|
ROBINSON STOPS GUZMAN, |
||||
|
Local prospect Ray
Robinson looked sharp in halting durable journeyman Manuel
Guzman in the 7th round of their scheduled 8-round main
event bout at the National Guard Armory in Northeast Philly
Friday night. The fight card also
Southpaw Robinson was in complete control of the fight which could have been stopped much sooner than it was, but the always game Guzman, of Lancaster, PA, threw just enough "Hail Marys" in the final few rounds and pleaded his cause well enough between sessions to prevent the ring doctor and referee from calling an earlier stoppage. So Guzman kept plugging along and Robinson kept throwing punches until the 20-second mark of round seven. The fight was all
Robinson - from opening bell to the final wave by referee
Steve Smoger. As they circled each other at the start of the
fight, the size difference between the pair was astonishing.
Ray used his advantages in height and reach to lash Guzman
with a stinging right jab, and before long, he was landing
booming shots from the outside that seemed to indicate that
victory for Robinson was just a
By round four, Smoger was looking to stop the fight. He conferred with the ringside doctor repeatedly and asked him to examine Guzman after every remaining round. When neither the commission doctor nor the fighter's corner would stop it, Smoger stepped in himself after Robinson unloaded a flurry on Guzman just after the seventh round began. The win raised Robinson's record to 12-2 with 5 KOs, snapped a two-bout losing streak, and ended a 14-month layoff. It was also his first fight at home since 2008. All-in-all a very good night for the lanky left-handed welter. Guzman fell to 7-13 with 3 KOs.
At the end, my card read 59-55, the same as official judges Lynn Carter and Dave Greer. Judge George Hill gave every round to Williams, scoring 60-54. Williams, 8-0-1 (4 KO), showed his talent, and Medina (5-7-1 (1 KO) did his job and provided the rising star a good, rugged test. Every round was up for grabs but Williams came up with the answers and banked a nice and crowd-pleasing win.
Now with one show under her belt, and all the fanfare and talk of her being the "youngest female..." about to subside, Rogers can now focus on the business and grind of putting together a promotional career. She apparently has the tools and drive to do this, and local boxing needs it. The card was just the seventh boxing show in Philly this year, and it's already October. So the arrival of BAM Boxing can potentially breathe new life into the local scene. Now that Rogers has the distinction as the youngest female promoter, it's time to shoot for Herman Taylor's record as the oldest. The Philadelphia super-promoter staged fights well into his 80's. Now there's a goal to reach for! |
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
marked
the debut promotion by 22 year old Brittany Rogers'
BAM Boxing Promotions. 
matter
of time. But Guzman pressed forward and even made the third
round a wild ride. This was Manuel's best round, but still
Robinson had the advantage. 
The
fight of the night was the 6-round semi-final between the
promising Philadelphia junior middleweight Julian Williams
and the nearly immovable Eberto Medina of Newark, NJ.
Williams won all but one round on my card, but each chapter
was tough and grinding and often close. Williams whipped his
punches toward Medina, and landed aplenty, but he might as
well have been punching a stone wall.
By
round three, Williams began looking fatigued. Medina took
the fourth, but the round, like most of the others was
close. In the fifth, a tired Williams miraculously hurt
Medina at the bell, but didn't have the time to go for a
finish. By the sixth and final round, the opportunity had
passed and Williams had to settle for a clear-cut decision
victory. 
A
six round super middleweight bout between Charles Hayward of
Philly and George Armenta, Silver Springs, MD, ended in
a confounding decision (at least for me). True the fight was
close - especially the second and third rounds - but I felt
that Hayward had done enough to take the verdict. However
this was not the case when the official scores were read.
Judge Lynne Carter had it 58-56 for Hayward, but George Hill
and Dave Greer both scored it 58-56 for Armenta. Call me a
"homer", but I saw it 59-55 for Hayward. His left hook
was working wonders for him and a few of the combinations he
put together rattled Armenta. But he did a lot of clutching
that perhaps turned off the officials. The win improved the
visitor's record to 14-7 (11 KO) and backed Hayward down to
7-3 (3 KO). It was the first loss for Hayward since
returning in 2009 after a four year layoff. 
State
College, PA junior middleweight Grayson Blake upset Atlantic
City's Decarlo Perez in their six rounder. Blake (pictured
in black & white trunks) took a one-sided unanimous decision
on the official cards. Greer and Hill had it 60-54, while
Carter scored 59-55. Once again, I had the other guy ahead,
scoring it 58-56 for Perez in the slow-paced fight. Blake
remained undefeated (4-0, 1 KO), and Perez lost for the
first time (5-1-1, 2 KO). 
Philly's
Chase Corbin provided the biggest fireworks of the night
with his abrupt first round knockout over Mexican Alexander
Blanco. Corbin landed a left hook and right uppercut that
dropped Blanco near his own corner and brought the
welterweight fight to an very sudden end. Blanco struggled
to get up but wobbled and toppled over again, and was sent
home after just 28 seconds of action in the ring. It was his
second pro fight and evened out his professional record to
1-1. Corbin improved to 6-0 with 4 KOs. The KO was a
lightning bolt of excitement for the card, and made fans
want to see more of the 25 year old boxer. This was his
first fight in Philadelphia after five bouts out west. 
Philadelphian
David Navarro won his first professional fight, after four
tough losses, with a bloody four round unanimous decision
over Chris Plebani of Bristol, PA. in their welterweight
contest. Plebani's nose began to bleed in round two and
never stopped. The blood streamed down his face and went
flying with every incoming punch. In the last round, Navarro
shook Plebani but just didn't have the firepower to put him
down, let alone out. But he certainly was happy with his
very first win. All three judges scored 39-37 for Navarro
(1-4). Plebani dropped to 1-3. I scored the fight a draw at
38-38. 
Camden's
Korey Pritchett (pictured) made a successful pro debut with
a four round unanimous decision over Korey Sloan of
Philadelphia in a junior welterweight bout. Sloan outworked
Pritchett most of the way, but Pritchett landed the showier
and harder shots in the "Battle of the Koreys". The third
was the best session, with Sloan landing well to the
body and Pritchett firing back to the head. Pritchett had
the better of it, wobbling Sloan twice. Judges Hill and
Greer had 39-37 (same as me) and Carter gave all four rounds
to the winner (40-36). Pritchett goes to 1-0; Sloan falls to
1-2. 
The
first fight of the night pitted two light heavyweights both
making their professional debut in a four rounder.
Pottstown's Ronnie Lawrence was in control in the first
round, despite keeping his hands dangerously low, but
Philly's Todd Unthankmay (pictured) got on track and won the
rest of the rounds as Lawrence tired. Beginning in round
two, Unthankmay started to exploit Lawrence's open chin, and
hurt him a few times. In the third Unthankmay dropped
an exhausted Lawrence to add an extra point to his tally.
All three judges gave the fight to Unthankmay by scores of
39-36. I scored it the same. Hurley McCall was the referee. 
Upstart
promoter Brittany Rogers put together a fine first show.
Most of the fights were well-matched and closely contested,
and the one blow-out (Corbin-Blanco) was the thrill of the
night. Although the crowd looked small at the start of the
evening, eventually the Armory filled in nicely. BAM
Boxing Promotions did not announce the attendance, but it
was probably in the 1,000-1,100 range. The atmosphere was
more festive than the usual club show. Clearly the crowd was
enjoying being part of the event that made Rogers the
youngest female promoter in US history.