2019 Philadelphia Boxing Round Up

By Frank Bartolini

The tremendous year of boxing in the “City of Brotherly Love” came to an end on Friday December 6^th at The 2300 Arena.  Washington DC native, junior welterweight, Mykel Fox had his hand raised after winning a ten round unanimous decision over John Arellano of Texas signaling the end of a fabulous year of pro prizefighting. Fittingly the area’s most prolific promoter Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotions delivered the action.

Kauffman once again was the most prolific promoter locally. In October, Kauffman in conjunction with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), brought world class talent to the area showcasing Robert Easter Jr.’s win over Adrian Granados, and top ranked junior middleweight Erickson Lubin in his hometown Reading, PA. Without Kauffman promoting close to a dozen shows in and around the Delaware River Valley, the area’s fight scene would hardly survive, yet alone thrive.

The excitement all started back in February when Michelle Rosado’s Raging Babe kicked the year off promoting her first event in Philly at the 2300 Arena. A solid fight card became mythological when flaming hot prospect, Christian Carto was poleaxed and laid out on the canvas by Mexican tumbler Victor Ruiz in round 2. Leaving the venue on a stretcher, Carto’s future was in doubt, meanwhile Rosado cemented her credentials as a promoter within the municipality.

“A night at the opera” - It appeared that Hard Hitting Promotions was going to a have a phenomenal year when close to 3,500 spectators packed into the newly refurbished Metropolitan Opera House (The Met) on North Broad Street. That night a couple of hometown undefeated participants of Puerto Rican extraction squared off in the main event for more than a victory. On the line for combatants Steven Ortiz and Jeremy Cuevas was neighbor and ethnic bragging rights. Ortiz won easily over eight rounds. Hard Hitting returned to “The Met” a few more times but nothing compared to the virgin experience in the opera house.

TOP RANK BOXING! Bob Arum is committed to bringing world renowned talent to Philadelphia. Checking the temperature of the water, Arum dipped his toe in last march when he promoted Oleksandr Gvozdyk’s successful WBC Light Heavyweight title defense against Doudou Ngumbu. Also seeing action that night, Philly native “the New” Ray Robinson drew with highly rank and touted Lithuanian Egidijus Kavaliauskas. Many of those ringside believed Robinson deserved the nod. Other spectators felt if Robinson turned it up just a notch he would have clearly been victorious. Egidijus went on to give a good account of himself in his next fight, before getting kayoed in nine rounds versus WBO Welterweight King Terence Crawford in December at Madison Square Garden.

The show must go on - A freak accident had Carl Frampton pulling out of his fight at the Liacouras Center in August, less than two weeks beforehand. No one would blame Top Rank for cutting their losses and canceling the festivities altogether. Instead, former junior lightweight champ Jason Sosa was bumped up to main event status and pitted against unheralded Haskell Lydell Rhodes. Sosa kayoed Rhodes in seven. With no time to promote the change in the main event, the show drew poorly.  A few months later, Sosa went on to unsuccessfully challenge WBC Super Featherweight Champion Miguel Berchelt, getting finished off in four rounds.

Now the coup de grace occurred when Top Rank chose to come back to the Liacouras Center to pit two undefeated knockout artists in a light heavyweight unification match between WBC King Oleksandr Gvozdyk and IBF Monarch Artur Beterbiev. This pairing would have sold out major arenas in Las Vegas, Manhattan or Chicago. By choosing Philadelphia, Top Rank made a statement that it plans on being a major part of this city’s professional pugilism. Beterbiev stopped Gvozdyk in the tenth. Quality over quantity is why Top Rank should be considered for The Briscoe Award Promoter of the Year.

