Mike Lee, Alantez Fox Win In Chicago
by Seamus McNally
Mike Lee defeated Chris Traietti by unanimous decision and Alantez “SlyAza” Fox knocked out Ronald Montes in the second round on Friday night at the UIC Forum in Chicago on CBS Sports Network.
Fighting in the main event of the DiBella Entertainment card in front of his hometown fans, the 29-year-old Lee (18–0, 10 KOs) took on his best opponent to date in Traietti (21–4, 17 KOs) and impressed, winning by scores of 99–90, 99–90, and 98–91 to move from prospect to a fringe contender in the talent-laden light heavyweight division.
Lee, a 2009 graduate of Notre Dame, started off the fight well, being the much busier fighter in the opening round. He rocked Traietti moments into the second round with a big right hand, and followed it up with a flurry that dropped Traietti to a knee for a knockdown.
Traietti recovered quickly and had some success in the next two rounds to get himself back in the fight. Lee swung the momentum in the fifth round, landing punishing combinations and never looked back after that. Lee connected with bruising body blows on the inside and continued to land punches in bunches upstairs that bloodied Traietti’s nose and staggered him a few more times throughout the contest.
Lee closed out the fight strong in the tenth and final round. Lee had a much higher workrate and landed the sharper and more effective punches, as was the case in most of the rounds.
In the curtain raising bout of the nationally televised broadcast, Forestville, Md. middleweight Alantez “SlyAza” Fox (21–0–1, 10 KOs) made quick work of Colombian Ronald Montes (17–4, 15 KOs), stopping him in the second round of their scheduled eight-round encounter.
Fox, 24, used his lanky 6'5" frame to full advantage, keeping the much shorter Montes on the outside for the duration of the fight. He used sharp jabs and crisp combinations to keep Montes from coming in and landing punches of his own. Late in the second round he threw a 1–2 combo to the head and followed it up with a brutal left hook to the liver that sent Montes to the canvas writhing in pain. Montes was unable to rise to his feet and was counted out at the 2:59 mark. Fox, known more for his boxing ability than his power, has now finished his last four opponents, and six of his last seven.
