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DiBella Entertainment’s Broadway Boxing series made its debut in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Thursday, April 18th. The five-fight
card played out in front of a weeknight crowd at the city’s
legendary 2300 Arena, a venue that has played an important role in
keeping the “City of Brotherly Love’s” boxing scene alive for nearly
a decade.
As is almost always the case, promoter Lou DiBella provided fans
with a quality product. Brockton, Massachusetts-based matchmaker
Peter Czymbor did the matchmaking for the evening’s spectacle. Fans
were also treated to a boxing royalty sighting; former undisputed
world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis was on hand to take in the
night of boxing.
The main event was a heavyweight showdown that pitted Indianapolis’
Skylar Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs), 251.9 lbs., against the Bronx’s George
Arias (18-1-1, 7 KOs), 228.6 lbs.. Arias, promoted by DiBella
Entertainment, entered the ring on Thursday coming off his first
professional loss to heavyweight contender Jared Anderson last year
in Newark, New Jersey. Lacy, who had a quality career in the amateur
ranks, fought last month in Mexico, a TKO victory over Hector
Coronado.
To kick off the marquee fight of the evening, Lacy moved quickly
towards the middle of the ring and threw a big right hand that
grazed Arias’ upper body. Throughout the first round, Arias was the
far more aggressive fighter, repeatedly coming forward on Lacy, who
stands nearly eight inches taller than him. Arias threw big hooks
with mixed results at his opponent. The awkward Lacy, who
surprisingly moved lightly on his feet and with athleticism at times
throughout the bout, used these features to his advantage to
frustrate Arias throughout the eight-rounder. As the two fighters
returned to their corners following the first-round bell, Lacy did
his best Boris Karloff impression, staring down Arias as he made his
way to the stool.
In the second round, Arias, looking to bring his taller opponent
down to his level, set out to work Lacy’s body. Arias landed a hard
left hook to Lacy’s head just as the round ended. In the third
round, Arias, looking for the knockout shot, rushed Lacy with big
hooks. A Lacy right hand to the body slowed Arias’ forward movement
momentarily, as the two men locked up in a clinch. Arias, punching
upwards, landed a right uppercut to his opponent's jaw. Lacy
responded with a big right uppercut of his own that landed somewhere
between Arias’ upper body and jawline.
Arias, the far more aggressive fighter, came forward and put
pressure on Lacy throughout the fourth round. Many of these
offensive surges were smothered by a tired Lacy through various hugs
and clinches. Lacy landed two big right hands to Arias’ body as the
final seconds of the round winded down. Lacy came out in the fifth
looking like a beaten fighter. An Arias left hook to the jaw didn’t
help his demeanor. Lacy, clearly losing the round, rallied again in
the final seconds of the fifth frame, landing two straight right
hands to his opponent’s face as the round ended.
The sixth round was marked with a lot of defense on Lacy’s part, as
he sought to avoid the aggressive Arias. Lacy landed a big right to
Arias’ head during this round that slowed the pursuit. The seventh
round was much the same as the sixth. The round was highlighted by a
big Lacy right hand to his opponent’s body. The eighth and final
frame was relatively uneventful, as the overall round could be
described as two tired big men clinching and dodging half-speed
shots. Judge Steve Weisfeld scored the bout 77-75 for Arias, with
judges Tony Lundy and Paul Wallace seeing it as a 76-76 draw, thus
the fight was ruled a majority draw.
One of two local fighters on the card, Philadelphia’s Romuel Cruz
(11-0-1, 5 KOs) defeated Las Vegas resident and New York native
Robin Ellis (6-4,5 KOs) by TKO in the fourth round of a scheduled
six-round, junior featherweight contest. Cruz, 122.5 lbs., entered
the ring to the delight of his hometown fans, who surrounded the
walkway to the ring. In the opening frame, Cruz and Ellis, 121.4
lbs, battled in the center of the ring. The first round was evenly
matched as the two orthodox fighters battled at close quarters as
the final seconds of the round counted down.
The second round was more of the same as the first, as both men
exchanged shots in and out of the clinch. Early in the third round,
Cruz went on the offensive landing a big left hand to Ellis’ head.
He followed this shot up with a series of jabs that pushed his
opponent back into the ropes. These jabs were followed up with a
right hand to Ellis’ body. As the round progressed, Ellis began
showing signs of exhaustion. Despite the now constant pressure from
the better fighter Cruz, Ellis showed that he was a gamer by staying
on his feet.
Ellis ran out of gas in the fourth round after desperately trying to
outrun the stalking Cruz. A Cruz left hand to the jaw dropped Ellis.
Despite being clearly hurt, he pulled himself up from the canvas,
seeking to continue the fight. Ellis’ corner, having their fighter’s
best interest at heart, waived off the fight at the 1:43 mark of the
fourth round. This was Cruz’s fifth knockout victory, and 11th
overall win of his career.