Once again the British invaded Philadelphia. Contrary to the American Revolution, this time the City of Brotherly Love welcomed the red coats with open rams as Matchroom USA promoted Tevin Farmer’s homecoming at the Liacouras Center, in what turned out to be the best night of fights for 2019. Jono Carroll of Ireland put forth a spirited and gallant effort in trying to wrest the crown from IBF Super Featherweight king Farmer.  The undercard showcased two potential Briscoe Award Fights of the Year. Philly resident Gabriel Rosado’s late round come back against Polish Maciej Sulecki was epic. Rosado lost a ten round unanimous decision but showed he is still a threat in the middleweight division. Unbelievable, unless you were in the arena early to witness Hank Lundy vs. Avery Sparrow, you missed one of the best pairings of two rival Philly boxers in a long time. DAZN cameras had not started rolling when this fight was occurring. Close to 1,500 of Katie Taylor’s faithful fans flew into Philly from the Emerald Isle to see her easily defend her undisputed lightweight laurels.

I went down to DC metro area to see Philly fighters showcase impressive skills in May where the scraps took place on the abandoned campus of George Mason University. Classes ended the day prior to Julian Williams shocking upset of Jarred Hurd. Not only did Williams ruin Hurd’s homecoming, he walked away with his IBF and WBA Super Welterweights belts. West Philly had proud moments when Stephen Fulton put on a flawless performance on the undercard.

Happy New Year! Keep Punching!

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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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Mykal Fox: Wise Beyond His Years

By Luis A. Cortes III

To say that world ranked junior welterweight Mykal Fox (20-1) (5 KO’s) heads into his main event fight on Saturday night still needing to prove that he belongs as a ranked challenger, or that he still needs to prove that he needs to get his confidence back after a controversial loss back in February on ShoBox against Shohjahon Ergashev, means that one would simply be using boxing clichés to explain just where the twenty-three-year-old talent from Maryland currently is with his career.  It also means that said person doesn’t really understand the mental makeup of the fighter known as the “Professor.”

It’s truly a moniker that fits Fox.  Fox seems to have the ability that not many young fighters who are trying to prove that they belong fighting the elite in the sport tend to have, the ability to understand just where his career is, what he needs to do to enhance his current situation, and the necessity to remain a professional throughout the entire process.  Often in so many young careers on the rise, a good-looking young challenger is willing to do what is needed of them to excel.  However, many times they tend to neglect one of the previously mentioned three phases of a young career.

“I guess it’s part of my personality.  You see guys like Tony Harrison winning a world championship, someone like Shawn Porter being a two-time world champion after two losses.  Julian Williams shocked everybody, and he came back from a devastating knockout loss to become a unified world champion.  So, after my loss we needed to build ourselves back up to the next big opportunity,” stated Fox.  “That’s what we are doing right now, with fights like this.  Staying active and fighting for the next opportunity.”

Fighting for his next opportunity is also a type of mentality that tends to elude the mental makeup of many young fighters in the modern boxing landscape.  Unfortunately, many young fighters notice what elite fighters can do with their careers to capitalize financially, but fail to realize that those elite fighters are in a position with their careers to make those type of decisions.  Fox takes nothing for granted with his career.  Including one of the most precious things that financial success can’t afford… More time. 

“Being six foot four and a southpaw.  Add to the fact that I can fight on the inside and I don’t just fold like a lawn chair.  Not too many fighters want to step up and fight me.  But I’m not going to wait outside of the ring.  I’m not going to sit around waiting for the big opportunity.  When that opportunity comes, I want to be more than ready for it, by being well prepared,” said Fox. 

What is beneficial for Fox is the fact that he fights under the Kings Promotions’ banner, which is ran by Marshall Kauffman.  Kauffman is one of the promoters in the northeast part of the country that constantly puts out a healthy schedule of fight cards.  He has also fostered great relationships with other high-level promoters to put his fighters in the right positions to enhance their careers.  This is key for a fighter like Fox as he tries to navigate the waters of being a fringe contender, yet still having the understanding that national exposure through television dates by fighting better competition is important to his overall success.  “That’s what I love about Mykal and his father.  They want to fight better opposition because they know that they are going to get better from it.  They ask me to get them better opponents after most fights,” stated Kauffman.

