Sultan over-comes Caraballo in 10 round thriller!
Last night fight fans tuning into the Top Rank broadcast got an unexpected Fight of the Year contender as Filipino fighter Jonas Sultan (18-5, 11) over-came Puerto Rican puncher Carlos Caraballo (14-1, 14), and announced himself as a contender on the Bantamweight scene.
The bout started quite technically with both men being patient, looking to see what the other had. Sultan was the man on the front foot, but Caraballo certainly had plenty of moments boxing on the back foot out of the southpaw stance. Within a minute of round 2 Caraballo was dropped, in the first of 5 knockdowns in the fight!
Caraballo beat the count but was under pressure as Sultan looked to try and close the show, but Carraballo showed his toughness and went on to hurt Sultan with a hard left, getting the Filipino fighter's respect. Sultan would finish the round well, but is was clear that Caraballo's reputation as a heavy handed fighter was a legit one, and Sultan was cautious after being tagged, even if he was the man who seemed happier on the front foot.
In round 3 Caraballo was down for the second time, again early in the round, and once again Sultan went in for the finish, but Caraballo survived the storm, tried to turn the tide and saw off Sultan's charge. It was clear that Caraballo was proving his heart and determination, but was struggling with the accurate shots of Sultan and his timing. He was making Caraballo pay for small mistakes. Sadly for him however he made a mistake late in the round himself, and was rocked, touching down himself as Caraballo's power showed it's self right on the bell. The late surge from Caraballo not only saw him getting a KD awarded his way, but he also cut Sultan and made it clear that he could turn the tide.
In round 4 Caraballo has real success as his aggression and power began pay off in a thrilling round that saw both men exchanging shots, and Caraballo getting the best of things, including a brutal left hand that landed around the neck of Sultan. It seemed like the tide was changing. The high octane action continued in round 5, this time with Sultan getting the better of things early on, but taking big shots through the round himself. It was brilliant two way action with the momentum shifting time and again and one that felt like it could turn completely in an instant.
In round 6 Caraballo landed a great combination early in the round, but Sultan responded well, pressing and then taking the play away from Caraballo with a gorgeous counter right hand that dropped Caraballo for the third time in the fight. Sultan again looked to try and finish off Caraballo who showed good footwork and movement to avoid a tear up with Sultan and recover his sense. It was a real credit to Caraballo that he saw out the round, and showed his toughness, especially given he had never previously gone beyond 6 rounds, and was now in a hole. That hole grew in round 7 as Sultan bullied his way through the early part of the round, forcing Caraballo to grit it out, before having success himself in the later part of the round, with some big left hands that landed clean on Sultan, who took them amazingly well.
Sultan seemed to be dropped mid way into round 8, but the referee ruled it a slip or a push. Sadly for Caraballo he had hurt Sultan enough from the moment to really jump on him, though he did manage to press his advantage through the round, land his heavy leather and wobbling Sultan who seemed close to going through the final minute of the round. Sultan was left bloodied, hurt and wobbling to the bell, which he really needed. The big effort from Caraballo had certainly closed the gap between the men, and showed he was very much still in the fight, despite being down 3 times in the first 8 rounds.
Caraballo continues to shine early in rounds 9, sending Sultan reeling in the first minute of the round. Sultan however gutted out the storm and turned the tide once again by dropping Caraballo with a straight right hand, completely against the tide of the round. It was a huge momentum shift that saw Sultan looking like a man on the verge of being stopped himself to dropping Caraballo and leaving the Puerto Rican hurt.
Going into round 10 it was a close one, despite Caraballo being down 4 times, and Sultan likely knew he couldn't relax and rely on his laurels. Instead he took the fight to Caraballo, giving us a brilliant 10th round, even though both men were clearly tired and worn out.
After 10 brilliant rounds we went to the scorecards, with Sultan getting his hand raised thanks to scores of 94-93 from all 3 judges.
