Rice Bests Coffie Through Unanimous Decision
By: Sean Crose
Jonathan Rice, 14-6-1, slipped between the ropes in Hollywood, Florida on Saturday night during a ten-round heavyweight bout against Michael Coffie 12-1. It was their July rematch, which saw Rice save Coffie in ten games. Rice controlled the action well the first time around. Everything was quite sluggish for a moment. Coffie had a much better and more dynamic third.
Rice hit Coffie in the fourth installment, enough to make it look like Coffie might be in real trouble. However, Coffie was able to fight back with luck. Rice control phase 5 is quite effective. He then went on to make an effective appearance in the sixth season. The seventh went to Rice, and so did the eighth. By day nine, it was clear that Rice’s power was too great for Coffie to launch anything consistently effective against. Overweight and underweight, Rice probably wasn’t physically fit to complete his man.
Coffie, bruised and battered, tried his best to make something happen in the tenth round, but couldn’t change matters enough to turn things around. Rice was simply too much for him, which is why Rice was able to walk out of the ring with a decisive unanimous victory.