Joseph Adorno had his most successful night in years on a Friday night.
The former amateur tennis player, who won 0-1-2 in consecutive 135-pound matches in 2020 and last year, defeated Hugo Roldan by a tight unanimous decision at 140 at the Events Center Bally in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
It was the 23-year-old’s first win in a scheduled 10-round match.
Adorno (17-1-2, 14 KOs) plays a Roldan bull, waiting for the aggressive, sometimes wild Argentinian to attack and then counterattack.
He did it particularly well in the first half of teamfights, when he connected left hook after hook to stun Roldan (21-1-1, 7 KO) a few times and lead the scoreboard. .
Adorno’s biggest round was the second round, when he scored a lightning-fast knockdown with his left hand just before the bell rang.
However, the tough, determined Roldan rallied the stretch, ending the less dynamic Adorno to return to the fight and leaving the results in doubt.
And, indeed, the score was close. All three judges gave it a score of 95-94, meaning the knockdown is the difference.
Adorno drew with Hector Montes and Jamaine Ortiz and then suffered the only career loss in his biggest game yet, a broad decision against the talented Michel Rivera this past March.
He recovered to stop two laners in scheduled six-round matches – his first at 140 – after the defeat but needed a more important win to get back on track.
He had it on Friday even though it wasn’t as dominant as he wanted it to be.
Now he’s ready for another major fight, though it’s unclear if it will be at 140 – where he will probably give away some power – or 135.
