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SportsTranscript
00:00 [crowd cheering]
00:02 You two men receive my instructions
00:03 in the dressing room.
00:05 Remember to obey my commands.
00:06 Protect yourselves at all times.
00:09 Touch gloves now, men.
00:10 You're boxing at the bell.
00:11 God bless you both.
00:14 - An intense stare down for our main event
00:16 as we take a look at the tail of the tape.
00:19 You see, DeMond Nicholson will enjoy
00:21 a height and reach advantage,
00:23 a fairly significant one.
00:25 He enters this fight as the underdog,
00:27 but he feels that with a win tonight,
00:30 he can rewrite the story of his career.
00:33 Round one underway.
00:36 Richard Nabili trying to stay in the win column
00:41 as he awaits a potential phone call
00:44 from one of the big names at 168 pounds.
00:48 Nabili opens things up with a nice left hook.
00:54 - Yeah, we see Nicholson open this fight all the time,
00:57 trying to stay behind his jab,
00:58 but also trying to circle.
00:59 But again, as we noticed,
01:00 the moment we walked into this arena, Corey,
01:03 this ring is tiny.
01:04 It's not built for what Nicholson
01:06 is trying to do right now,
01:07 but it's built for what Nabili wants to be able to do,
01:10 which is keep this fight in a confined space
01:12 and bang on Nicholson's body like he's doing right now.
01:15 - Nicholson, a very well-schooled boxer,
01:18 someone who we've seen work well on the inside,
01:21 we've seen work well from long range.
01:24 Those pivots, those cuts,
01:25 they're gonna have to be pretty tight.
01:26 They're gonna try and make that work
01:28 in this type of ring against this type of fight.
01:33 [crowd cheering]
01:36 - Nabili is so explosive.
01:39 [crowd cheering]
01:42 - He needs focus for a split second,
01:44 and that's when he can do that.
01:45 [crowd cheering]
01:47 - Dermon Nicholson on the canvas already.
01:50 He's been stopped twice in his career,
01:52 once by Jesse Hart.
01:54 That was most recently in 2008.
01:56 Once by Laquan Bifield,
01:59 much earlier in his career,
02:00 but he's developed a reputation
02:03 as an extremely durable fighter,
02:06 and Nabili already has him on the canvas.
02:08 [crowd cheering]
02:12 - And his glove appeared to touch the canvas
02:15 a minute ago.
02:17 I don't have the best angle to see it.
02:20 [grunting]
02:21 - So looking for a check hook there.
02:23 Saw Nicholson hit the canvas several times
02:26 against Edgar Berlanga a couple of fights ago.
02:29 Kept getting up.
02:31 He heard the final bell.
02:32 [crowd cheering]
02:36 - I need to see out!
02:38 - Nabili going back downstairs to the body.
02:40 - Good right side.
02:41 - Right back! Right back!
02:44 Right back! Right back!
02:46 [crowd cheering]
02:48 - Hard left hook up top there from Nabili.
02:51 - See Nicholson trying to fight his way out of danger here,
02:54 trying to get his respect.
02:56 - And you see the bind that Nicholson is in,
02:58 because he has to open up to keep Nabili off of him.
03:01 The more he opens up, the more open he is to a counterpunch.
03:05 [crowd cheering]
03:07 - Only missing over the top with the left hook
03:08 from the back with a chopping right hand.
03:10 [crowd cheering]
03:13 We've seen Nicholson in the past, Morgan,
03:15 vulnerable to those types of shots,
03:17 the chopping right hands,
03:19 in and around the ear area, let's call it.
03:21 - Right.
03:22 Right where the jawbone meets the earlobe.
03:25 - And there it is again. - Right there.
03:28 - See Nicholson, the right hand coming out,
03:30 trying to grab a hold.
03:33 And Nabili bangs away to the body twice more
03:36 before the bell sounds.
03:38 [upbeat music]
03:41 ♪
03:50 - We take a look at the keys to victory
03:52 from our French colleague, Matt Cassavant.
03:55 Wants to see the uppercut on the inside for Nicholson.
03:57 Compact defense on the inside.
04:00 And try and take risks in the second half of the fight.
04:04 ♪
04:12 And for Christian Mbili,
04:15 trying to answer the question of whether his defense
04:17 has improved since that Carlos Congora fight.
