With Boyd on his second outing for GLORY and Carradus making his debut, both came out looking to go to work and stamp their authority on the fight. Solid exchanges started early and set the pattern for the rest of the bout.
Boyd stands orthodox and has notably good work with his left-side weapons, particularly a knee strike to the body which we first saw at GLORY 18 OKLAHMOMA. It was a money shot for him that night and it did some damage for him tonight as well.
As for Carradus, one thing which particularly stood out was his distancing and head movement. The old boxing maxim says âMake him miss, then make him payâ. Carradus did just that on several occasions, rolling under Boydâs hooks and coming up with hard counter strikes in return.
The fight went at a good pace with good work from both, though Boyd was landing more frequently and with longer combinations so he was clearly ahead going into the third and final frame. That round was marred by Boyd being deducted a point for two consecutive low blows.
Carradus promptly settled the score on the restart by landing a low blow of his own; the referee cautioned him and gave him a long, searching look which suggested he wasnât entirely convinced the low blow hadnât been some deliberate payback.
After three rounds of fighting it went to the judges. One had it a draw at 28-28, the point deduction costing Boyd there, while the others had it 29-28 in his favor. They returned a majority decision victory for Boyd and it would have been unanimous had he not lost that point in the third.
âHe was real tough. I didnât expect him to fight like that considering the level of experience that he has. Heâs a good fighter,â said Boyd in his post-fight interview. A dejected Carradus headed backstage with his trainer Rafael Cordeiro. Despite his disappointment he acquitted himself well and will surely earn another call from GLORY.