With just five knockout wins thus far, Fox is aware that some fans and insiders may think his style is effective in getting victories, but not in terms of excitement.  Fox takes another out look on the way he fights.  “I feel like my body is still developing, I’ll be twenty-four in October.  I’ll be getting my man strength soon.  But even when that happens, I don’t want to be one of those fighters that start always looking for the knockout.  The plan is to let the skills lead the way.  Another thing [regarding his lack of knockouts] is the level of opposition that I’ve fought.  The guys that I’ve fought don’t just fold over,” responded Fox. 

One look at his record and anyone can see that after just his first year as a professional, the level of opposition rose quickly.  His opponents may not have had the best records, but they were live bodies that came to win against Fox.  Unlike other young fighters, Fox admits that he is also a fan of the sport and doesn’t only view it as his profession.  “I make it my business to know what is going on in the division above me, my division, and the one below me.  I like to keep up with what is going on.  If I see a fighter that I never heard of in any of those divisions, I’ll look him up and learn his background because you never know.  He could be an opponent one day.”

Mykal Fox, along with his father Troy Fox, have created a solid foundation for him to achieve success.  Mentally, he shows the understanding of what it takes inside of the ring having been in tough fights against some tough opposition.  Padding Fox’s record to look good for networks so he can get television exposure is not on Team Fox’s agenda.  Working hard, staying active, remaining focused, and above all, having the patience to trust in fight plans and preparation will help Fox gain and ultimately become successful at the elite level when the opportunities presents itself is what is on Team Fox’s wise agenda.   

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King's Promotions Presents Live Professional Boxing - Tuesday, February 13th (Bethlehem, PA)

Marshall Kauffman's King's Promotions returned to the Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania last night with an eight fight card. The highlight of the evening for many boxing fans in attendance was an appearance by former boxing adversaries turned friends, Larry Holmes and Gerry Cooney. The two men, along with Reading, Pennsylvania heavyweight, Travis Kauffman, were called into the ring by announcer Alex Barbosa during the show's brief intermission.

The main event of the evening featured an eight round, welterweight bout between Maryland's Mykal Fox (16-0, 4 KOs) and the Dominican Republic's Ricardo Garcia (14-2, 9 KOs). The opening round set the tone for the battle of styles in the contest. Garcia looking to brawl with the lengthy and quick, Fox, landed several big shot on his opponent. Fox effectively moved around the ring avoiding Garcia's power shots, and scored points on clean punches that lacked power. Garcia's left eye began to swell up in the third round, and did not improve over the course of the remaining rounds. Fox took advantage of this impairment to Garcia's vision by landing several punches to the left side of his head. Garcia clearly frustrated with the swelling, went on the attack in the final seconds of the third round. The onslaught ended with the sound of the bell. In the fifth round, Garcia pinned Fox up against the ropes, and landed a series of punches, including a big right hook to the head, that caught Fox's attention. Fox being the more crafty fighter, managed to escape his opponent, and avoid a potential knockdown. In the seventh round, Fox again took advantage of Garcia's swollen left eye by hitting him with a big right hook to the head on his "blind side". This punch sent Garcia to the canvas. Despite recovering from the knockdown, the wind had clearly been taken out of Garcia's sails by this point. The judges ringside scored the bout 77-74 and 78-73 twice, for the winner by unanimous decision, Mykal Fox.

The co-feature bout of the evening featured former world champion, Kermit Cintron (39-6-3, 30 KOs), and Marquis Taylor (8-1). From the opening bell, this super welterweight fight had all the makings of what could be considered a dirty fight. Houston's Taylor looking to even the field against the veteran Cintron landed a number of rabbit punches on the former IBF World Welterweight Champion. Referee Eric Dali warned Taylor once about the rabbit punches in the first round, but Taylor continued to hit Cintron in the back of the head after the one and only warning. Taylor hit Cintron with a low blow in the second round that briefly stopped the action. By the third round, Cintron clearly frustrated by the lack of warnings for illegal blows, was wrapped up with Houston near the center of the ring. Before the referee could break the two men up, Taylor hit Cintron above the right eye with what was later determined to be an accidental headbutt. The action ended as a no contest at the 35 second mark of the third round, of a scheduled eight round contest.