04:19 Of course, he took a lot of punishment in that fight.
04:22 Work in combinations, which we've seen already from Mbili.
04:26 Send a message to Edgar Berlanga
04:28 and the rest of the division, of course.
04:30 There will be the comparisons
04:32 of how Mbili fares against Nicholson.
04:35 ♪
04:39 As round two now begins.
04:41 [indistinct shouting]
04:44 - Use your distance. Use your distance.
04:46 Get out of there.
04:48 ♪
04:51 - Mbili just gripping that left hook.
04:53 [indistinct shouting]
04:56 - And again, in this small ring,
04:58 doesn't give Nicholson very many options,
05:01 and it just narrows the possibilities for Mbili.
05:06 And he has a lot less to think about.
05:07 He doesn't have to look for his opponent.
05:09 Just go in. Ring's small already.
05:11 You don't even really have to shrink the ring
05:13 and do damage on the inside,
05:14 which is what we have been seeing.
05:16 Big left hook to the body there.
05:17 Right hand is the top.
05:19 - Nicholson said that he has to find a way
05:22 to break Mbili.
05:25 Mbili taking a step over to his right
05:28 to land that left hook.
05:29 Partially caught on the gloves of Nicholson.
05:32 - And part of it isn't Mbili's skill set.
05:33 And again, part of it-- not to belabor the point,
05:35 but part of it is the ring.
05:36 But we're not in a situation now
05:38 where you can finesse Christian Mbili.
05:40 Not tonight.
05:41 If you want to break Christian Mbili,
05:44 you have to hurt him.
05:45 - You have to physically break him.
05:46 - And again, we did see some vulnerability
05:48 against Carlos Gongora.
05:50 - You have to do to him what Gongora did.
05:52 - Right, and take it a step further.
05:54 - Yes.
05:55 And do that for a whole round.
05:57 And then try to find a way to do it again.
05:59 - Nice left hook a moment ago from Nicholson.
06:01 - Shoot it! Shoot it! Shoot it!
06:03 - Push.
06:05 - All right, let's go.
06:06 - Stop! Stop! Stop!
06:08 - Body work there from Mbili.
06:11 Referee Michael Griffin warning.
06:13 - He's got to get up.
06:14 - He's got to get up.
06:15 - Michael Griffin warning Mbili
06:17 for those shots straying a little bit low.
06:19 - On the jab! On the jab!
06:21 On the jab!
06:23 - That's good work from Nicholson.
06:25 And you hear his corner saying, "Stay on the jab."
06:27 Right hand to the body in that right cross.
06:31 I don't know if they hurt Mbili,
06:33 but they give him a little bit of something to think about.
06:36 Left hand to the body right there.
06:38 - Yeah, if Nicholson can maintain that range,
06:40 that real estate, that will be problematic for Mbili.
06:44 - There's that right hand.
06:46 - And as you said, right hand high on the head.
06:48 [crowd cheering]
06:51 - Seven, eight.
06:54 - You all right?
06:55 - Mbili! Mbili! Mbili!
06:58 - Nicholson down for a second time in the fight.
07:02 Same type of shot that we've been talking about
07:05 that has been problematic for Nicholson in the past.
07:08 Mbili looks for it once more.
07:10 - Stop him!
07:12 - And again, this is the problem for Nicholson tonight
07:14 is that he can be offensively aggressive.
07:16 - And they're wrestling it together right now.
07:17 - Look at this.
07:18 Or defensively responsible.
07:20 It's harder for them to be both.
07:22 [crowd shouting]
07:25 - Nicholson again trying to fight his way out of danger.
07:29 It's an admirable approach, excuse me,
07:32 but he just ate another right hand.
07:35 - Let's move! Let's move!
07:37 [crowd shouting]
07:39 - Nicholson, a disarray along the ropes there.
07:42 Walking to the wrong corner. Do you see this?
07:44 - And he ate a heavy body shot as he was doing it.
07:48 [crowd shouting]
07:52 - [speaking French]
07:55 - [speaking French]
07:58 - [speaking French]
08:01 - Okay?
08:02 [speaking French]
08:05 - Okay?
08:06 [speaking French]
08:09 - [speaking French]
08:11 - [speaking French]
08:14 - [speaking French]
08:17 - Take a look at that right hand
08:20 that sent Nicholson to the canvas in the second round.
