King's Promotions Presents Premier Boxing Champions: Mario Barrios vs. Naim Nelson - Tuesday, September 19th (Bethlehem, PA)

Tuesday night's eight bout card from Sands Bethlehem Event Center kicked off with a four round, super lightweight bout between Jeffrey Torres (4-0, 2 KOs) and Latorie Woodberry (1-5-1). Woodberry, fighting out of Roanoke, was knocked down three times over the course of the first round of action by the Team DSG backed fighter, Torres. The first knockdown was the result of a devastating series of left hooks to the body. The second knockdown came after Torres connected on a left hook to the head of Woodberry. The TKO came at the 1:59 mark of the first round, after Torres landed a right hook to Woodberry’s head. Gary Rosato served as the referee for this bout.

Antuanne Russell (2-0, 2 KOs), of the Russell boxing family, came out at the opening bell swinging for the head and body of his veteran, Mexican opponent, Jesus Lule (11-24-1, 2 KOs). Lule took a great deal of damage from the Russell hooks and upper cuts that landed with precision and power to his head and body. The super lightweight bout was stopped by referee, Benjy Esteves Jr., at the 2:38 mark of the first round of a scheduled four round contest. 

Bantamweight prospect, Antonio Russell (9-0, 6 KOs), younger brother of Gary Russell Jr. and older brother of Antuanne, squared off against Mexico’s Christian Renteria (7-6, 6 KOs) in a six round contest. Russell effectively worked the body of Renteria in the first round, but the heavier fighter (120.2 lbs.) managed to survive the round. Russell controlled the second round by landing a series of powerful combos that appeared to hurt Renteria. Despite the damage he took during the round, the exhausted, Renteria fought valiantly to the end of round bell. Renteria came out swinging in the third round, landing several hooks to Russell’s body and head, but Russell again took control of the round. Russell preserved his undefeated record by landing a right hand to Renteria’s chin. Renteria took a knee and appeared dazed prior to referee, Benjy Estevez Jr. waiving off the fight at 1:26 of the third round. 

Scranton’s Ryan Wilczak (5-0, 3 KOs) fought Allentown’s Devin McMaster (1-3) in a scheduled four round, junior middleweight contest that only lasted 95 seconds. McMaster was first knocked down by a right hook to the head. Despite still appearing dazed, McMaster pulled himself off of the canvas to continue fighting. Wilczak continued his onslaught and dropped McMaster with a left hook to the head at the 1:35 mark of the first round. McMaster who was sprawled out on the canvas, was helped to his feet following the knockout defeat. 

The fourth fight featured featherweights, Juan Sanchez (3-0, 1 KO) of Bethlehem, PA and Gorwar Karyah (1-1, 1 KO) of Philadelphia. In the opening round, Sanchez knocked Karyah down with a left hook to the head. Karyah recovered to finish the round, which was scored in favor of Sanchez. The final round was highlighted by two brutal exchanges at the beginning and end of the round in the red corner. Two of the judges scored the bout 40-37, with one judge scoring it 39-36, all in favor of Sanchez. 

The televised portion of the card on FS1 began with a light heavyweight contest between Earl Newman (10-0-1, 7 KOs) and Paul Parker (8-2-1, 4 KOs). This fight was a great matchup to open up the national broadcast because it was highly competitive, with both fighters landing big shots throughout the eight round bout. There were fireworks in the third round when both fighters exchanged shots in the middle of the ring. Parker was the aggressor in the fourth round, and appeared to hurt Newman with a big overhand right to the head. The round ended after a series of big punches by each fighter. The final four rounds were very close, and the judge’s scorecards reflected this fact. The judges scored the bout, 79-73 for Newman, 77-75 for Parker, and a 76-76 draw, with the fight ending in a split decision draw.

Lightweights, Thomas Velasquez (9-0-1, 5 KOs) and Tyrome Jones (4-2-1, 1 KO) fought in the second televised bout of the evening. From the opening bell, the fight was far more competitive than most boxing analysts may have thought it would be. Velasquez, a Philadelphia fighter, put on display his speed and endurance. Velasquez appeared to have problems with Jones’ style on several occasions throughout the contest. Jones controlled the final round of the contest by landing big shots to the chin and body of Velasquez. Both Jones and Velasquez captured a judge’s scorecard with a score of 59-55, with one judge scoring the bout a 57-57 draw. The fight ended in a split decision draw.

The main event featured super lightweights, Mario Barrios (20-0, 12 KOs) and Naim Nelson (13-4, 1 KO). Philadelphia’s Nelson controlled the first two rounds of the contest, before injuring his left shoulder in the third round. The ringside physician checked Nelson twice during the third and fourth rounds to ensure that he was able to continue. Despite fighting with one good arm from the third round on, Nelson demonstrated solid defense and fought valiantly until the fight was halted by the ringside physician at the 1:41 mark of the seventh round of a scheduled ten round fight. The fight was called off after San Antonio's Barrios hit Nelson on his left, injured shoulder. Gary Rosato served as the referee for the main event on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC).

MW

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