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Rising prospect Shinard Bunch beat Philadelphia
veteran Hank Lundy in the ten-round main event at the Newtown
Athletic Club in Bucks County, PA Friday night. The junior
welterweight fight, expected to be an effortless passing of the
torch from an old pro to a budding contender, turned out to be
tougher and more exciting than originally presumed. The fight lasted
the full distance and offered a few surprises along the way. In the
end, youth won out, but the aging Lundy reminded the next generation
what Philly grit and Hammerin’ Hank are all about. The bout topped
an entertaining nine-fight show promoted by Nedal's Promotions.
Bunch-Lundy began on script, with a threat that
the fight might end almost immediately. In the very first round,
Bunch blasted Lundy with a neat left hook that sent the fading star
to the canvas. The punch buckled Hank at the waist and knees just
before he crumbled to the mat. Lundy looked hurt and the way he fell
suggested he might not get up. Of course, the always-game Lundy did
rise, but you couldn’t help but think it was going to be an early
night.
Bunch continued his attack in the second and
was having the better of most of the action. By the third, Lundy
appeared to be puffing and a slight swelling began to form a ridge
along his left eyebrow. Still, Lundy was competitive. He looked in
good shape fighting from his familiar wide-footed stance. He slipped
and ducked in every direction and fired back with a disregard for
danger that has made him one of the most fun fighters to watch over
the past several years. The difference on this night, however, was
Lundy’s timing. Slightly off due to age and mileage, Lundy missed
many of his counter shots and got caught by more incoming punches
than a vintage Lundy would have allowed. Still, he was providing
Bunch with a solid test.
For his part, Bunch was workmanlike. He jabbed
his way in and repeatedly bulled Lundy to the ropes. There he let
his hands go and nailed Lundy to the head and body. Bunch was
building a lead and appeared to be setting the veteran up for a big
finish. Bunch landed often. Lundy absorbed the punches and while
under fire appeared to calculate a new strategy.
After Bunch landed, there would be a short gap
in the action while he reloaded his guns for more punishment. During
most of these little gaps, Lundy would briefly gather himself and
then fire back with everything he had. Many of these return punches
sailed over a ducking Bunch. But occasionally, Lundy landed. Bunch
was stronger, faster, and most importantly, fresher. However, Lundy,
not generally known as a puncher, was clearly going for the
knockout. The adjustment made the fight entertaining and added a
hint of possibility for the underdog.
After the fourth round, Lundy was breathing
heavily in his corner. However, during the fifth, it was Bunch who
took a rest. This slow-down by Shinard allowed Lundy to have his
best round thus far. His jab landed frequently, and he mixed in a
few power shots along the way. Lundy edged this round on my
scorecard, a first in the fight.
Bunch resumed control in the sixth, but Lundy
kept swinging for the fences with his wild counterpunches. Given his
recent career fade – he’d lost his last three and five of his last
seven – Lundy must have known deep down that his days as a boxer
were coming to a close. But the beauty of Hank Lundy has always been
his unwavering swagger and insistent confidence. Despite the
well-earned cracks in his armor, Lundy summoned his exquisite
arrogance with each homerun swing he took. It was poignant to watch
him repeatedly try to turn back the clock with a single punch. But
this tactic only seemed to be a “Hail Mary” that likely would never
pay off. But then the eighth round came.
In round eight, the pattern of the fight was
steady. Bunch was in control and landing well. At this point, his
punches had produced two ridges of swelling, each extending Lundy’s
brows like mini awnings. Bunch was winning the fight and the only
question left was if Lundy could extend him to the final bell.
However, as the eighth round was winding down, one of Lundy’s
homerun shots landed. He came off the ropes and clobbered Bunch with
a left hook. Lundy doubled up on the punch and his second hook sent
a buckled Bunch crumbling to the canvas. Bunch went down hard and
appeared hurt. He gathered himself quickly and rose on unsteady
legs. Suddenly the fight had taken a turn and the old pro was on the
brink of an upset. However, when Bunch got to his feet, the bell
clanged, and Lundy’s window closed.
