Bernadin Annihilates Robles on Top of Kings Promotions Card

By Frank Bartolini, Ringside

Marshall Kauffman's Kings Promotions staged a four-bout card on Friday night at South Philly's the 2300 Arena. In the feature bout, James Bernadin of Lancaster annihilated Kenny Robles of Staten Island, to obtain a unanimous 8-round decision. Approximately 750 fans came to watch fights that showed how quality, instead of quantity, will always send the consumer home satisfied.

The main event showcased Bernadin, an undefeated fighter with less than ten fights and Robles, a ticket-selling prospect. Robles, 138.8 lbs., started fast and took it to Bernadin in the first two minutes of round one. However, from that point on, the fight was all Bernadin. A dedicated body puncher, Bernadin, 138.9 lbs., continuously landed blows to the pit of Robles' stomach while mixing in strikes to the sides of his foe's torso.

During the contest, Bernadin was warned for low blows, but this did not deter his commitment to attacking Robles' midsection. Able, to stay in the pocket and deflect punches, a confident Bernadin gained momentum by initiating his offense from that position.

Although Robles was taking a shellacking, he never stopped trying to change the tide of the fight. In the last three sessions, Bernadin began stalking Robles, landing heavy wallops with both hands to the head. Finishing strong, Bernadin stunned and rocked Robles, scoring bombs off his cranium. Floundering all around the ring, Robles did all he could to finish the match on his feet - which he did.

All three judges had Bernadin ahead by a large margin, 79-73 by two judges and 78-74 by the third. Bernadin improved his record to 7-0-1, 4 KOs. At 32 years old, Robles, 9-2, 3 KOs, must decide his next course of action.

After witnessing Bernadin fight several times on the club circuit in Eastern Pennsylvania, this scribe sees a boxer who gets wild at times, but with some fine tuning, can advance in the junior welterweight ranks. Unbeknownst to most of the boxing community, Bernadin is one of the hottest professional prospects in PA.

DiBella Sports and Entertainment-promoted lightweight southpaw, Victor Padilla, Williamstown, NJ, improved to 10-0, 9 KOs by stopping tough journeyman, Jesus Perez of Culiacan, Mexico, at 1:53 of round three. Padilla, 136 lbs., dropped Perez, 136 lbs., in the second and third stanzas. Unable to rise after the second knockdown, referee Eric Dali counted out the defeated battler. Perez' record fell below .500 to 13-14-1, 7 KOs.

Two very skilled welterweights slugged it out in one of the best four-round scraps a fan could ask for. Thanjhae Teasley, Allentown, PA, 144.8 lbs., squeezed out a four-round majority decision over Jetter Burgos, Bronx, NY, 145.8 lbs. Teasley took two of the official scores, 39-37, while the third judge had it 38-38. Burgos, 1-1, lost for the first time. Teasley improved to 3-0, 2 KOs.

Light-hitting Philadelphia native James Martin, 156.5 lbs., nearly pitched a shutout against Lukasz Barabasz, of Mikolow, Poland, to commence the evening. Winning by scores of 39-37 and 40-36 twice, Martin improved to 8-3. He is scheduled to fight again on June 4th in Houston. Barabasz, 157.5 lbs., slid to 1-4, 1 KO. 

King's Promotions Presents Premier Boxing Champions: Miguel Cruz vs. Alex Martin - Tuesday, June 27th (Bethlehem, PA)

The opening bout of the evening featured super flyweights, Dylan Price (3-0, 3 KOs) and Manuel Guerra (1-3-1). Price, the Philadelphia native, made quick work of his Mexican opponent with a right hand to the head in the first round of a scheduled four round contest. Price won his third straight fight by knockout at the 1:09 mark of the first round. 

37-year-old rookie, Rick Pyle (1-0) fought Devin McMaster (1-2) in a four round, junior middleweight bout. Pyle demonstrated solid defense throughout the contest, and McMaster’s punches appeared to the have no effect on his opponent. McMaster came out swinging in the fourth round, but was unable to secure the knockout. All three judges scored the contest 40-36 in favor of Pyle. 

