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Puerto Rican flyweight Jesus Soler (11-1-1, 5 KOs) spoiled the return of Miguel “No Fear” Cartagena (15-6-1, 6 KOs) with an impressive eight round unanimous decision victory by scores of 80-72 79-73 and 78-74 Saturday night at Parx Casino’s Xcite Center in Bensalem, PA. The co-feature of the eight bout card promoted by Joe Hand Promotions and BAM Promotions saw lightweight Frank Trader (13-2-1, 5 KOs) out punch fellow Philadelphian Jerome Conquest (10-4, 1 KO) over eight rounds to capture an exciting unanimous decision victory by scores of 79-73 x 2 and 78-74. The undercard of “Xcite Fight Night 4” matched by the legendary Russell Peltz provided explosive knockouts, upsets and impressive performances that would make any boxing fan happy.
The main event of the evening featured an intriguing eight round flyweight battle as Philly’s own Miguel “No Fear” Cartagena (15-5-1, 6 KOs) looked to bounce back from a split decision loss to Carlos Maldonado against Puerto Rico’s Jesus Soler, who sported an impressive record of 12-1-1, with five of those victories coming by way of knockout.
Cartagena, who had been out of the ring for almost a year, looked to shake off the ring rust. Soler had other intentions and backed him up with heavy flurries throughout the opening round. Cartagena tried to find his footing and space in the second round, but just couldn’t keep Soler at bay. Late in the round, Soler trapped Cartagena against the ropes and shot a vicious one two combination up top. Soler was relentless and hurt Cartagena in the third round. Cartagena backed away and tried to roll with the punches as Soler let loose with ten unanswered shots.
Cartagena finally found his footing in round five, boxing from the outside while sliding around the ring as Soler tired. Soler appeared to gain his second wind and continued to press the attack in round six. Cartagena desperately tried to land a hard hook up top that would change the tide of the fight in the seventh round. The crowd cheered as both fighters traded away with heavy combinations as the seventh round came to a close.
Cartagena seemed to be way behind on the scorecards and needed a knockout if he was to win the fight. Soler just wouldn’t let that happen as he weathered Cartagena’s heavy counters and landed a few explosive right hands of his own right up until the final bell. All three judges saw the fight clearly for Jesus Soler by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74 respectively.
“I was in great shape for this fight and could have gone ten rounds” said an excited Jesus Soler “I can box if I have to, but tonight I needed to fight and that is what I did.“ “Jesus came up from 108 lbs for this fight and there are not a lot of fighters that he can fight, so we jumped on this opportunity to fight a talented fighter like Cartagena,” added his manager. “Jesus now resides in Philadelphia and is ready to fight anybody and we know that he will be put in good fights here.”
Conquest was the boxer from the get-go and tried to push Trader backward with tight combinations early. Trader was elusive and avoided many of the shots. A short counter right caught Conquest on the button and seemed to give Trader confidence. Trader continued to find his mark in the second round with well time counters that pierced the tight defense of Conquest.
The fight changed in the third round as both fighters clashed heads during an exchange which opened a cut over Trader’s right eye. He looked bothered by it and began to box on his toes. His corner took care of the cut between rounds and it was not be an issue throughout the entire fight.
Trader took over in rounds four through six as he stepped in and out of range with well-timed counters. Conquest pushed the action, but couldn’t land anything of note on the elusive Trader.
Trader tired a bit in the seventh round as Conquest upped the attack. He found his second wind and used good head movement to avoid many of Conquest’s exchanges while slipping in and out of the pocket with straight shots to take the round.
Trader and Conquest went toe to toe in the opening minute of the eighth and final round sending the crowd into a frenzy. Trader opened a cut over the right eye of Conquest, which allowed him to box his way until the final bell. All three judges saw the fight clearly for Frank Trader by scores of 79-73 twice and 78-74. Frank “Nitty” Trader upped his record to 13-2-1, 3 KOs, while Jerome Conquest fell to 10-4, 1KO.
Rivers appeared to be taking control of the fight and was pressing the action in the second when Dixon found his mark with a perfect uppercut. The force of the blow put Rivers on the seat of his pants. Rivers quickly rose to his feet, but Dixon would not let him breathe. Rivers covered up against the ropes, but a four-punch combination sent him stumbling across the ring and down to his and knees. Dixon quickly ended the contest as a hard right hand put Rivers on his back for the third and final time. Referee Benjy Esteves Jr waived the bout off without a count at 2:11 of the second round.
Williams controlled the bout throughout with his power and hand speed as he mixed up various combinations which kept Arnold on the defensive. Arnold landed the occasional counter to keep Williams honest. It did not deter the undefeated Williams as he stepped in and out of the pocket with three and four punch combos, capturing every round on the all three scorecards (40-36 x 3) for the unanimous decision victory.
Butt dropped Young late in the second round with two left hooks to the body. Young rose to his feet as the bell sounded before any more damage could be done. Butt would not let him off the hook as he put Young to the canvas for the final time with a barrage of shots at 1:25 of the 3rd round for the TKO victory.
Bunch put Lewis on the seat of his pants with a straight left in the closing seconds of the opening round. Lewis was able to get to his feet just as the bell sounded to end the round. The Philly native tried to jab his way out of trouble early in the second, but Bunch timed him with a devastating right hand on the chin. Lewis was out before he hit the canvas. Referee Eric Dali immediately waived the bout off at the thirty second mark of the opening round.
Charles took the opening round with sharp combinations and movement. Lewis battled back in the second with nice counters. Charles changed up his tactics in the final two rounds, using his jabs and movement to capture the four round unanimous decision victory by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice.
Czerklewicz of Houston, Texas took over in the second round, as he battered Vazquez to the corner with five unanswered hooks. Vazquez slipped out of danger and valiantly fought back, but just could not match the power of Czerklewicz. Vazquez actually banged some good counters in the third, but Czerklewicz took over and had him bleeding from the mouth in the fourth and final round with his heavy hooks. Vasquez was game though and did enough to survive until the final bell. All three judges saw it in favor of Jan Czerklewicz by scores of 40-36 twice and 39-37 for the unanimous decision victory. Boxing returns to the Parx Casino Xcite Center on September 20th. |
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