Colome Gets Verdict Over Kelly at Forum

Diomedes Colome of Los Angeles scored a majority decision over Derrick (Hurricane) Kelly, also of Los Angeles, in a 10-round welterweight bout of the Stroh’s championship boxing tournament before an estimated 3,500 fans at the Forum Tuesday night.

For his effort, Colome, 21-2, advances to the Dec. 21st finals of the tournament.

Kelly, now 14-1-1, obviously outscored in the early rounds, tried to rally in the final round. He landed a few hard punches, but it was a case of too little too late. Colome kept his composure and came away with the victory. Kelly weighed 146 pounds and Colome 147.

From round one, Colome’s constant stalking had Kelly on the defensive.

“I was prepared for him keeping the pressure on, but he kept his guard up and was just too strong,” Kelly said.

Colome’s constant pressure to the body eventually took it’s toll on Kelly, as he seemed weak-kneed and out of breath after the third round.

“He (Kelly) wasn’t throwing so I stayed on top of him,” Colome said through the interpretation of manager Jimmy Montoya.

At the start of the fight, Kelly appeared to have Colome figured out, as he bobbed and weaved, often making Colome miss. Kelly got in some hard left hooks to Colome’s head, while Colome simply stalked Kelly, staying on top waiting for opportunity.

Colome then jarred Kelly at the end of the second round with an overhand right, and from then on he kept Kelly on the run.

Colome opened the third with a hard right to the body, causing Kelly to drop his hands.

“He fought exactly the way I wanted him too,” Montoya said. “We wanted to keep the pressure on the body and slow him down, and that’s what we did.”

Kelly wasn’t quite finished though. In the sixth round, he momentarily stunned Colome with a hard right to the head. “I felt it all right,” Colome said. “But it didn’t hurt. I kept my guard up most of the fight.”

Both fighters looked tired going into the final round, but both, especially Kelly, flailed away as though the outcome was uncertain. Colome kept his composure and his guard up and for his effort, he remains alive in the tournament. Colome will fight the winner of the Nov. 21 semifinal between Jerome Kinney and Manning Galloway.

Judge Glenn Farrell scored the fight 96-96 while Vince Del Gado and Pat Connelly scored the fight 97-94 and 98-94, respectively.

In middleweight elimination bouts, Lindell Holmes, 25-3, knocked out Luis Rivera, 17-4, in the eighth round, giving him 20 knockouts in his career. And, Jack Padia, of Penngrove, Ca., scored a unanimous decision over Steve Renwick of New Zealand.