World News – CA – Sergey Lipinets and Custio Clayton fight for majority twelve-round draw

Sergey Lipinets had to be content with a long delay to return to the ring, with a postponement of two weeks and a change of opponent

At the end of the night, he also had to settle for a 12-round majority draw against late substitute Custio Clayton in their interim welterweight title fight Judge Glenn Feldman won Clayton of Ontario 115-113, set aside by the corresponding results of judges Tom Schreck and Don Trella who had scored 114-114 even in an entertaining battle Saturday night from a crowd-free Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut

Lipinets fought in the best way he knows how, immediately going into stalker mode against a disengaged Clayton who took the fight on short notice instead of Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (visa issues) The undefeated welterweight of Ontario – who represented Canada at the 2012 London Olympics – fought exclusively behind the jab in the first round, representing his eight punches thrown in what marked his first career fight outside of his native Canada

Clayton landed his first power shot in the second round, a right hand which Lipinets absorbed and continued to advance The former junior welterweight titlist from Beverly Hills to Martuk, Kazakhstan was effective with his right hand, his weapon of choice in the third round as well

Lipinets stepped up his attack in the fourth round, working the body of a floating-footed Clayton who struggled to ensure that his attack wasn’t followed up to this point That trend changed at the end of the round, when Clayton was able to score with a series of right hands in the mid-section of the Lipinets whose offense suddenly came to a halt.

Clayton ran through this chance in five and six turns, using a sideways motion to force Lipinets to follow him around the ring, then planting his feet long enough to occasionally let go of his right hand.

Lipinets returned to his stalker role early in the second half Clayton used his jab to create space and his feet to stay out of harm’s way, although Lipinets was more effective in cutting the ring as it had been the case during the two previous rounds Clayton connected with a pair of right counter-hands in the last 0:30 of a lap largely controlled by the aggression of the Lipinets

Both fighters had their say in a high-contact ninth round Clayton connected with a right hand that opened the work down, to which Lipinets immediately responded with a bodily attack from his go A right hand on Lipinets’ floor was greeted by a counter shot from Clayton along the ropes

Championship rounds proved to be equally competitive Clayton was mobile for much of the tenth round, working mostly behind the jab as Lipinets stood in the center ring trying to pin down a moving target

Clayton led the fight directly against Lipinets early in the eleventh round, sticking his jab in his opponent’s face as table dresser Lipinets struggled to keep pace, playing defense against the left hand of Clayton, but his offensive production dropped significantly from previous rounds

All of this was detected by Joe Goossen, Lipinets’ world-class coach who urged his charge not to stop throwing punches in the 12th and final round

The advice was sound but not fully executed, although the credit for Clayton who continued to prove an elusive target at the start of the image Clayton settled in for the last minute, using infighting and movement subtle back and forth to avoid Lipinets’ more violent blows With the fight seemingly hanging in the balance, the two boxers fought on relatively equal terms in the closing seconds of the contest, which would ultimately end in a stalemate.

The late push was enough for Clayton to avoid suffering his first loss, but not enough to secure the biggest win of his career The stalemate moves his record to 18-0-1 (12KOs)

« At the end of the day, you can’t overrule the judges’ decision, » Clayton told Showtime’s Brian Custer « I thought I did enough to win, but again… I’m not going to sit here and overturn the judges’ decision they made »

The torment of the three ring judges was well reflected in Compubox’s totals Statistically, Clayton edged the Lipinets in all areas in terms of total shots thrown (687 vs. 610), landing (247 vs. 175) and percentage of connection (36% against 29%)

However, the biggest difference in how they arrived at these numbers was in their attack mode. While Clayton’s punching power was heavy, Lipinets won the power play.The former 31-year-old 140-pound champion and current 147-pound contender landed a respectable 42% of his total power punches ( 107 to 256), enough for him to have a good lead on all three scorecards in nine rounds

All three judges scored the final three rounds for Clayton, with Feldman giving the undefeated Canadian the last five to reach his official score

Lipinets is now 16-1-1 (12KOs), unbeaten in his last four starts, but failed to win when he needed it most

“I don’t have a problem with the toss,” Lipinets said in his constantly improving English “I thought I won, but maybe by one round It was a close fight”

At stake in Saturday’s fight was an interim welterweight title, where the winner would have been in first place to challenge whoever wins in the Dec. 5 clash between the Unified Titlist and the pound-for-pound contender Errol Spence (26-0, 21KOs) and former two-division titlist Danny Garcia (36-2, 21KOs)

Instead, the Lipinets will have to find another way to line up for a crack at the top of the division For now, he’s ready to go the exact same path

« I showed the world that I’m not just a guy from Canada, » said Clayton « I proved that I was a good fighter People will have to respect me a little more

« If Lipinets wants the rematch for the provisional title, we should be able to do it »

[QUOTE = Joeboxeo; 20837687] Clayton did really well for a guy who took this fight on short notice Great respect! [/ QUOTE]

Damn! Brief notice with a CV that would have passed for a « person »

He did very well and I thought he had decided…

Clayton did extremely well for a guy who took this fight on short notice. Great respect!

Sergey Lipinets, Custio Clayton, International Boxing Federation, welterweight