Boxing prospects shine in Bethlehem

By Chris Mealey, Ringside

Formerly known as Sands,  boxing returned to the newly established  Wind Creek Bethlehem Casino, where another card of intense action was displayed. Over four months ago,  fight fans and those covering the sport had the pleasure of witnessing local talents, traveling warriors and even boxers making their debut at the same ring fought in this September 14th  card. The Weigh-In will breakdown each outcome, from first fight to the last, in what was another extraordinary night for the sport and it's spectators watching from Kings Boxing Promotions Facebook page. 

[Fight 1] KHAINELL WHEELER VS JUAN ZAPATA (Super Middleweight)

Wheeler is one of the boxers who made his pro debut in this arena four years ago, here at his hometown in Bethlehem. Wasting no time in his third professional bout, the pressure was dictated early and instantly. In the first round, blinding combinations put Zapata in a difficult spot, with nothing to answer with, forcing the referee to stop the bout under the two minute mark of the first round. Wheeler wins big In the first round to start off the night. Result: Wheeler win via TKO

[Fight 2] JOSE LOPEZ VS JERROD MINER (Bantamweight) ***

Jose Lopez defeated Jerrod Miner via unanimous decision in a four round bantamweight contest. 

[Fight 3] BRANDON MULLINS VS BRENT OREN (Middleweight)

Undefeated Mullins from Newark, Delaware opened up the fight with crisp outside fighting, finding much success with the jab early on.  Oren found his place on the back foot for brief moments after the first round, yet the thudding, quick and sudden body shots from Mullins would keep the second round close. On top of the potshots by Mullins, he has done everything with his arsenal  in this bout, winning most the rounds, causing Oren to start off the final round  strong and having his way with the needed power shots. The cool collected Brandon Mullins returned with his own power counterpunches and secured the round and fight,  winning the bout via unanimous decision (judges scored the bout 39-37 across the board).

[Fight 4]  RASHEED JOHNSON VS KASHON HUTCHINSON (Welterweight)

A fight at the 147 lb. weight class may have been the fight of the night, and the only way to describe the intense action from both fighters would be two men in a phone booth. Not the easiest fight for judges to score and after the first round, Johnson was landing accurate counters, potshots, looking really sharp before entering the halfway point of the six round contest. Hutchinson, had a dramatic return in round 4, by placing sensational power shots that left the spectators amazed, considering Johnson stayed on his feet.  The crowd was relatively silent when listening to the score cards and Kashon Hutchinson fought hard to win a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the bout 58-56.

[Fight 5] MARTINO JULES VS MICHAEL STOUTE (Featherweight)

The ABO champion, undefeated Martino Jules, is another fighter who is no stranger to this venue in Bethlehem.  Always bringing the entourage of fellow Allentown fans, as well as  pleasing his viewers each time his steps into the ring, the first two rounds were slow paced, with slick generalship by Jules as Stoute continually chased and made solid effort to land his offense. The high caliber and diverse arsenal in Jules would be too much in the third round, as a blinding jab-straight combination floored Stoute, who was unable to get up for the count. This KO victory for Martino Jules was another one to remember and arguably the best performance of the night next to this following bout.

[Fight 6] JONATHAN TORRES VS KAYLIN WAITES (bantamweight)

The shortest fight of the night and also the most explosive finish. If there was a victory to match the Martino Jules bout, it would be the devastating first round KO from the hometown favorite, Torres. The fight started with Torres landing the hardest counters ever, which caused a knockdown over Waites (that was ruled a slip). Torres must have known he had his opponent hurt, because shortly after, he landed a ferocious combination to drop Waites again, which needed no count by the official in the ring. Superb first round KO victory for Torres as he elevates to 6-0.

[Fight 7] NICOLAS  HERNANDEZ  VS TERRANCE WILLIAMS (Super Welterweights)

Heart, guts, skills and basically a little bit of everything in this spectacular matchup. The only fight to match and maybe even top the Johnson- Hutchinson bout. Hernandez came out the first round with a high-guard, pursuing pressure and aiming to the gut downstairs with significant power. The energy in and out the ring was constantly changing, as the second round was close, but following on - the crowd witnessed Williams knocked down three different times, JUST to see him get back up and box at a phenomenal pace, not just surviving the rounds, but trying to win them back. The last round was Williams' best, as he closed in with his strongest combinations that appeared to have Nico hurt.  At the final bell, both fighters received huge applause and it was Nicolas Hernandez who earned the unanimous decision victory (76-74, 77-73 *twice).

[Fight 8] ERIK SPRING VS COURTNEY PENNINGTON (Super Welterweight)

Spring participated in what was considered 'fight of the night' back in May and found himself in a stern match where finding rhythm was not easy.  Pennington started off busy and full of pressure after the opening bell, continuously landing over hands to the body and up top. Spring showed incredible grit here, never going down all the way to end.  Result: Courtney wins via unanimous decision.

[Main Event] MYKAL FOX VS EUDY BERNARDO (Jr Welterweight)

It's no surprise that the main event of the evening would have it's work cut out in terms of matching all the bouts before hand. Particularly not a concerning issue for Mykal Fox, who would display pure dominance from round one all the way to round ten. The key to beating Bernardo was working off the jab, constantly working on the outside.  Result: Fox wins via unanimous decision (100-90 on all cards).

That wraps up yet another successful and beyond entertaining night of boxing.  Kings Promotions continues to dish out quality matches that The Weigh-In Team always looks forward to cover.

