Julian Smith spent all night making things as comfortable as he could for his highly touted foe.
It wasn’t enough to produce the upset but rookie junior welterweight prospect Kevin Hayler Brown was forced to go all ten rounds to earn his latest win. Judges Efrain Lebron (98-92), Dave DeJonge (96-94) and William Glover (96-94) were unanimous in favor of Brown in their ten-round DAZN co-feature Friday evening from Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida.
Smith established his power and physical edge from the outset. The once-beaten junior welterweight from Country Club Hills, Illinois—who is legally deaf—landed a flush left hook across Brown’s chin in the opening round, in his best effort to send a message that he was unimpressed with his opponent’s stellar amateur pedigree.
Brown found room to establish his jab and utilize every inch of the ring in round two. The former amateur standout from Cuba—who owns wins over countrymen and two-time Olympic Gold medalists Andy Cruz and Roniel Iglesias—was fast-tracked as he entered his second ten-round affair through just three pro bouts. He needed just two and six rounds to produce his previous wins but had to use his full bag of tricks for all ten rounds versus the stubborn Smith.
A steady stream of jabs were enough for Brown to cleanly take rounds two and three. The 29-year-old Cuban—who is trained by Bob Santos in Las Vegas and managed by Shane Shapiro—was also successful with lead right hands but left himself open for a counter right by Smith late in round four.
Brown adjusted and cleanly outboxed Smith for much of the second half of the bout. Smith’s modus operandi was to charge in and land a left hook or straight right hand. Brown was wise to the approach and consistently picked off the 32-year-old Smith with a stiff jab. Subtle lateral movement by Brown set up lefts and straight right hands.
Smith surged late in round nine after being outboxed for much of the frame. He briefly cornered Brown but was unable to make it count.
Brown was pressed with minor adversity in the tenth and final round. Time was called to examine a cut over the right eyelid of Brown, which Smith treated as a target as he launched lead left hooks. Both fighters landed right hands in the final minute of the fight. Brown bit down and connected with a left hook to the body and another upstairs before a final two-way exchange was provided just before the bell.
Smith (6-2, 4KOs) was valiant in defeat, though he now lost two of his last three starts.
Brown advanced to 3-0 (2KOs) in his first distance fight. All three pro bouts have taken place at this venue, under BoxLab Promotions who co-promoted Friday’s show along with Most Valuable Promotions.
Headlining the four-bout telecast, undefeated lightweight knockout artist Ashton Sylve (8-0, 8KOs) faces late replacement opponent Tanzania’s Adam Kipenga (11-3-1, 7KOs) in a scheduled eight-round contest.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox