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Rodney Rice’s RDR promotions
put on a second consecutive night of fights at the 2300 Arena in
South Philly on Saturday. The card featured some hometown favorites,
including undefeated Philadelphia welterweight Mark Dawson taking on
an undefeated Ivan Pandzic as the main event.
West Philadelphia’s own Mark
Dawson (9-0-1, 3 KOs) took on California’s Ivan Pandzic (13-1-1, 8
KOs) in the 8-round welterweight main event of the night. Both
fighters were unbeaten going in, and eager to keep that “zero” in
their record. Dawson was able to get inside his tall opponent and
outbox the shifty 6’4” Pandzic. Dawson managed to set up his shots
throughout the bout, and counter punched effectively.
Dawson separated himself in the
third round with a stiff counter straight right as Pandzic dropped
his guard after throwing a jab. Dawson then landed an uppercut flush
to Pandzic’s jaw in the 8th round and followed with a combination to
the body. Dawson was awarded a unanimous decision for his efforts,
with official scores of 77-74, 78-74, and 79-73, and remained
undefeated.
TOWEL STOPPAGE FOR HEMPHILL
Sean Hemphill (13-0, 8 KOs) faced off for an 8-round super
middleweight scrap versus Orlando’s Robert Burwell (9-5, 3 KOs). The
fight started off meticulously, with each fighter calculating every
shot. It wasn’t until the third round that Burwell connected with an
overhand shot that seemed to wobble Hemphill.
Hemphill endured by
fighting defensively and then landed shots on Burwell in the fourth.
Burwell pressed the action in the later rounds, with effective shots
to the body and hooks up top.
However, in the seventh round,
after a flurry of blows by Hemphill, Burwell’s team suddenly, and
questionably, threw in the towel. Burwell was still on his feet and
had even escaped the onslaught. From my perspective at the media
table, it seemed as if the fight was very close up to that point.
Regardless, Hemphill was awarded the TKO stoppage at 2:39 of the
seventh round.
NOBLE DOMINATES IN DEBUT
Jabril Noble (1-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia
won by KO in his pro debut against Deljerro Revello (0-1), also
making his debut, in a scheduled 4-round featherweight contest.
Noble was on the attack from the start and connected frequently on
his foe. He dropped Revello with a right in the second, but the
referee allowed Revello to continue. Noble pounced right in to
finish the job. He landed a barrage of body shots that sent Revello
to the canvas again, forcing the referee to stop the contest. The
official time of TKO stoppage was 1:12 of round two.
BROWN REMAINS UNDEFEATED
Philly’s Rasheen Brown (10-0, 6 KOs) won
via unanimous decision against Prisco Marquez (4-4-1, 1 KO) of Texas
in a 6-round junior lightweight bout. Southpaw Brown displayed
smooth and slick punching from the start and floored Marquez in the
first round with a body shot at the end of the first round.
Brown
continued his sleek boxing until a one-two combo put down Marquez
once again in round five. Marquez rose to his feet and continued the
bout. But Brown looked comfortable throughout and won the unanimous
decision with judges’ scores of 60-52, 59-53, and 58-55.
CORTES GETS THE DECISION
Millville, NJ’s Edgar Joe Cortes (9-6-1,
1KO) squared up with Roberto Pucheta (10-19-2, 6 KOs) of Mexico in a
6-round junior featherweight clash. Despite a valiant performance
from Pucheta, Cortes won via unanimous decision. Cortes had a strong
first round, which brought his fans to their feet as he got off a
flurry of punches. In the later rounds, a scrappy Pucheta rose to
the occasion. He walked Cortes down and was the aggressor.
The
contest was a battle between the smooth punching Cortes, and the
classic Mexican brawler. Although the crowd seemed to think the
fight was closer, the judges saw the bout differently, scoring the
bout unanimously 58-56 in favor of Cortes.
JONES WINS VIA KO
In a cruiserweight bout, Jersey City’s
Joe Jones (12-4, 9 KOs) won by third round technical knockout
against grizzled Upper Darby veteran Dhafir Smith (28-26, 4 KOs).
Jones came out strong and controlled the pace from the start. At the
end of the second round, a sharp right sent Smith to the canvas. The
vet made it to his feet as the bell sounded to end the round.
Jones ran out to start the
third round looking for a finish. He trapped Smith in the corner and
got off a barrage of hard blows, which prompted the referee to halt
the bout after just 18 seconds into the third round. Smith hadn’t
been stopped since 2008.
STEVENS GETS THE CLEAN SWEEP
In the opening fight of the night
Reading, PA native David Stevens (6-0, 4 KOs) topped Montrel James
(1-6) by unanimous decision in a 4-round light heavyweight showdown.
Stevens outclassed James throughout, earning himself a clean sweep
through each round. All three judges scored the fight 40-36. With
the win, Stevens remained undefeated.
RDR Promotions is scheduled to return to the
2300 Arena in September.
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