Heavyweights, Colby Madison (6-0-1, 4 KOs) and Dante Selby (2-4-1) fought in a six round bout. Madison landed the one and only punch in the first round on his southpaw opponent from Philadelphia. The product of Owings Mills, Maryland looked to pick up the pace in the fight by going on the offensive at the beginning of the second round when he threw a series of wild punches that didn't find their mark. The remainder of the bout was uneventful with the two big men hanging all over one another until the closing bell rang. The judges scored the bout 60-54 and 59-55 twice, in favor of Colby Madison.

The matchmaker(s) for the featherweight battle between Malik Lofton (1-1, 1 KO) Martino Jules (3-0) should be commended. This fight was extremely close and competitive from the opening round until the bell marking the end of the fourth round rang. In the first round, both fighters exchanged big shots. Jules scored a knockdown on Lofton in the second round when he connected on a straight left to his opponent's head. Lofton rose from the canvas, and landed a straight left to Jules' face that busted open his nose. The two men continued to slug it out as blood ran down Jules' face. The third round was highlighted by hard punches and exchanges. Both men were looking for the big knockout during this round. In the fourth and final round, Lofton hit Jules with a big right hand to the face, that appeared to hurt his opponent. Unfortunately for Lofton, he was not able to capitalize on this attack. The judges scored the bout 39-38 and 38-37 twice, in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Martino Jules.

Florida's Sergio Aguilar (2-7, 2 KOs) faced the hometown fan favorite, Juan Sanchez (5-0, 2 KOs) in a four round, featherweight contest. To the delight of the crowd, Sanchez went to work early on his opponent. In the first round, he scored a knockdown with a left-right combo to Aguilar's head. He followed this knockdown up with a series of unopposed hard left hooks to Aguilar's body as the first round ended. In the second round, it appeared that Aguilar slipped on the canvas, however, referee Gary Rosato ruled it a knockdown. To quiet any doubters in the audience and reassure his opponent of his power, Sanchez sent Aguilar to the canvas with a multi-punch combo later in the second round. Aguilar pulled himself up from the canvas only to be taunted by Sanchez, who danced around the hurt fighter with his hands behind his back. The third round began with a hard exchange between the two fighters in a neutral corner. Aguilar demonstrated his resilience in this round by refusing to be knocked down again. Sanchez threw everything at Aguilar but the kitchen sink in the fourth round. His aggression paid off at the 2:55 mark of the fourth and final round when Sanchez was able to knockout Aguilar with a vicious multi-punch combo.

Asbury Park, New Jersey's Darryl Bunting (3-3-2, 1 KO) stepped into the ring against tough
super middleweight, Blake Mansfield (6-1-1, 4 KOs), hoping to keep his career record above .500. Unfortunately for the Jersey Shore fighter, Blake Mansfield had other plans for him. In the opening round, Bunting was immediately put on the defensive. A barrage of punches late in the round sent Bunting stumbling into his corner. To make matters worse, as the second round began, a cut appeared next to Bunting's right eye. Mansfield pounded Bunting with brutal hooks to the head throughout the second round. Bunting attempted to rally late in the second round, and landed a series of big hooks to Mansfield's body. Mansfield returned to the role of aggressor in the third round, when he hurt Bunting with a right upper cut to the jaw. Bunting managed to hold his own for a bulk of the fourth round, until Mansfield connected on a right hand to his jaw late in the round. This punch sent Bunting staggering, dazed into his corner. By this point, Mansfield and his corner smelt blood in the water. He viciously attacked Bunting in the opening seconds of the round with a series of different punches to the head and body. Referee Eric Dali saw enough at the 36 second mark of the fifth round of a scheduled six round fight.

