Russell Lamour got exactly what he expected in his New England middleweight championship fight Friday night – except the win.

Thomas Falowo of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, won a unanimous decision in the eight-round fight, taking Lamour’s New England title and handing the Portland resident his first professional loss.

“The whole game plan and everything we expected, he did exactly what we thought and for some reason I was just really off,” Lamour said Saturday.

The judges scored the fight, shown live on ESPN2 from Foxwoods, 78-74, 77-75, 77-75 for the 26-year-old Falowo (13-3).

It was the sixth time the two fighters faced each other, with Lamour winning four of their five amateur bouts. Neither fighter was knocked down. Nor did they appear to be in trouble despite a near constant flurry of punches.

Lamour, 32, said he felt flat. His trainer Bob Russo agreed.

Advertisement

“He was a little flat, never got a good rhythm going,” Russo said. “Russell fought a hard fight. Actually ESPN had it as a draw but we knew (Falowo) was a come-forward, come-forward guy and he came forward. Russell could have been a little tighter with his punches, which was the plan. He got off but he just wasn’t up to snuff like I know he could do.”

ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas did score the fight even when he gave the eighth round to Lamour. The fight finished with both fighters swinging lefts and rights.

“I felt it was very close and that it could have gone either way,” Lamour said. “I let it get too close.”

For Lamour (11-1, five knockouts) it was his first loss since he lost as an amateur in the 2012 Olympic trials.

He said he would be back at the Portland Boxing Club on Monday to study the tape and get ready for his next fight, which he hopes will be within two months.

“It’s not going to hurt my career at all,” Lamour said. “We both have fighters’ hearts and we slugged it out and a lot of people felt it was the best fight on the card.”

Advertisement

He would also like a rematch with Falowo.

Russo said he’d love to get that fight on his June card at the Portland Expo. Lamour said he doubts Falowo would want to come to Portland.

If there is a rematch, Lamour will need to find a way to stop Falowo’s constant forward movement.

The first five rounds were even and fast-paced, but Falowo was able to dictate the fight being contested at close quarters.

In the sixth round, the fighters stood toe-to-toe, alternating positions along the ropes.

Lamour appeared to hurt Falowo with some body shots in the middle of the round, but Falowo finished the round with a stinging uppercut and overhand right.

Falowo clearly took the seventh round and carried that momentum into the first minute of the eighth and final round.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.