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LUNDY POSES AND POUNDS WAY THROUGH YESHA BOUT Philadelphia prospect Henry Lundy won his main event against an out-gunned and slightly graying Justo Sanchez, at the Yesha Center in South Philly. It was the first fight held at the venue, which usually hosts religious revivals. But no amount of residual prayer remaining in the building could have saved Lundy's outclassed foe. The match was really no match. Sanchez came in from Utah with a shoddy record of 17-23-1 (no KOs), and having lost eight of his last ten bouts. He was there to lose, and did so with a measure of dignity. Sanchez marched forward and took his lumps. He showed toughness, but only really offered some resistance in round three with some decent body work.
Lundy finally got serious in the fourth round. He hurt Sanchez to the body and dropped him with a flurry of head shots. Sanchez got up gamely. Again, Hamerin' Hank ravaged his foe's midsection and floored him a second time near the end of the round.
After just 21 seconds of round six, referee Benjy Esteves halted the bout with Sanchez trapped on the ropes and Lundy firing a wild flurry. The attack didn't do much damage, but it was clear that Sanchez couldn't offer any more. The victory raised Lundy to 15-0-1 (9 KO) and gave him the UBC (Universal Boxing Council) belt - whatever that is. Lundy is an excellent prospect, but it is time for him to step up again. He looked like a world beater when he topped Jason Citron earlier this year. It should have been onward and upward for Hank after that bout, and not this sparring session. The semi-final bout was another scheduled 8-rounder with the UBC super middleweight belt on the line - whatever that is. The bout pitted Upper Darby's Dhafir Smith against Demetrius Davis of Washington, DC. Both entered with classic club-fighter records - winning but almost even logs - Smith was 21-19-6 (4 KO) while Davis was 19-15-5 (7 KO).
After seven rounds, the fight was basically even. In the eighth and final round, Smith used his right hand to score while Davis returned his fire with combinations, and edged out the decision on my scorecard. But it was close. The official scores read 77-74 for Smith, 77-74 for Davis, and 77-74 for Smith. Dhafir took the fight - and the belt - with a split decision.
In the second, Grafton resumed the beating but again was a bloody mess himself. Even Joey Eye couldn't keep that nose quiet. But Grafton's punches were taking their toll. Johnson looked exhausted early in the second. He was sucking air desperately, with his mouth wide open and his mouthpiece rolling around his mouth like a breath mint. He looked like he wanted to quit, but Grafton was gassed too and couldn't give Johnson a good enough reason to call it a night. Finally, in round four, with the fight winding down, Grafton put Johnson in the corner and landed an extended attack. Most of the punches missed their mark, hitting mostly gloves, but it was enough to prove that Johnson was through. Referee Shawn Clark stepped in at the 2:25 mark.
Bionic Bull Promotions staged the show, moving slightly west from their recent locale of South Philly High to the Yesha Center. The Yesha was a decent fight venue. The ring was set up at the far end of the rectangular room, with padded banquet chairs lined up in two wide rows all the way to the back of the room. Most of the seats - probably 70% - were filled on this night at the fights. The lighting of the room left a little to be desired, with only two chandeliers, a few inset ceiling bulbs, and that disco ball above the ring throwing light onto the ring. Still, it is always fun to try a new fight club on for size, and there is talk of a second show happening here before the end of the year. |
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Lundy stalked his opponent with a
familiar crab-like, wide stance. He waddled in and threw his
punches in flashy flurries, but he did a lot of posing along
the way. For a few rounds, it even appeared that he wasn't
even interested in turning up the heat enough for the KO. In
his corner between the rounds, there was a lot of
disrespectful laughing aimed at his easy opponent. Lundy
even pulled the hot-dog move of spinning and hitting Sanchez
from behind his back in round two. When you are as good a
prospect as Lundy, and are in with someone who has no chance
of winning, you should get down to business and end the
fight. 
The slaughter continued in the fifth when
Lundy put Sanchez down again with a hard left hook. The
punch followed another body punching set up. The tough
Sanchez survived the round, but the end was near. 
Davis
took the lead over the first two rounds with a hard right
hand that he repeatedly landed. Smith depended on a
straight, stiff jab that scored with a nice thud. In round
three Smith loosened up his Philly left hook, and began
driving it home. One hook dropped Davis suddenly. When Davis
got up, Smith kept up the pressure with the lefts. Later in
the round he hurt him again with a solid left-right that
dislodged Davis' mouthpiece. Smith ran out of time in the
round, but he likely won it by a 10-8 margin, which even the
score, and proved critical later at the end. 
The
left hook clinic continued in round four, but Davis
rebounded nicely. He landed a good uppercut that snapped
Dhafir's head up toward the disco ball that hung over
ring-center. They continued to rumble evenly in rounds five
and six, with Smith perhaps having a slight edge. Davis
cracked Smith with a hard right in the seventh, prompting
Smith to look nervously to his corner. Moments later Smith
muscled Davis to the mat to but some time. 
Between
the two main bouts, Philly's Dan Grafton made his pro debut
in a 4-round cruiserweight bout against Patrick Johnson of
Kokomo, IN. Grafton won every round of this contest, but if
you judged by the fighters' appearance, you would have
thought Johnson had won it by a mile. In round one, Grafton
pressed Johnson to the ropes and wailed away, hurting him
over and over again. But in one of these volleys, Grafton
came a way with a bloody moustache, and smeared all over his
face. 
Philadelphian
Eric "The Outlaw" Hunter returned to the ring after a year
away and looked sharp in his six-round featherweight
contest. He faced Wilshaun Boxley of Coon Rapids, MN.
Although Hunter won every round, it was still a well fought
match on both sides. Hunter had every advantage, but Boxley
effectively rushed him awkwardly. In the first round, one of
these rushes caused a clash of heads which made Hunter lose
his cool. He nervously pawed at his head and complained to
referee Clark all night long. But Hunter just had too many
tools for Boxley. He fired hard shots - especially good left
hooks - and controlled the action. The fifth could have
easily been a 10-8 round, even though no knockdown occurred.
In the last round Hunter hurt Boxley with a pair of leaping
left hooks at the bell that had the crowd of about 700
cheering wildly. The official scores were wide for Hunter -
60-54, 60-53 and 60-54. Hunter improved his record to 11-1
(4 KO). Boxley fell to 5-2 (3 KO). 
Two
four-round female bouts opened the evening. New Yorker
Belinda Laracuente (with Puerto Rican flag trunks at left),
24-25-3 (9 KO) won a unanimous decision over Philly's
Lakeysha Williams (in black trunk with white stripe, below
left), 9-15-3 (1 KO), in their lightweight fight by scores
of 40-36 (twice) and 39-37. Welterweight Rachel Clark,
Philadelphia, 3-2-1 (2 KO) beat Ontario's Natalie Brown, 5-2
(3 KO) by a majority decision after four rounds. The
official scores were 38-38 and 39-37 (twice) for Clark. 
Between
the two female bouts, cruiserweight Pedro Martinez fought a
three-round exhibition with Ron Boddie. Martinez was
scheduled to fight for real on the card, but his opponent
fell out.