Brad Horn
There was no knockout. The crowd didn't have the same fire. But the final result was what Jesse Brinkley wanted.
Consider the southpaw test passed.
Brinkley (34-5, 22 KOs) fought a lefty for the first time in six years and walked out of the Reno Events Center in front of 2,226 fans with his eighth straight win. The Yerington native won a unanimous decision over Mike Paschal (19-2, 4 KOs) in a bout that could propel Brinkley into a matchup with one of the top super middleweight contenders.
"I felt really, really good, but it's just so awkward," Brinkley said of fighting a southpaw. "I only got a couple of rounds sparing with southpaws and I had problems with them the whole way through camp. So when I got in there, I felt like I was still trying to learn new things with him."
Adjusting to a southpaw, though, didn't seem as difficult as Brinkley let on. He was the aggressor much of the night and had the bout firmly in hand from the onset. He kept Paschall on the ropes early and landed several combos before showing why he is the No. 13-ranked super middleweight boxer in the world. He landed multiple blows to a persistent Paschall, who was knocked out by sixth-ranked Andre Dirrell in his only previous loss.
"This is my first time going 10 rounds," Paschall said. "I just wanted to show him that I would stand there and fight him. I just could have been a little bit more busier when he was standing there."
The last time Brinkley fought was in a much anticipated bout with Reno native Joey Gilbert in February. The two stared on NBC's "The Contender," where they never faced each other, but Brinkley scored a 12-round unanimous decision against his rival.
Brinkley fought at 168 pounds in his previous fight, but took this one at 175 pounds. The added weight made Brinkley noticeably slower, which he said kept him from landing the knockout blow.
"It took me 10 rounds to even figure him out," Brinkley said. "By then, I was ready to have a heart attack...
"The toughest part of the fight was just getting through the 10 rounds because I was so weak. I felt so weak from losing all that weight you guys. I did it so wrong. It's no one else's fault, but mine to blame for getting that heavy in between fights."
Brinkley said he weighed as much as 207 pounds before camp. He had just five weeks to prepare for the bout.
Tyler Hinkey provided the first upset of the night, but it was him who was on the losing end of things. Although the heavyweight was the aggressor much of the fight, Hinkey lost in a split decision, with two judges ruling in favor of his opponent Andrae Carthron (3-2-2, 1 KO), and other declaring it a draw.
"I thought I landed the harder punches, but maybe I didn't throw enough," said Hinkey, who hails from McDermitt. "It's just whatever the judges liked and apparently they didn't like whatever I did."
Hinkey (5-1-1, 4 KOs) connected on two body blows in the first round that sent Carthron in protection mode. But Carthron used a steady jab throughout the fight to keep Hinkey from scoring the big shot.
"I think what might have played a part in it, and I don't want to point fingers, is inactivity," said Hinkey, who weighed 258 pounds officially. "I didn't fight since January. It's my fault. I could have been home, I could have been training a little bit harder. I was sitting on my butt for maybe two weeks too long."
The judges decision was met by boos by a crowd that was pro-Hinkey, but the crowd wasn't so kind for his brother Derek Hinkey's decision. The older of the two Hinkeys earned a unanimous decision over Loren Myers in a six-round middleweight bout, but it was Myers who looked like he controlled the match.
Hinkey spent much of his time, as his been his style during his brief pro-career, with his hands around his waist, but this time part of the reason was because he hurt his left hand early in the fight.
"I tried to jump on him and as soon as it happened, I knew it," Hinkey said. "God blessed it, but my hand's gone. You could tell the jab wasn't out like (it normally is), it was more of a pop or a snap ... I even went southpaw a couple of times. You know, you've got to deal with these things."
In the co-main event, Rustam Nugaev won a technical knockout when Orlando Membreno's corner threw in the towel 1 minute, 19 seconds into the sixth round.
Matt Remillard gave the crowd its third quick fight of the night when he laid out Tyler Ziolowski 1:30 into the first round. Remillard connected on a left-handed uppercut to his chin that sent the junior lightweight fighter to the floor.
Remillard moved to 18-0 with 10 KOs and said during the post-fight, in-ring interview that he was looking to move up in the rankings and hopefully secure a shot at the title. He is the 29th-ranked junior lightweight in the world.
In the third fight of the night, Leo Santa Cruz looked like his undefeated record might have been in jeopardy during the first two and half rounds. But the bantamweight fighter from the Sacramento area turned things around in the third round and controlled the rest of the fight to score a unanimous decision over Jonathan Velardez (6-2 4KOs).
Santa Cruz (9-0-1, 2 KOs) connected several times to Velardez's left eye, causing him to bleed slightly in the fourth round.
The two exchanged body shots to open the fifth, but Velardez exhausted himself with a flurry of punches in the early rounds and spent much of the later rounds backing away from Santa Cruz.
Fedor Chudinov made his pro-debut quick and memorable. The super middleweight from Moscow, Russia laid out Shawn Kirk with the first punch he threw. Chudinov connected on a counter-right to the jaw of Kirk, who stayed on the canvas with his head down for the 10-count.
Not to be outdone, Chudinov's older brother Dmitry Chudinov made a stellar pro-debut. He scored a technical knock out over Otis Chennault (1-2) in 40 seconds in middleweight action.
Dmitry had to put his opponent on the mat twice to dispatch him, but it was far from Dmitry's first time in the ring. He is considered a top prospect after a 175-bout amateur career.
Andrew Rempp of Yerington opened the night up with a four-round, unanimous decision over Jose Pacheco (2-7-6) in featherweight action. The win was the first of his career after starting at 0-1-1.