FLINT, me. – Danielle Perkins jumped around the ring with the movement and skill of a multisport athlete, which makes sense since she played college basketball at St. John’s.
In the fifth round of her heavyweight fight against Monika Harrison – at the Claressa Shields-Marie-Eve Dicaire pay-per-view event for women on Friday evening at the Dort Financial Center in Flint – she showed why. Perkins clearly surpassed Harrison (2-2, 1 KO) and hit her throughout the fight like a punching bag on the way to a unanimous win of the WBC silver heavyweight title. All three judges scored the bout between 80 and 72 and gave Perkins every round.
While it wasn’t a perfect feat for Perkins (3-0, 1 KO), who started slowly, she was always in control of the fight.
Impact statistics
| Blows | Perkins | Harrison |
|---|---|---|
| Landed overall | 119 | 21 |
| Total thrown | 353 | 273 |
| percent | 34% | 8th% |
| Jabs landed | 16 | 3 |
| Thrown bumps | 101 | 105 |
| percent | 16% | 3% |
| The power landed | 103 | 18th |
| Power thrown | 252 | 168 |
| percent | 41% | 11% |
| – Courtesy of CompuBox | ||
Perkins, who is from Houston, continuously demonstrated the body movement necessary to avoid power punches from Harrison, who is from Waycross, Georgia. Harrison swung wildly – and often was absent – in the second half of the fight. In the seventh round Harrison could barely hit Perkins, whose movement improved from round to round.
The only big shot Harrison landed was the last when the bell rang on the final lap – but it wouldn’t nearly be enough to hit Perkins.
It’s the second time in three professional fights that Perkins fought Harrison – and beat him. After the fight, Perkins apologized for not getting the knockout.
Mitchell stops Bosques to go undefeated
Bantamweight Jamie Mitchell, right, went undefeated with a TKO win over Noemi Bosques. AP Photo / Carlos Osorio
Jamie Mitchell had the power, and for five rounds she chased Noemi Bosques all over the ring and flaunted her. Mitchell beat Bosques until the referee dropped the bout at 1:49 p.m. in the fifth and Mitchell earned a technical knockout.
Impact statistics
| Blows | Mitchell | Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Landed overall | 94 | 24 |
| Total thrown | 234 | 153 |
| percent | 40% | 16% |
| Jabs landed | 14th | 4th |
| Thrown bumps | 67 | 51 |
| percent | 21% | 8th% |
| The power landed | 80 | 20th |
| Power thrown | 167 | 102 |
| percent | 48% | 20% |
| – Courtesy of CompuBox | ||
Bosques (12-16-3, 2 KOs) really had no shot during the entire fight. She couldn’t handle the speed and power of Mitchell (6-0-2, 4 KOs), who has four KOs on her behalf but has not yet fought an opponent with a winning record. Bosques, from St. Petersburg, Florida, has not won a fight since September 2019.
“I’ve just done everything that suits me at the moment,” said Mitchell after the fight. She said it resulted in the knockout, and she thanked Claressa Shields for putting her on that card.
It was the third TKO in the last five fights for Mitchell of Pacific Grove, California.
Esparza dominates Barnett in a unanimous decision win
Marlen Esparza, right, defeated Shelly Barnett by unanimous decision in a bantamweight bout. AP Photo / Carlos Osorio
Marlen Esparza won a unanimous decision (60-54, 60-53, 60-53) over Shelly Barnett in the bantamweight opener on the pay-per-view show.
From the first minute, Esparza (9-1, 1 KO) made it clear who the more dominant and experienced fighter was. Almost every punch she threw had a second or third behind her, and although Esparza hadn’t knocked down Barnett (4-4-2), Esparza held the clear edge.
Impact statistics
| Blows | Esparza | Barnett |
|---|---|---|
| Landed overall | 126 | 49 |
| Total thrown | 352 | 291 |
| percent | 36% | 17% |
| Jabs landed | 25th | 16 |
| Thrown bumps | 89 | 117 |
| percent | 28% | 14% |
| The power landed | 101 | 33 |
| Power thrown | 263 | 174 |
| percent | 38% | 19% |
| – Courtesy of CompuBox | ||
Esparza, who is from Houston, seemed relaxed throughout the bout, dancing in her corner between rounds and putting her feet on the ropes of the ring while receiving instructions from her corner. She said after the fight that she had to put her feet on the ropes because the chair was too big for her.
Barnett, meanwhile, was in a difficult position. She started the fight with eight days notice and had lost three fights that came into the fight. Her last win was against Alisah McPhee in 2018.
Esparza got much more active in the third round and took control of the fight. She used the fight on Friday night to prepare for a fight in April against Ibeth Zamora for the WBC world flyweight title. In the fourth round, Barnett barely struggled. Esparza landed hook after hook in the fifth round, making Barnett’s ability to stay awake surprising.
Like Barnett, Esparza took up the fight on short notice. But with that feat, it’s clear she used it to hone her skills before a much bigger fight.
