‘Tiger’ roars: Abril outpoints Bogere

The Tiger, not the Lion, was the king of the canvas Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Richard Abril, whose nickname is “El Tigre,” overcame a nasty cut over his right eye and outboxed Sharif “The Lion” Bogere to retain his WBA lightweight title, winning a 12-round unanimous decision in his first title defense.

Judges Patricia Morse-Jarman and Chris Wilson both had Abril ahead 116-110 while Robert Hoyle had Abril winning, 115-111.

Abril (18-3-1), who didn’t get a decision the last time he fought in Las Vegas when he lost a split decision to undefeated Brandon Rios on April 14, felt vindicated.

“It feels much better this time,” Abril said through an interpreter.

It was a nasty fight, and referee Russell Mora struggled to maintain control as Abril constantly held and Bogere (23-1) used his head to open up cuts over Abril’s right eye. Mora took a point away from each fighter — Abril in the eighth round, Bogere in the 12th — for their violations. But the judges still had Abril on top.

“It was a dirty fight,” the 30-year-old Abril said. “He was using his head a lot. Look at all the cuts I have. It took a little of my concentration away.”

Abril credited cutman Miguel Diaz for keeping the blood from being a factor after he suffered a nasty laceration during the fourth round.

“I had total confidence in my corner,” Abril said. “The eye didn’t bother me.”

For the 24-year-old Bogere, it was a frustrating evening. The Las Vegas resident, who moved to the United States from Uganda in 2008 and settled in Southern Nevada in 2009, said Abril’s holding prevented him from fighting.

“I think it was a close fight, but I thought I did enough to win the fight,” Bogere said. “The guy grabs and holds and uses his elbow. He fought dirty the entire fight.”

Bogere didn’t believe he deserved to have a point taken away in the 12th round. But by then, he had stopped moving and attacking. Abril, who had a 5-inch height advantage and a 4-inch edge in reach, used it to keep Bogere off him while landing an effective jab to take control.

And while Bogere had the edge in the Punch Stats with more punches, jabs and power punches thrown, Abril landed the higher percentage. He had a 35 percent to 15 percent edge in total punches and a 55 percent to 17 percent edge in power punches.

In the co-feature, featherweight Gary Russell Jr. (22-0) dominated Vyacheslav Gusev (20-3) over 10 rounds.

But the 24-year-old Russell might have broken his left hand during the fight. He said he felt something in the fourth or fifth round. By the seventh, he had stopped using his left altogether. But he was dominating Gusev and was so far ahead, it didn’t matter.

“Versatility is the key to being a great fighter,” Russell said. “We adjusted, slowed it down and got the decision.”

Russell scored a third-round knockdown when he rocked the 27-year-old Gusev with a right hand that caused him to lose his balance and have his glove touch the canvas.

Before he hurt his left hand, Russell was tagging Gusev (20-3) with combinations of shots to the head and body. But despite being reduced to a one-armed fighter over the second half of the bout, he still had enough to control the rounds and win going away.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.