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In the main event at the 2300
Arena in South Philly, PA state junior middleweight champ Tyrone
Brunson, 28-7-2, 25 KOs, stopped Jamaal Davis, 18-13-1, 7 KOs, in
round nine to retain his state title belt Friday night. Davis fought
tough, but Brunson was bigger and stronger, and controlled most of
the exchanges beginning in round one.
Brunson set a tone for the bout
in the opening round. Near a neutral corner, Tyrone landed a hard
right that slightly wobbled Davis. He survived the attack, but that
punch foreshadowed how the rest of the fight would unfold.
Brunson kept up the pressure in
the second and gained steam as the rounds elapsed. There was no
trench war in this fight, or big drama. Rather, Brunson used his
power and size advantages to methodically wear Davis down while
banking round after round.
It was a good plan for Brunson.
He didn’t burn up too much gas along the way. He just kept punching
Davis, absorbed whatever came his way, and stayed one step ahead all
night. In the middle rounds, Brunson landed a bit more freely, but
never swung for the fences. He just kept working and trusted that
his constant attack would eventually pay dividends.
Brunson began to collect those
dividends in round seven. During that three minutes, he landed a
number of left hooks that made the gritty Davis begin to fade. The
following round, Brunson stepped on the gas and dropped a winded
Davis with a hard right.
The West Philadelphian (now
living in the Harrisburg area), got up and wobbled toward his corner
while referee Gary Rosato administered his 8-count. When Rosato
reached eight, the bell sounded, and probably saved Davis, for the
time being.
The wily old pro came out for
the ninth, and Brunson met him with another volley of shots. Davis
appeared sturdy until Brunson fired a combination that made Jamaal
sag to the canvas for a second time. He rose once again and the
referee allowed the fight to continue. Brunson jumped right on him,
and after he landed a few more unanswered punches, Rosato stepped in
and stopped the fight at 2:11 of round nine.
With Davis well behind on
points and Brunson in high gear, the ref’s decision was a good one.
Even though only one round remained until the final bell, Davis had
taken enough punishment.
The win kept Brunson’s
Pennsylvania belt around his waist and kept his train moving
forward. Before participating in the most recent season of “The
Contender” TV series, Brunson had been on a great roll with promoter
Marshall Kauffman. Let’s hope tonight’s fight gets that roll back on
track. Brunson is an entertaining local fighter, and his punch
always keeps him in the hunt for bigger fights.
GEORGE TOPS RIOJAS
Houston’s Joseph George, 9-0, 6
KOs, remained undefeated with a dull unanimous decision over Mexican
southpaw Oscar Riojas, 18-12-1, 7 KOs, in their eight-round super
middleweight bout. The two fighters gave an honest effort, but it
wasn’t pretty to watch. Southpaw Riojas, who over the past two years
has lost bouts to locals Brandon Robinson, Christopher Brooker, and
Derrick Webster, hung in there again, but failed to win a round on
this night. George methodically tossed his punches, but set no
activity records. Still he took every one of the eight rounds, and
won by three official scores of 80-72.
ALBRIGHT OVERWHELMS MCGILL
Philly’s Nahir Albright, 6-1, 2 KOs, overwhelmed Roy McGill of
Harrisburg, 6-2, 3 KOs, in round two with two knockdowns, and won by
knockout, barely one minute into the round. Both knockdowns came
from brutal combinations by Albright. McGill climbed to his feet
after the first one, but the second time McGill hit the deck,
referee David Franciosi ended the fight without a count. Still, he
called it a KO. The time was 1:10. The fight was scheduled for six.
JOHNSON EDGES FLOYD
In a six-round welterweight fight between two Philadelphians,
Rasheed Johnson, 5-2, 1 KO, edged Vincent Floyd, 4-6-1, 2 KOs, by
split decision. The fight was an entertaining squeaker that could
have gone either way. Johnson jumped out to an early lead before
Floyd made his run in the middle rounds. However, down the stretch,
Johnson rallied and did enough to claim the points victory by a
narrow margin.