Despite the loss Caraballo will almost certainly comeback from this, and hopefully he looks at the way his countryman Subriel Matias has comeback from his first loss. As for Sultan this puts him right in the mix for a world title fight at Bantamweight. Hopefully another big fight on a Top Rank show down the line will come for both men after this fantastic war.
The bout started quite technically with both men being patient, looking to see what the other had. Sultan was the man on the front foot, but Caraballo certainly had plenty of moments boxing on the back foot out of the southpaw stance. Within a minute of round 2 Caraballo was dropped, in the first of 5 knockdowns in the fight!
Caraballo beat the count but was under pressure as Sultan looked to try and close the show, but Carraballo showed his toughness and went on to hurt Sultan with a hard left, getting the Filipino fighter's respect. Sultan would finish the round well, but is was clear that Caraballo's reputation as a heavy handed fighter was a legit one, and Sultan was cautious after being tagged, even if he was the man who seemed happier on the front foot.
In round 3 Caraballo was down for the second time, again early in the round, and once again Sultan went in for the finish, but Caraballo survived the storm, tried to turn the tide and saw off Sultan's charge. It was clear that Caraballo was proving his heart and determination, but was struggling with the accurate shots of Sultan and his timing. He was making Caraballo pay for small mistakes. Sadly for him however he made a mistake late in the round himself, and was rocked, touching down himself as Caraballo's power showed it's self right on the bell. The late surge from Caraballo not only saw him getting a KD awarded his way, but he also cut Sultan and made it clear that he could turn the tide.
In round 4 Caraballo has real success as his aggression and power began pay off in a thrilling round that saw both men exchanging shots, and Caraballo getting the best of things, including a brutal left hand that landed around the neck of Sultan. It seemed like the tide was changing. The high octane action continued in round 5, this time with Sultan getting the better of things early on, but taking big shots through the round himself. It was brilliant two way action with the momentum shifting time and again and one that felt like it could turn completely in an instant.
In round 6 Caraballo landed a great combination early in the round, but Sultan responded well, pressing and then taking the play away from Caraballo with a gorgeous counter right hand that dropped Caraballo for the third time in the fight. Sultan again looked to try and finish off Caraballo who showed good footwork and movement to avoid a tear up with Sultan and recover his sense. It was a real credit to Caraballo that he saw out the round, and showed his toughness, especially given he had never previously gone beyond 6 rounds, and was now in a hole. That hole grew in round 7 as Sultan bullied his way through the early part of the round, forcing Caraballo to grit it out, before having success himself in the later part of the round, with some big left hands that landed clean on Sultan, who took them amazingly well.
Sultan seemed to be dropped mid way into round 8, but the referee ruled it a slip or a push. Sadly for Caraballo he had hurt Sultan enough from the moment to really jump on him, though he did manage to press his advantage through the round, land his heavy leather and wobbling Sultan who seemed close to going through the final minute of the round. Sultan was left bloodied, hurt and wobbling to the bell, which he really needed. The big effort from Caraballo had certainly closed the gap between the men, and showed he was very much still in the fight, despite being down 3 times in the first 8 rounds.
Caraballo continues to shine early in rounds 9, sending Sultan reeling in the first minute of the round. Sultan however gutted out the storm and turned the tide once again by dropping Caraballo with a straight right hand, completely against the tide of the round. It was a huge momentum shift that saw Sultan looking like a man on the verge of being stopped himself to dropping Caraballo and leaving the Puerto Rican hurt.
Going into round 10 it was a close one, despite Caraballo being down 4 times, and Sultan likely knew he couldn't relax and rely on his laurels. Instead he took the fight to Caraballo, giving us a brilliant 10th round, even though both men were clearly tired and worn out.
After 10 brilliant rounds we went to the scorecards, with Sultan getting his hand raised thanks to scores of 94-93 from all 3 judges.
Despite the loss Caraballo will almost certainly comeback from this, and hopefully he looks at the way his countryman Subriel Matias has comeback from his first loss. As for Sultan this puts him right in the mix for a world title fight at Bantamweight. Hopefully another big fight on a Top Rank show down the line will come for both men after this fantastic war.