In round nine, Bunch seemed fully recovered as
he resumed his work. Lundy still presented a threat, but Bunch was
back in control. The fight in the ring was paused for a time while a
fight outside the ring teetered on a riot. Eventually the fight we
came to see restarted and continued to the final bell.
When it was over, there was little question
about who had won the decision. Bunch passed his test, learned
plenty, and clearly earned the victory. Lundy made his own statement
about who he once was and displayed how that excellent fighter will
always be a part of him.
The official judges all favored Bunch in their
tallies. Tony Lundy scored the fight 98-90, Dewey LaRosa saw it
97-91, and Adam Friscia had it 95-93. My score was also 97-91, or
8-2 in rounds with two knockdowns figured in. The referee was Eric
Dali.
Shinard Bunch, Trenton, NJ, improved to 20-1-1,
with 16 KOs and 1 No Contest, and took another step toward a big
fight. Lundy slipped to 31-12-1, with 14 KOs, and did well enough to
probably dissuade him from retiring from the ring. In my opinion,
there could be no better stopping point for his memorable career.
I’d like to see Hank go out with his swagger intact.
BUTT WINS IN ONE
In the co-feature bout, West Philadelphian Daiyann Butt (left)
scored a quick TKO over Brooklyn’s Raekwon Butler in a scheduled
six-round junior welterweight fight. In the first minute of the
bout, Butt landed a hard right hand that staggered Butler badly. His
body wavered and Butt jumped right on him. After he landed a few
more blows, referee David Braslow jumped in to stop the fight.
Butler protested, but the fight was over at the 56 second mark. Butt
won his third straight and raised his record to 12-2, 4 KOs. Butler
fell to 5-4, 3 KOs. It was the second time he was stopped.
GANTT WINS BY TKO
In a four-round featherweight fight, Camden southpaw Devin Gantt
stopped fellow-lefty Enrique Uvalle in the final round. Gantt won
the first three rounds before flooring Uvalle with a left hand in
the fourth. Uvalle popped up, but Gantt met him with more pressure
and hurtful blows. After a right-left combination buckled the
Iowa-based Texan, referee Eric Dali stepped in to stop the fight.
The time was 54 seconds of round four. Gantt won his second bout by
knockout (2-0, 2 KOs), while Uvalle lost for the second time (1-2).
DAVILA SHUTS OUT PACHECO
South Jersey junior welterweight Juan Davila stretched his young
record to 2-0 with a unanimous points win over Texan Tyler Pacheco.
Davila knocked Pacheco down in round two with an accumulation of
punches and went on to win every round of the fight. It was a good
battle along the ropes throughout the four rounds, but Davila
consistently scored more frequently with the heavier blows. Southpaw
Pacheco was hurt a number of times but toughed it out until the
final bell. All three judges, Adam Friscia, Tony Lundy, and Justin
Rubenstein scored the fight a 40-35 shutout for Davila. My score was
the same. Pacheco’s record dropped to 1-3. The referee was David
Braslow.
LEONARDO BLANKS GUZMAN
John Leonardo of Englishtown, NJ (right) won his four-round junior
featherweight contest against Jesus Arturo Guzman by unanimous
decision. Guzman, who had been previously knocked out five times in
his career, was durable against Leonardo, only wobbling once on this
evening. That moment came at the end for round two when Leonardo
landed a right-left-right combination that hurt Guzman just before
the bell sounded. Other than that, Guzman was steady, but Leonardo
won every minute of every round. The judges agreed and all turned in
scores of 40-36 in favor of Leonardo. The judges were Adam Friscia,
Tony Lundy, and Dewey LaRosa. The referee was Eric Dali. Leonardo
improved to 9-1-1, 4 KOs while Guzman slid to 8-10, 5 KOs.