New York's Michael Coffie (2-0, 1 KO) stepped into the blue corner last night with a clear size advantage over Jersey City's Nicoy Clarke (0-1). In the first round of the heavyweight contest, Coffie landed a series of big hooks and upper cuts that kept his opponent covered up. Towards the end of the round, Clarke caught the confident Coffie with an overhand left to the head that appeared to hurt the big man. As the second round kicked off, Coffie crushed Clarke with upper cuts to the head and body. This caused Clarke, who was making his pro debut, to fight extra cautious in fear of his opponent's power. By the end of the second round, blood was streaming out of Clarke's nose. Clarke attempted to pick up some momentum in the third round only to run into Coffie upper cuts that pushed the heavyweight back. As the third round progressed, Clarke tried to taunt Coffie. These taunts were punished with crushing hooks. In the fourth and final round, Clarke's toughness was proven as he absorbed vicious Coffie shots to the head and body. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Michael Coffie.

The opening bout of the evening featured a four round, light heavyweight match between Kendall Cannida (1-0) and Leroy Jones (2-2, 2 KOs). Cannida, who was making his professional debut, let his hands go in the first round. He hit Jones with several big straight left hands in the opening frame. He hurt Jones in the second round with a multi-punch combo to the head and body. In the fourth round, it was evident that Cannida was looking for the knockout. He unloaded a series of punches on Jones in the opening minute of the round, and ended the bout swinging wildly at his opponent. All three ringside judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Kendall Cannida.

MW

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King's Promotions Presents Live Professional Boxing at the Sands Bethlehem Events Center

King's Promotions returns to the Sands Bethlehem Event Center on Tuesday, February 13th. This nine fight card is co-headlined by a super lightweight bout between Mykal Fox (15-0, 4 KOs) and Ricardo Garcia (14-1, 9 KOs), as well as a welterweight contest between Kermit Cintron (39-6-3, 30 KOs) and Marquis Taylor (8-1).

Mykal Fox, a southpaw fighter, most recently captured the vacant Universal Boxing Federation (UBF) All America Welterweight Title with a unanimous decision victory over Manuel Alejandro Reyes on November 21st at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center. His opponent, Ricardo Garcia, suffered the first loss of his career on the same card in November, a majority decision defeat to Victor Vazquez.

Former world champion, Kermit Cintron, looks to get back to his winning ways tomorrow night against Houston's Marquis Taylor. Cintron is coming off of a knockout defeat to Philadelphia's Tyrone Brunson last June, a fight that was voted the 2017 Philly Fight of the Year by the Briscoe Awards. Taylor is coming off of five straight victories since losing by unanimous decision to the talented southpaw, lightweight, Ladarius Miller, in 2015.

The card also features the following bouts:

Joe Hanks (22-2, 14 KOs) vs. Nick Guivas (14-9-2, 9 KOs) - eight rounds, heavyweights

Colby Madison (5-0-1, 4 KOs) vs. Dante Selby (2-3-1) - six rounds, heavyweights

Blake Mansfield (5-1-1, 3 KOs) vs. Darryl Bunting (3-2-2, 1 KO) - six rounds, middleweights

Chaise Nelson (6-1, 3 KOs) vs. Vincent Jennings (5-4-1, ) - six rounds, featherweights

Michael Polite Coffie (1-0, 1 KO) vs. Nicoy Clarke (DEBUT) - four rounds, heavyweights

Martino Jules (2-0) vs. Malik Loften (1-0, 1 KO) - four rounds, featherweights

Juan Sanchez (4-0, 1 KO) vs. Sergio Aguilar (2-6, 2 KOs) - four rounds, featherweights

***The bout scheduled between Frank DeAlba (22-2-2, 9 KOs) and Carlos Padilla (16-6-1, 10 KOs) was cancelled because DeAlba suffered a cut in training.

Tickets for this night of live boxing can be purchased on the Sands Bethlehem Event Center website.