08:23 Just as you said, Corey, what--
08:25 Nicholson is vulnerable to that right hand
08:27 high on the head, above the ear.
08:29 Sent him to the canvas.
08:31 [dramatic music]
08:34 And again, at this range,
08:35 there's just not a lot Nicholson can do
08:37 except cover up and hope nothing sneaks through the guard.
08:42 With the amount of work it takes him
08:43 to keep the fight at long range,
08:44 I don't know that he can maintain that
08:47 for more than 30 seconds at a time.
08:49 - [speaking French]
08:52 - Round three underway.
08:54 Nicholson has been on the floor twice already.
08:57 - [speaking French]
09:00 - And you heard Mark Ramsey between rounds
09:02 essentially tell Billy to turn up the pressure.
09:06 He said, "We have a lot of energy."
09:07 He said, "Let's work, let's work, let's work, let's work."
09:10 - [speaking French]
09:13 - Billy wants more, just all over Nicholson.
09:16 - [speaking French]
09:19 - Nicholson trying to find space to do some work.
09:21 He's talking to him, Billy, as well.
09:24 Nicholson an excellent trash talker, I have to say.
09:26 - But in English or in French,
09:29 'cause this is the other problem.
09:32 A lot of that trash talk might sail straight over
09:34 Christian and Billy's head, unless it's en fonce.
09:37 - See Nicholson trying to go to the body there a moment ago.
09:40 - [speaking French]
09:43 - Quick pivot from Billy in that left hook.
09:48 - He pivots to the left to land the right hand.
09:51 He's on a sweat fly from the forehead of Nicholson.
09:54 - Yes, another example of not really wanting space
09:57 to throw a punch, 'cause you want this fight
09:59 to be as closely contested as possible,
10:01 but you pivot to enable the--
10:03 to get more of a throw-punch.
10:04 - See the head movement of Billy,
10:06 weaving underneath some of these shots from Nicholson.
10:09 - [speaking French]
10:12 - [shouting]
10:15 - [shouting]
10:18 - [shouting]
10:21 - [shouting]
10:24 - [shouting]
10:27 - [shouting]
10:30 - [shouting]
10:32 - And Billy just physically overwhelming.
10:35 - [shouting]
10:37 - Look at that shot. - That was a correct hook.
10:40 - Yeah, that is a--
10:42 I was about to point out the punch variety
10:46 and the imagination that Billy has on the inside.
10:49 The pivots, the land, the hooks,
10:51 you see that downward-arcing left hook.
10:54 - And again, this is stuff that has nothing to do really
10:59 with the very obvious physical skill set
11:02 he brings to every fight.
11:04 Obviously, an extremely athletic fighter,
11:07 tremendously, almost unimaginably strong,
11:11 but the ability to put those punches together
11:14 and find the angles to it takes him to another level.
11:17 - Billy looking for a lane for that right hand once again.
11:21 - [shouting]
11:24 - Just misses with a sweeping shot there.
11:26 - [shouting]
11:28 - Nicholson squared up along the rope, still firing.
11:31 - And Nicholson looks exhausted.
11:34 And he thinks he's gonna rope a dope,
11:36 and he's not gonna be able to make the rope.
11:39 - [shouting]
11:42 - Billy catching that flurry from Nicholson
11:46 as the seconds tick away here in round three.
11:49 [upbeat music]
11:52 ♪
11:58 - [speaking French]
12:01 ♪
12:25 - Here we go, Corey.
12:27 - I think Billy pivot to his right,
12:30 land that left hook, force it between Nicholson's gloves.
12:34 And just constantly keeping Nicholson on the ropes
12:38 at close quarters.
12:40 This is not an all-word Demon Nicholson wants to be,
12:42 but I just don't know that he has a choice about it.
12:45 Not with him really being this fast,
12:47 this aggressive, and this accurate.
12:49 ♪
12:51 - Now, Nicholson said before the fight
12:53 the key for him is early on in the fight,
12:56 what Mbile likes, what he doesn't like.
12:59 And at least to this point,
13:02 it has just been what Mbile likes to do
13:05 that's been happening in this fight.
13:07 - Keep your hands up. Keep your hands up, bro.
13:10 Keep your hands up. Keep your hands up.