The third bout of the evening featured a battle between two Allentown, Pennsylvania fighters, Jesus Perez (3-0, 1 KO) and Christian Molina (4-3, 3 KOs). Molina was the aggressor early in the first round, but was knocked down in the first round with a big right hand to the head. Perez landed several hard shots on Molina, who left himself open on several occasions after throwing several wild hooks. Molina survived the first round, and came out far more cautious in the second round. Molina fought valiantly throughout the final two rounds but was defeated by unanimous decision, losing on all three judges’ scorecards by a score of 49-37. 

Philadelphia fan-favorite, Avery Sparrow (7-1, 3 KOs) fought the previously undefeated Isaelin Florian (6-1, 3 KOs) of the Dominican Republic in a six round, featherweight contest. Sparrow, who is promoted by Hall of Fame promoter J. Russell Peltz, went for a big hook to the head when Florian tried to touch gloves after the opening bell. Sparrow missed, and the featherweight battle began. Florian was knocked down in the first round by a Sparrow multi-punch combination. Florian recovered to knock Sparrow down later in the round with a right hook, which caught the Philadelphian off-balance and sent him crashing into the ropes. In the second round, Sparrow connected on a right hook to Florian’s head that sent him to the canvas. The final knockdown of the contest came in the fourth round when Sparrow was knocked down by a left hook to the jaw. All three judges scored the bout 58-54 in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Avery Sparrow. 

Local fighter, Ismael Serrano (4-2, 1 KO) stepped into the ring against veteran fighter, Jesus Lule (11-22-1, 2 KOs) in a four round, lightweight bout. Lule fought the bout of his career against the younger man. In the second round, he landed a vicious combo that pinned Serrano up against the ropes. The referee stopped the abuse at the 2:10 mark of the round. Lule stunned the Bethlehem crowd with the upset victory. 

The sixth bout featured Nicholas Hernandez (7-2, 1 KO) and Grayson Blake (6-5-1, 2 KOs) in a six round, junior middleweight bout. The two fighters fought a competitive bout filled with late-round fireworks. The fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds all ended with intense exchanges between the two fighters. Both fighters’ efforts were recognized by the judge’s scorecards. One judge scored the bout a draw, 57-57, while the other two judges scored the bout in favor of Hernandez (59-55 and 58-56). 

Anthony Mercado (10-3, 9 KOs) and Clarence Booth (15-3, 8 KOs) opened up the televised portion of Premier Boxing Champions on FS1. Mercado, an awkward Puerto Rican fighter, effectively used his right hand throughout the first three rounds of action. In the fourth round, Mercado was knocked down by a Booth right hand to the face. Mercado rose to his feet only to fall victim to an onslaught of punches, which left him defenseless against the ropes. The referee called an end to the action at the 1:30 mark of the fourth round. 

The main event featured a rematch between welterweights, Miguel Cruz (16-0, 11 KOs) of San Juan and Alex Martin (13-2, 5 KOs) of Chicago. Both men had previously met in Florida on January 13th of this year. Cruz walked away the winner of the previous match by a close, split decision. Cruz knocked down Martin with a short left to the jaw as the end of the first round neared. The third round was highlighted with a brutal exchange of punches between the fighters at the center of the ring. Martin was knocked down again in the fourth round by a right hook to the head. A low blow sent Cruz to the canvas in the fifth round. Cruz took his time to recover from the punch below the belt, but it appeared to take its toll on the fighter throughout the second half of the contest. The judges scored the ten round contest 96-92, all in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Miguel Cruz. 

Following the conclusion of PBC's broadcast of Miguel Cruz vs. Alex Martin (6/27/2017), Marcus Browne, who was providing commentary for PBC, spoke briefly with me about the evening's main event and his July 15th bout with Sean Monaghan at Nassau Coliseum in New York.

Bonus Round - Boxer Marcus Browne Discusses the 6/27 PBC main event and his Bout with Sean Monaghan on SoundCloud 

Bonus Round - Boxer Marcus Browne Discusses the 6/27 PBC main event and his Bout with Sean Monaghan on iTunes 

MW

Travis Kauffman vs. Amir Mansour - Friday, March 17th (Reading, PA)

On Friday, March 17th, I had the opportunity to cover the Travis Kauffman vs. Amir Mansour boxing card from the Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The card opened with a four round super featherweight bout between local fan favorite Matt Quirindongo (1-0-0) and Wilmington’s Weusi Johnson (2-3-0). Johnson was knocked down in the second round after Quirindongo landed a left hook to the head. Johnson recovered from the knock down and fought until the final bell rang. Quirindongo won his professional debut by unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 40-35, 40-35, and 39-36.

