Joseph Elegele Keeps Pace with Big Win Over Phil Le Greco in PBC on Bounce Headliner

Joseph Elegele started boxing when he was 11. It has been a part of him for 20 years. Even when he didn’t have padded gloves on. The 31-year-old from Melbourne, Florida, grew up with nine brothers and sisters and there was always something to fight about. Skirmishes tended to erupt every minute over the bathroom and who was wearing whose clothes. Elegele wanted to keep on fighting, but something over the last few years caused him to wonder about his future: his last five fights.

Elegele was 3-2 over that span, losing a technical decision to Aaron Martinez and a unanimous eight-rounder to Javier Molina.

Phil Lo Greco can remember the day he first began boxing. It was Jan. 21, 1995, and he was about to turn 11. It was always Lo Greco’s dream to be a world champion, and on Sunday, he found himself trying to keep that dream alive against Elegele’s future in a 10-round welterweight bout from the Lakeland Events Center in Lakeland, Florida.

There was just one gaping problem Lo Greco faced. Each time he stepped up in competition, he came bounding back down to earth with a loss. Over his last four fights, Lo Greco was 2-2, with a decision loss to Shawn Porter and a stoppage loss in three to Errol Spence Jr.

Lo Greco (27-3, 15 KOs) needed this and so did Elegele (16-2, 11 KOs), two fighters at the crossroads of relevance and also-ran.

Watch 100+ Channels On Pluto TV

It appears Elegele’s journey will continue with a spark after a unanimous 10-round decision over Lo Greco. Judges Fred Fluty (97-95), Alex Levin (96-94) and Mike Ross (96-94) all saw it for Elegele.

Both fighters had their moments. There were instances where Lo Greco staggered Elegele, and in the sixth round, Elegele had Lo Greco in a bit of a fix. The exclamation point came in the 10th, where Elegele closed strong, ripping shots into Lo Greco.

On the undercard, light heavyweight Craig Baker (17-1, 13 KOs) got off the canvas from a fourth-round knockdown to stop previously undefeated Australian Steve Lovett (15-1, 12 KOs) at 2:57 of the eighth round in the scheduled eight-rounder. Lovett found Baker in the fourth with a crushing left hook that dropped the 32-year-old Texan, who had not fought in over a year. Baker, however, had the physical wherewithal to get back on his feet.

It was the first time Baker won in 16 months.

In a scheduled eight-round middleweight fight, Dauren Yeleussinov (5-0-1, 4 KOs) and Devaun Lee (7-2-1, 3 KOs) fought to a draw. Judge Fred Fluty had Yeleussinov, 79-73, judge James Ged O'Connor had it for Lee, 78-74, and judge Alex Levin had a 76-76 draw.