MW

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King's Promotions Presents Live Boxing Featuring Mykal Fox vs. vs. Manuel Reyes - Tuesday, November 21st (Bethlehem, PA)

The opening bout of the evening featured featherweights, Martino Jules (2-0) and Weusi Johnson (2-7). Johnson, a native of Wilmington, DE, was the aggressor throughout the first two rounds of action. Both men landed a series of good exchanges to open up the third. The fourth round was no different with both men fighting fiercely until the final bell rang. The judges' scorecards reflected the fact that this was an evenly matched and competitive bout. Allentown's Jules won a hard fought, four round, majority decision with one card scored a 38-38 draw, and two cards scored in favor of Jules, 40-36 and 39-37.

The second bout of the evening was between Allentown's Hector Bayanilla (2-0-1, 1 KO) and San Antonio's Jose Elizondo (2-4-1) in a four round bout. Bayanilla controlled the second round, in which he knocked down Elizondo with a double right hand to the head and body. Elizondo bounced back from the knock down to fight valiantly throughout the remainder of the contest. He reflected his toughness when he stayed on his feet in the third round after his opponent pushed him back with a series of hard left and right hooks to the body and head. The judges all scored the fight in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Hector Bayanilla (40-35, 39-36, and 39-36).

Heavyweights, Michael Coffie (1-0, 1 KO) and Ralph Alexander (0-2) fought in the third bout, a four round contest. The larger Coffie stepped into the ring looking to make a big statement in his professional debut. Coffie overwhelmed his opponent and the knockout came at 1:01 mark of the first round when Coffie connected with what appeared to be a left hook-right hand combo to the head of Alexander. Former New York State Athletic Commissioner, Randy Gordon, who appeared on an October 16, 2016 episode of our podcast, serves as Coffie's manager.

Light flyweights, Harold Lopez (2-0-1, 1 KO) Jerrod Miner (1-1) fought in an evenly matched and competitive four round fight. The two gladiators fought an action packed four round contest that proved to be a real crowd-pleaser. Lopez, the hometown fighter, walked away the winner via unanimous decision over the Philadelphian. One judge scored the bout 40-36, with the other two scoring the match 39-37.

The fifth bout of the evening featured Juan Sanchez (4-0, 1 KO) vs. James Early (2-2) in a four round featherweight contest. This fight was a showcase of wild punches and fatigue. Despite appearing to be fatigued at various points throughout the match, Sanchez kept dancing and maintained a slight advantage on the judges' scorecards. Sanchez won the bout by unanimous decision, winning all three judges' scorecards by a score of 39-37.

Top Rank signed fighter, Joseph Adorno (5-0, 5 KOs) fought in the evening's marquee fight, at least from the fan's perspective. His opponent in this super featherweight match was Corben Page (5-16, 1 KO) of Oregon. Adorno, the product of nearby Allentown, outclassed his veteran opponent from the opening bell. Adorno spent the first round of the four round contest feeling out his opponent, and landing the more effective punches. The second round was a different story, when Adorno put his power on display. Page was knocked down early in the round via an Adorno right hand to the head. As the round approached its end, Adorno connected on a series of left and right hooks to the body and head that left his opponent defenseless in the blue corner. Referee Gary Rosato called an end to the action at the 2:58 mark of the second round. Adorno, the winner by TKO, won his fifth straight fight by knockout.

The evening's co-main event featured an eight round, lightweight battle between Victor Vazquez (9-3, 3 KOs) and Ricardo Garcia (14-1, 9 KOs). Garcia hit Vazquez with a right hook that busted open his nose in the first round. Despite having blood running down his face, Vazquez ended the round with a vicious combo that pinned Garcia up against the red corner ropes. Garcia was knocked down in the third round, with a Vazquez right hand to the head. Vazquez appeared to score a second knockdown as the bell marking the end of the fourth round rang, but the referee ruled it a slip. In the sixth round, the referee appeared to miss another knockdown, after Vazquez connected on a right hook that sent Garcia to the canvas. This was also ruled a slip. In the eighth and final round, Vazquez sent Garcia down to one knee with a hard right hand to the upper body. Garcia recovered from the knockdown, to fight valiantly through the round. Vazquez, hungry for a knockout, pushed Garcia into the ropes near the red corner late in the eighth round, but was unable to knockout the tough fighter from the Dominican Republic. The judges saw the contest 75-75, 77-72, and 77-72. The latter two scores were in favor of the winner by majority decision, Yonkers' Victor Vazquez.

