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Price per head - Onshore Bookmakers
Feliciano cools off Phillips in ring
By Rich Thompson
Welterweight Jesse Feliciano didn’t fight like an 11th-hour substitute looking for an easy payday.
Feliciano dismantled Cool Vince Phillips in the main event of last night’s nationally televised St. Patrick’s Day fight card at the Roxy.
Feliciano (14-5-2) was added to the card three days ago in place of Neil Sinclair of Belfast, Ireland, who was injured while sparring last week. Pressure tactics, crossing rights, upper cuts and body punches allowed Feliciano to pound out a majority decision over Phillips (48-10), a former IBF junior welterweight champion.
Judges Ken Volorick and Stephen Memishian scored it 97-93, while Roland Milton had it 96-96. Phillips is the biggest-name opponent on Feliciano’s growing resume, so he plans to parlay the win into a lucrative climb up the ranks.
“The first time I studied (Phillips) was last night and what I saw was that he couldn’t handle pressure,” Feliciano said. “As long as I kept coming forward and backing him up, I knew that was the way to beat him. This is going to move me up in the ratings and on top where I ought to be.”
Phillips wasn’t ready for Feliciano’s blitz tactics. He spent the opening three rounds trying to counter punch off the ropes. The former champion got his timing down in the fourth round and began landing angle punches to the head and body of his one-dimensional opponent.
His corner was calling out for Phillips to “close the trap,” beginning in the fourth round. Phillips had a clear idea of what he needed to do against Feliciano but the younger fighter refused to cooperate. As the rounds wore on, Phillips found himself trapped into a slugfest he wasn’t equipped to withstand.
“I should have boxed him a little more but the guy stayed on top of me,” Phillips said. “He’s durable and he threw a lot of punches and I played into his game because I thought I could hurt him and knock him out. But the guy has a good chin and he made me work his fight. I was trying to back up and drop the right hand with an upper cut and a double-right hook.
“I was fighting his fight instead of turning and using my jab.”
Phillips rallied to win the eighth round. He landed a straight right off the jab and followed with a hook that caused Feliciano’s legs to buckle. The rugged brawler simply smiled at Phillips.
“I saw that happening but when it didn’t hurt I started teasing him, calling him an old man and telling him he was running out of time,” Feliciano said. “When he hit me twice I kind of liked it, and I told him to hit me again. I didn’t think he could hit me with a straight punch so I just kept coming.”
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