The second bout of the evening featured Pennsylvania super lightweights Jesus Perez (2-0-0, 1 KO) and Titos Matthew Gosalves (0-1-0). Gosalves recovered from a second round knockdown to finish the fight. All three judges scored the four round bout 39-36 in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Jesus Perez.

Reading’s Kashon Hutchinson (2-2-0, 1 KO) and Darius Ervin (4-1-0) of Los Angeles fought in a four round, super lightweight bout. Ervin won the bout via majority decision, with the judgers scoring the contest 38-38, 39-37, and 39-37. 

The fourth bout featured Erik Spring (9-1-2, 1 KO) of Reading and Jeremiah Wiggins (10-6-1, 5 KOs) of Newport News, Virginia. Wiggins was deducted a point in the fourth round after spitting out his mouthpiece multiple times. The six round, junior middleweight bout went to the judges’ scorecards, with all three judges scoring the contest in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Erik Spring. (60-53, 60-53, and 59-54). 

Super featherweights Chris Colbert (6-0-0, 2 KOs) of Brooklyn and Wilfredo Garriga (3-5-1, 2 KOs) of Puerto Rico squared off in a six round contest. All three judges scored the bout 60-54 in favor of Colbert. 

In his return to the ring, cruiserweight Steve Cunningham (29-8-1, 13 KOs) defeated Mexico’s Felipe Romero (19-12-1, 13 KOs) via unanimous decision in a six round bout. All three judges scored the bout 60-54 in favor of the U.S. Navy veteran and former IBF World Cruiserweight champion. 

In the seventh bout, Brooklyn’s Chordale Booker (6-0-0, 3 KOs) squared off against Richmond’s Moshea Aleem (4-1-1, 2 KOs) in a six round, super welterweight contest. The judges scored the bout 58-56, 59-55, and 59-55 in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Chordale Booker. 

 In the eight bout of the evening, former champion Kermit Cintron faced David Grayton in a welterweight bout. In the fifth round of a scheduled ten round bout, Grayton knocked Cintron down with right hand to the head. Cintron recovered from the knock down, only to be knocked down again seconds later from an accidental headbutt. The ringside physician determined that Cintron was unable to continue, and the decision went to the judges’ scorecards. One judge had the bout scored 49-46 in favor of Cintron, while the other two judges had the bout scored a draw, 47-47. The bout ended in a majority draw. 

The main event featured heavyweights Travis Kauffman (31-2-0, 23 KOs) and Amir Mansour (23-2-1, 16 KOs). In the second round, Mansour, the 44 year old, was hurt by Kauffman. Mansour battled back throughout the middle rounds, and landed a right hook in the eighth round that rattled Kauffman. In the twelfth and final round, both fighters viciously exchanged punches.  Although both fighters appeared exhausted, they remained on their feet until the final bell. Veteran judge Steve Weisfeld scored the bout a draw, 114-114. The other two judges scored the bout 117-111 and 115-113, both in favor of Mansour. 

After the main event, there was one more four round bout between middleweights Nick Valliere (5-2-0, 2 KOs) of Forked River, New Jersey and Nicholas Hernandez (6-2-0, 1 KO) of Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Hernandez recovered from a second round knockdown to win the contest by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 38-37.

Following the conclusion of this evening's card, Austin Trout, who was providing commentary for the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) broadcast on Bounce TV, spoke to members of the media. Trout answered questions about the evening's PBC card, opponents, and Gennady Golovkin (GGG) vs. Daniel Jacobs from Madison Square Garden.

Below are links to the Bonus Round interview with Austin "No Doubt" Trout:

Austin Trout Speaks to Members of the Media Following Kauffman vs. Mansour on SoundCloud

Austin Trout Speaks to Members of the Media Following Kauffman vs. Mansour on iTunes

MW