show. The same for the fighters.
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