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Judgement Day in Bethlehem

By Chris Mealey

Describing the atmosphere and overall vibe within The Sands Casino boxing event would be similar to the weather surrounding the venue that night. A consistent display of thunder and lightning. The Weigh-In, along with the numerous fans in attendance were thrilled from start to finish. This is a recap of "Judgement Day" and each fight will be given a brief summary, starting from the first bout 

[Fight 1] Radzhab Butaev vs Silverio Ortiz 

This 6-round contest between welterweights started off with outside fighting, as Butaev established his jab early. Possibly the most fouls/warnings called of the night, followed by one rabbit punch that costed Butaev one point on the cards. Despite the deduction and some successful right hands by Ortiz, Butaev continued to win rounds through back peddling and fighting off the back foot, earning a unanimous decision (judges scored 59-54 and 58-55 on two cards).

[Fight 2] Khainell Wheeler vs George Sheppard 

"Thunder and Lightning" was the vibe and that electrifying energy was brought on early through Wheeler's pro debut. From controlling the ring with great generalship and  huge body shots that forced Sheppard into putting the ear muffs on. The fight ended up getting stopped early at 2:47 into the first round and with that a big debut for Wheeler.

[Fight 3]  Janelson Bocachica  vs Garbor Gorbics 

Boacachica engaged by keeping Gorbics on the ropes, landing combinations. A comfortable first round would set the tempo for even more dominance by Boacachica, landing at will round after round, though Gorbics showed much heart and took every punch well. The punishment by the end of round three would be too much for Gorbics' cornermen, as they would stop the contest before opening the next round.

[Fight 4] Yeuri Andujar  vs. Edgar Cortes

There's always at least one fight that is difficult to score due to close rounds by two aggressive boxers. The fight between Adujar and Cortes would be the first bout of the night to fit that category.  Round number 1 bounced between outside boxing and then with combination punching by both men, suddenly Andujar went down from a a mix of bad footing and a punch landing, hence a legit knockdown getting scored. Yeuri charged in round 2, scored a big right to put Cortes down, making up for the last round. Cortes looked for the lefts and was smothered at times, then Cortes found the left to get a knockdown of his own. This was arguably fight of the night and from round 3 onward, there was success in both boxers that led to a majority decision. One judge scored it a draw at  56-56 and  two had scored 57-56 declaring Yeuri Andujar the winner.

[Fight 5] Ricky Nuno vs. Rasheed Johnson 

Tactical first round and start to this fight. Both boxers felt the jab out and then changed tempo in round 2 after Johnson landed the first big right hand.  Johnson found rhythm from round 3 onward, jabbing the nose causing Nuno to bleed, occasionally dropping his hands. Johnson charged in round 5, landing BIG shots as the blood poured from Nuno's nose got worse. Huge heart shown by Nuno, but the fight would be stopped before the next round - earning Rasheed Johnson a victory

[Fight 6] (ABO championship bout) Martino Jules vs. Danny Flores 

Possibly the 'boxing clinic" of the night. The intellect and overall ring IQ the flashy Martino Jules was astonishing to say the least. Round 1 can actually describe the majority of the fight by Jules, as the southpaw landed significant left hands at will, utilized eye friendly footwork and defense, and simply dominated. Jules must really love this sport, because the boxer was full of smiles even during the few times he was hit flush.  A clear unanimous decision was earned for Jules, as all three judges scored the fight 60-54.

[Fight 7] Fight 7 Jonathan Torres vs. Jerrod Miner

Round 1, the boxers were feeling their jabs out. Good counters by Miner at the start of the bout, Torres answered back each time with strong combos. This was the tempo set for the rest of the fight, more counters by Miner, but slightly more pressure and effective punching by Torres. Miner appeared desperate for a knockout in the final round, as he charged in throwing everything he had forcing Torres to use his defense and footwork. A strong finish by Torres would lead him to a unanimous decision victory, earning scores of 39-37 and 40-36 by two judges.

[Fight 8] Erik Spring vs. Nicholas Hernandez 

This writer emphasized "fight of the night" with a previous bout, but as the co-main event, the clash between these skilled jr. middleweights proved to have the most energy as well as entertainment. Both southpaws measured their jabs from the opening bell with Spring landing combos, Hernandez pressured well, but also fought effectively on the outside. Body work by both boxers turned into long exchanges until the end of the first round. The tempo was set from that point on, and the crowd roared for the rest of the fight. When Hernandez, or Spring looked to be struggling, the thunderous chants of "Nikki!" Or "Erik!" appeared to wake up the fighters, seemingly giving them extra stamina and punch output. Each round was similar in that sense and the boxers had spent a lot of time fighting in the pocket, landing stark punches until the final round. The fans around me all had mixed opinions on who won, some even calling it a draw. It would be Spring who acquired the unanimous decision with all judges scoring the contest  77-75.

[Fight 9] Frank De Alba vs. Ruben Dario Lopez

The main event of Judgement Day may not be the highlight for most fans who were in attendance, considering there were hours of intense action prior. A somewhat slower start by the boxers, not wasting any energy and picking their punches carefully, Lopez "wore the ear muffs" as he spent a lot of time trying to block De Alba cutting corners with more aggression. De Alba banging the body, then came up top in what could best be described as the early rounds and overall, his aggression was the highlight of the entire fight. Lopez had some flashy footwork in the final rounds, but it was questionable as to why he didn't engage more to win rounds. It was a decisive performance by De Alba and three judges scored the fight 80-70, a clear sweep.

Another one in the books, and overall, a great night of boxing presented by Kings Promotions and Titian Boxing Promotions. Kings will have their next event in Philadelphia, at the 2300 Arena on May 10th for another night of action. The Weigh-In is looking forward to more intensive boxing bouts to come and we can only hope they continue to keep up with the potent atmosphere Judgement Day presented at The Sands Casino.

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