‘Lion’ takes NABO title in close call

Unbeaten Las Vegas lightweight Sharif Bogere found himself in the fight of his life, as Ray Beltran battled him for 10 tough rounds Friday night at the Star of the Desert Arena.

Bogere (20-0) emerged bloodied but victorious, gaining a unanimous decision to capture his first title as a professional — the vacant North American Boxing Organization belt.

“I’ve never won a belt before,” he said. “I think I will sleep with it.”

Bogere, nicknamed “The Lion,” won 96-94 on the cards of judges Jerry Roth and Lisa Giampa and 97-93 on Patricia Morse-Jarman’s card. The Ugandan won despite suffering a nasty cut on his left eyelid in the fourth round.

Beltran (24-5) also was bloodied over his left eye and on his scalp. He was so distraught over the decision that he didn’t want to speak. But trainer Freddie Roach, who was working Beltran’s corner, said his fighter deserved better.

“I thought we were the aggressor, but we didn’t get any of the close rounds,” Roach said. “They’ve promised us a rematch, but that doesn’t help us today.”

It was a dirty fight, as both fighters used their heads, shoulders forearms and elbows to inflict punishment.

“(Beltran) threw a lot of elbows and headbutts,” Bogere said. “But I thought I had outboxed him and won the fight.”

Bogere rocked Beltran early with big right hands, but Beltran, who has sparred with Manny Pacquiao the past couple of years, hung tough. He began to dominate in the fourth round, as both fighters were dealing with cuts over their left eyes resulting from headbutts.

In the seventh round, Beltran tagged Bogere with a big right to the chin and staggered him. Beltran nailed Bogere again in the eighth, but referee Robert Byrd ruled it a slip, even though Bogere’s gloves touched the canvas. Beltran also hit the canvas later in the round, but Byrd ruled that a slip, too.

In the co-feature, heavyweight Seth Mitchell remained unbeaten by knocking out Evans Quinn in the first round. Mitchell (22-0-1, 16 knockouts) nailed Quinn (20-6-2) with a flurry of lefts and rights and finished him with an overhand right. Quinn couldn’t get to his feet, and referee Joe Cortez counted him out at 2:38.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.