Judge Dewey Larosa scored it
58-56 for Floyd, but Kevin Morgan and Steve Weisfeld both favored
Johnson, 58-56. I had the fight even, 57-57, giving Johnson round
one, five and six, and Floyd the second, third and fourth. The fifth
was the closest round, and probably the one that swung the fight.
CANNIDA SHOCKS RIVERA
Kendall Cannida, North Philly, 3-1, 1 KO, surprised previously
undefeated Angel Rivera of Harrisburg, 4-1, 3 KOs, with a left hook
near the end of the first round that dropped Rivera and ultimately
decided the fight. Rivera struggled to rise, but stumbled back down
a few times, and failed to beat the 10-count of referee David
Franciosi. The time was of the knockout was 2:59 of the opening
round.
MARTIN ROUTS PYLE
North Philly junior middleweight, James Martin, 4-0, the son of
former light heavyweight contender Jerry Martin, posted an easy
points win over Rick Pyle of Harrisburg, 1-2, in their 4-rounder.
Martin was the clear winner in every round and took the decision of
all three official judges - Kevin Morgan, Rose Lacend, and Dewey
Larosa – by one-sided scored of 40-36.
BROWN WINS BY DECISION
Southpaw junior featherweight Rasheen Brown of West Philadelphia,
3-0, scored a knockdown in the second, and pitched a shutout over
Hugo Rodriguez of Monterrey, MX, 0-3, in their four rounder. All
three official scores were 40-35. Brown, now 20, looked bigger and
stronger, than in his pro debut last summer, and should be
interesting to watch as he develops.
JOHNSON UPSETS ANDUJAR
Wilmington, DE featherweight Weusi Johnson, 3-10, won a close
4-round split decision upset over Dominican Yeuri Andujar, 3-1, 3
KOs. Andujar appeared to have an edge going into the final round,
but Johnson scored a knockdown in the final frame that pushed him
ahead on two of the three official cards. All three judges scored
the bout 38-37. Steve Weisfeld has Andujar ahead, but was overruled
by Dewey Larosa and Kevin Morgan who favored Johnson. My score
agreed with Weisfeld’s.
In such a close fight, it was
Johnson who came out and did exactly what he needed to do in the
final round. He wasn’t expected to win, but he surprised everyone.
So, good for him.
DUBOSE BEATS FLORES
After 19 months off, West Philly featherweight Antonio Dubose,
10-2-1, 2 KOs, administered a six round beating against Mexico
City’s Danny Flores, 15-15-1, 8 KOs. Dubose knocked Flores down in
the fourth round and hurt him several other times, but had to settle
for a decisive unanimous decision win. The three judges – Kevin
Morgan, Dewey Larosa, and Steve Weisfeld – all scored the fight
60-53. Flores hurt Dubose with a double left hook in the third, but
other than that, it was all Tony.
HEAD BUTT LEADS TO NO DECISION
Philly junior welterweights Shamar Fulton Banks, 1-0-1, 2 KOs, 1 ND,
and Christopher Burgos, 1-4-1, 1 KO, 1 ND, banged heads in round
one, and Burgos came away with blood trickling from the bridge of
his nose.
 Referee David Franciosi lead Burgos back to his corner,
and after conferring with the ringside doctor, the fight was stopped
at the 2:15 mark, due to the accidental head butt. Since four rounds
were not completed, the fight was ruled a No Decision.
WALTON STOPS SORIANO
A quick welterweight fight opened the show. Houston’s Jerrico
Walton, 11-0, 7 KOs, stopped Mexican Cesar Soriano (Beruman),
26-41-3, 16 KOs, in the first round. Walton whacked Soriano with a
right that put him on the canvas. Soriano got up but limped his way
back to his corner. Referee Gary Rosato followed him there, and when
it was clear that Soriano didn’t want to continue, Rosato waved the
scheduled 6-round bout to an end. The time was 1:39.
The 11-bout card was promoted by Marshall Kauffman’s Kings
Promotions. About 1,000 fans attended. |
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