The French heavyweight Carlos Takam defeated Jerry Forest in a 10-round main event on ESPN. The former world title challenger got the W via UD, as he accepted to replace Jarrell Miller on short notice.
The fight took place at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Takam was the aggressor right from the get-go, sticking his jab and nonstop moving. Both guys were landing nice shots, with Takam being the guy controlling the range and more often forcing his will on Forrest.
An accidental head butt in the fifth round opened a cut on Takam’s left eye. The American tried to take advantage of the situation, but the french showed experience and didn’t allow to get hit with big shots.
The late rounds saw Forrest going for the knockout, but Takam managed to keep hi away with beautiful jabs and fast overhands. The ringside judges scored the fight (96-94, 98-92, 97-93).
Takam showed his professionalism last night. Not only he claimed the win, but he did it with a heavy heart due to his father passing away last week.
“My father passed away a week ago, so I came into the fight with a heavy heart. It may not have been a spectacular knockout, but most importantly, we got the win. We took this fight on short notice, but the opportunity on ESPN was too big to pass up. We knew we could beat him regardless”, the Frenchman said after the fight.
