Jermaine Franklin W10 Pavel Sour,... In the Showtime opener from Flint, Michigna, heavyweight Jermaine Franklin scored two knockdowns en route to a ten-round unanimous decision over Pavel Sour, scored 97-91, 98-91, 98-90. Fighting less than an hour from his hometown of Saginaw, Mich., Franklin (20-0, 13 KOs) scored knockdowns in the sixth and tenth rounds. The 24 year-old showed significant improvement from his [criticized performances in his prior two] bouts, particularly in his speed, mobility and power.
“I was trying to get the knockout, I wanted it real bad, but it feels great to get the W,” said Franklin, who landed 50 percent of his power shots. “I wasn’t looking for a knockdown the first time he went down. I was trying to be quick and catch him with a counter and I caught him. It surprised me that he went down because it wasn’t meant to be a power punch.”
“I didn’t think I finished him on the second knockdown. I wanted to, but I slowed down and got a little too relaxed instead. I should have stayed on him.”
“There are just some minor things I still need to work on, like fighting on the inside, grappling and knowing when to punch on the inside – minor things. Once I get that down, I’ll be doing well.”
Sour (11-2, 6 KOs), who was making his U.S. debut, was frustrated with his opponent. “I couldn’t free up my punches and I didn’t let my hands go,” Sour said. “I was too tight in there. I was never really hurt by Franklin’s punches. He is very strong, but I could handle it. I was trying to catch him with a strong right hand.” source: showtime