Fans were one fight away from having an eight fight card full of action... That's when the main event featuring Mykal Fox (15-0, 4 KOs) vs. Manuel Reyes (11-4-1, 5 KOs) happened. Fox, the taller fighter, clearly landed more punches over the course of the bout, but for the most part, these punches appeared to have little power behind them. Much of the main event was filled with the two fighters feeling one another out. The judges scored the bout 78-74, 80-72, and 79-73, all in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Mykal Fox.

*The scheduled super featherweight main event between Frank De Alba (22-2-2, 9 KOs) and Ivan Najera (17-3, 8 KOs) was cancelled after Najera weighed-in 15 pounds overweight.

MW

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King's Promotions Returns to the 2300 Arena in Philly on 9/29

King's Promotions returns to the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on Friday, September 29th. The card features a number of competitive match ups that are highlighted with the presence of several popular Philly area fighters. The main event features welterweights, Mykal Fox (14-0, 4 KOs) and Marlon Aguas (9-1, 6 KOs) in an eight round bout. Fox, a Maryland native, last fought Daniel Sostre (13-14-1, 5 KOs) in Fort Washington where he won by unanimous decision. Aguas' most recent bout was against Ukrainian prospect, Ivan Golub (13-1, 11 KOs), who defeated the Ecuadorian by technical knockout. The co-feature is a ten round, super middleweight bout between Junior Castillo (14-1, 10 KOs) of the Dominican Republic and Gabriel Pham (9-1, 4 KOs) of Atlantic City. Castillo is coming off of a victory over Elvin Ayala (29-9-1, 13 KOs) for the vacant World Boxing Foundation World Middleweight Title. Pham last fought and defeated Edgar Perez (7-22, 3 KOs) in his hometown this past June.

The eleven bout, card also features lightweight, Jerome Conquest (8-2, 1 KO), and bantamweight, Christian Carto (11-0, 11 KOs). Conquest will face Carlos Rosario (7-2, 4 KOs) in an eight round contest. Conquest, a Philly boxing fan favorite, most recently defeated South Korea's Jae Ho Kim (6-5-1, 2 KOs) at the 2300 Arena in June. South Jersey's Carlos Rosario last fought on May 19th at the 2300 Arena, where he was defeated by Joshua Davis (11-1, 5 KOs) via technical knockout. Carto looks for his twelfth straight victory by knockout against Mexico's Alonso Melendez (14-1, 12 KOs), in his first eight round fight of his professional career. Carto is coming off a second round TKO victory over Philip Adyaka (7-10, 4 KOs) on August 11th. His opponent has not fought for just over two years, when he captured a technical knockout victory over Jesus Limones (11-17-1, 4 KOs) in Mexico.

The card also features the following bouts:

Erik Spring vs. Anthony Prescott, six rounds, junior middleweights

Maynard Allison vs. Juan Rodriguez, eight rounds, junior lightweights

David Gonzales vs. Darius Ervin, six rounds, junior welterweights

Robert Irizarry vs. Bryan Perez, four rounds, featherweights

Rasheed Johnson vs. Demetrius Williams, four rounds, welterweights

Amir Shabazz vs. Alan Lawrence, four rounds, light heavyweights

Sultan Zamir Ululu vs. Christopher Burgos, four rounds, junior lightweights

For more information on this exciting night of boxing and to purchase tickets, please visit the 2300 Arena's official website.

MW

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