Philadelphia southpaw Erron Peterson (6-0-1, 5 KOs) squared off
against Morgantown, West Virginia’s Raheem Davis (1-3) in a super
middleweight bout. In the opening round, Davis appeared to spend
more time mocking Peterson through his dance moves than he did
boxing. Peterson, not impressed by the awkward pugilist’s moves, got
right to work landing a big right hand to his opponent’s head that
seemed to remind Davis he was in a fight. Peterson proceeded to
pummel Davis with multiple left-right combinations that sent the
fighter crashing into multiple corners. A powerful right hand to the
body sent Davis to the canvas. Davis recovered from the blow, only
to be nailed with another big Peterson right to the body. Davis sunk
into his corner after the round ended.
Davis answered the second round’s bell on visibly shaky legs.
Peterson landed crushing multi-punch combos to his opponent’s head
and body. A left hook to the body made Davis sink into the corner.
Davis was down again in the second after Peterson landed a right
hook to the body. Davis recovered again, but by this point of the
contest, Peterson smelt blood in the water. He hit Davis with a
right to the chin that sent the orthodox fighter to the ring mat for
the third and final time. Referee Eric Dali waived off the fight at
the 1:53 mark of the second round of a scheduled four rounder.
Peterson now has six victories and five knockouts on his resume.
In a four-round middleweight contest between undefeated fighters,
Kestna Davis (6-0), Vauxhall, New Jersey, defeated Abdallah Nagy
(1-1), Albuquerque, New Mexico, by unanimous decision. Nagy, 153.8
lbs., answered the opening bell throwing swooping left and right
hooks. His plan for an early knockout was crushed as Davis, 158.7
lbs., dodged the punches and worked Nagy’s body with multi-punch
combos. The southpaw Davis, far faster on his feet than his
opponent, peppered his opponent with several unanswered shots as the
round progressed.
In the second round, Nagy came out swinging for the fences, as Davis
easily dodged these shots. When the dust settled from this fruitless
melee, Davis responded with a left-right combo to Nagy’s exposed
body. Nagy landed a clean shot to his opponent’s liver, but Davis
responded with a multi-shot combo to the body. Nagy continued with
his fight plan in the third round, again coming out swinging wildly
in hopes of a quick knockout. A Davis quick right hook to the chin
sent Nagy crashing to the canvas. The downed fighter rose to his
feet after the knockdown and started throwing more wild hooks
seeking to void the previous knockdown with one of his own.
In the fourth round, Nagy, aware that he was down on the judges’
scorecards, desperately tried to land the knockout shot on Davis.
Nagy landed a solid right hook to Davis’ upper body that caused the
fighter to wince in pain. Davis, determined to get the victory,
pushed Nagy into the ropes, and proceeded to land a variety of shots
to his head and body, almost at will, as the final bell rang. As the
ring announcer prepared to read the judges’ scorecards, Lennox Lewis
joined Davis in the ring. All three judges (Bernard Bruni, Tony
Lundy, and Paul Wallace) scored the bout 40-35 in favor of the still
undefeated Kestna Davis.
Heavyweights opened the evening’s boxing card, as Roney Hines
(14-0-1, 8 KOs) 247.8 lbs., fought Robert Hall, Jr. (14-3, 11 KOs),
240.8 lbs., in an eight-round bout. Cleveland, Ohio’s Hines answered
the opening bell by throwing a straight right that narrowly missed
Hall’s head. Hines, standing at 6-foot-6, had the clear height
advantage over his opponent who hails from Johnson City, Tennessee.
Hines landed a big left hook to Hall’s body that forced Hall to
“turtle up” with his guard.
Hall was far more active in letting his hands go in the second
round, but as Hines increased his level of aggressiveness the
fighter transitioned back to his cautious style. Hall was smacked
around by Hines’ big right hands early in the third round. By this
point, the outclassed fighter went into survival mode, moving
cautiously around the ring, seeking to limit the impact of Hines’
shots. In the opening seconds of the fourth inning, Hines landed a
big straight right hand to the head of Hall that caused the fighter
to backpedal away from his taller opponent. During this round, the
pace of the fight slowed considerably with both big men showing
fatigue from the fisticuffs.
Hall and Hines exchanged big shots early in the fifth round, before
both fighters, now visibly tired, transitioned to a more cautious
game plan. Hines continued to control the scoring in the sixth
round, by landing quality shots to his opponent’s head and body.
Early in the seventh round, Hines landed a crushing left hook to
Hall’s abdomen. Hall, who continued to proceed with weariness and
caution, couldn’t avoid a Hines multi-punch combination to the head
and body. Hall, hoping to land the “fight-ending” shot, went on the
attack for the last time during the fight, landing a heavy
left-right hand combo to Hine’s upper body midway through the
round.
In the eighth and final round, Hall’s nose was bloodied and his guard, which he relied heavily upon in the fight, was dropped. Now wobbly on his feet, Hall coasted to the final bell, facing little in the nature of offense from his opponent. All three judges at ringside (Bernard Bruni, Paul Wallace, and Steve Weisfeld) scored the bout 79-73, a clean sweep for Roney Hines who improved his record to 14 wins, no defeats, and one draw. |
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