13:13 - [shouting]
13:15 - Here we go. Early, early in the round,
13:18 Nicholson did land a quick left hook to Mbile's body,
13:21 but there hasn't been nearly enough of that
13:23 and enough volume and with enough authority
13:26 to really alter what Mbile wants to do.
13:29 [shouting]
13:32 - If you're hoping for Mbile to slow down,
13:35 you're gonna be waiting a long time.
13:37 After Mbile's win over Carlos Gongora,
13:41 Gongora's promoter, Lou DiBella,
13:43 came over to the commentary table and told us
13:45 he's never seen an engine on a fighter like that
13:48 in his entire career.
13:49 - Well, if you're good at searching YouTube,
13:51 you can find a video of Christian Mbile
13:55 doing a trap bar clean shrug curl
14:00 with three weights on each side of that trap bar.
14:04 So speed, endurance, power,
14:06 he indexes very high on all three,
14:09 which is a difficult thing to do.
14:11 Usually there's trade-offs, but not with him.
14:13 Big right hand.
14:15 - Big right hand from Mbile.
14:17 Nicholson swaying along the ropes right now
14:20 as he may be in a little bit of trouble,
14:22 or can he fight his way out of this once more?
14:24 [shouting]
14:27 - Hands up! Hands up!
14:29 Hands to the door on the left!
14:31 Door, door, door!
14:32 [shouting]
14:34 - Nicholson is in pure survival mode,
14:36 although every now and then he lands
14:37 these little left hook turns.
14:38 - A big left hand by Mbile.
14:42 And Nicholson...
14:44 [shouting]
14:47 Just crumbles to the mat, and that is it.
14:50 [shouting]
14:53 ♪
14:58 - Nicholson just slowly collapsed to the canvas.
15:03 And that is it.
15:06 Morgan, no one has dominated DeMond Nicholson like that.
15:12 - Corey, watch when we see this replay,
15:14 the punch he hit him with again,
15:16 it was an overhand left hook, if that even makes sense.
15:19 - It's the same shot he hit Najeeb Mohammadi with
15:22 that caused the same reaction.
15:25 - Yes.
15:26 - His opponent just slowly falls to the canvas.
15:28 - Went straight down, and I'm not trying to sound
15:31 too hyperbolic here, but what it reminded me, Corey,
15:34 is one of your favorite calls of all time,
15:36 when Julian Jackson hit Errol Graham,
15:38 and the way Errol Graham fell straight over backwards
15:41 like a felled tree.
15:43 And the answer said, "Oh, no, that's what I was scared of."
15:47 And that's what this looked like here tonight, Corey.
15:51 - Certainly tough to see this happen to DeMond Nicholson,
15:54 who is a beloved figure in the DMV boxing scene.
16:02 In one of the most interesting interviews in all of boxing,
16:05 a man who's been through a lot.
16:08 Wasn't sure if his career was gonna continue at all or not
16:11 after 2019, surviving kidney failure,
16:14 and has gone on to become a spokesperson
16:16 for the American Kidney Association.
16:18 The fact that he continues as a high-level fighter
16:21 is inspirational in and of itself.
16:23 You don't like to see these types of things
16:25 happen to these types of people.
16:27 - No, not at all.
16:30 But he was in there with such an absolute dynamo tonight.
16:35 And again, it's not just the physical ability
16:39 and the skill, but the creativity
16:41 to throw punches and land punches that don't often get thrown.
16:45 Really impressive performance by Mbile.
16:47 - And to throw those punches without exposing yourself.
16:50 It's one thing to get creative and to do something wacky
16:53 and expose yourself.
16:54 It's another to be able to do it somehow fundamentally sound.
16:57 - Even sometimes, Corey, when you throw fundamentally sound punches,
17:00 you expose yourself.
17:01 This is what Nicholson's problem was tonight,
17:03 is that every time he threw a punch, he left an opening,
17:06 and Mbile would fill that opening with a heavy punch.
17:09 [crowd chattering]
17:11 [announcer speaking French]
17:22 Ladies and gentlemen, official time,
17:28 one minute, 56 seconds of round number four.
17:32 Referee Michael Griffin stops the fight,
17:34 declaring the winner by knockout!
17:38 And still WBC Continental Americas
17:43 and WBA International Super Middleweight Champion,
17:49 Christian "Solid" Mbile!
17:58 - Another impressive performance from Christian Mbile.
18:07 and you know it speaks to the level.