BOOKER SHOCKS NEELY
In a scheduled six-round heavyweight fight, Patterson’s Norman Neely
(left) brought a pretty 13-0 record into the ring against Detroit
veteran Rydell Booker, who had lost seven times in his previous
thirty-four starts. However, if Team Neely thought those seven
losses indicated an easy win for the streaking young pro, they were
sorely mistaken. Less than one minute into the bout, Booker crashed
a pair of hard right hands against Neely’s chin, and the betting
favorite went down. As referee David Braslow counted, Neely looked
ready to go on, but after rising to his feet, he suddenly and
inexplicably knelt back down on the canvas. Seeing this, Braslow
immediately waved the fight over. Neely rose again and appeared
angry with the stoppage but when he wobbled toward the ref, it was
clear that he was still quite dazed. The time of the stoppage was 43
seconds of the first round. The upset victory improved Booker’s
record to 27-7-1, 14 KOs. Neely suffered his first defeat (13-1, 8
KOs).
MARKASHEVIQ WINS WILD BOUT
Staten Island super middleweight Arben Markasheviq (left) stopped
Cincinnati’s Turner Williams in the first round. However, this fight
was a wild affair that appeared to be going in a very different
direction before the sudden stoppage. The fight started with the
muscular Markasheviq dropping Williams with a left to the body. The
lanky southpaw managed to get up and then did his best to stay away
from his charging foe. Williams’ poorly schooled, wild style looked
desperate and unprofessional. Everyone watching braced themselves
for his soon-to-come demise. However, Williams suddenly struck
Markasheviq with his right hand and “The Wolf” fell hard to the
canvas. The turn of events was a shock to everyone, probably even
Williams. As referee Eric Dali counted, it did not look like
Markasheviq would get up in time. However, as Dali counted “ten,”
the fallen fighter popped up. Dali paused for a moment and decided
he had beaten the count and allowed the fight to continue. Not one
to let the opportunity pass, Williams charged at the still-shaken
Markasheviq and threw the wildest haymaker you’ve ever seen.
However, the punch missed its mark and Williams immediately grabbed
his left shoulder and crumbled to the canvas in pain. With Williams
on his knees signaling that he was injured, Dali stopped the fight
and awarded the win to Markasheviq by TKO at 2:07 of the first
round. What a crazy fight! The winner improved to 1-0-1, 1 KO.
Williams fell to 4-15, 3 KOs, and left with his arm in a
gauze-fashioned sling. All fifteen of Williams’ losses came by
knockout. Although another KO loss was probably the expected outcome
by all, the way the result played out was a shocker. Sometimes a
journeyman just can’t catch a break.
ROSARIO TOPS HERNANDEZ
South Jersey junior lightweight Carlos Rosario (right) used a
consistent body attack along with a steady stream of right-hand
power shots to win a four-round unanimous decision over Pedro
Hernandez of Colorado. Rosario produced most of the action, although
southpaw Hernandez landed here and there with his left. More than
once, Rosario’s body work bent Hernandez in half and the assault
carried Rosario to a shutout victory (40-36) by all three judges,
Tony Lundy, Justin Rubenstein, and Adam Friscia. Rosario improved to
8-3, 4 KOs; Hernandez slid to 4-14-1, 2 KOs. The referee was David
Braslow.
WILLIAMS STOPS EVANS
In the opening bout of the evening, New Yorker DeyShawn Williams
defeated Texan Ricky Evans by TKO in round three of their four-round
welterweight fight. Evans started fast, landing two solid left hooks
in the first. A clash of heads sent him to the canvas, but referee
Eric Dali ruled “no knockdown” to preserve Evans’ lead. Williams
started catching up by the end of the round, but Evans had already
banked it. In the second, Williams took control, landing power shots
to the head and body. Evans remained in the fight and there was some
good, two-way action. Williams won the session to even the score.
Finally in the third round, Williams drilled Evans with a hard left
hook to the body that sent Evans down. He made it to his feet in
time, but referee Eric Dali stopped the contest. The time was 1:24
of round three. The win extended Williams’ winning streak to 2-0, 2
KOs, while Evans remained winless at 0-3.
A crowd of about 1,100 attended the fight. |
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