Robinson, Mathie continue winning ways in Philly

By Matt Ward

Kings Promotions returned to Philly's premier fight venue, the 2300 Arena, on Friday night. The card featured eight professional bouts across various weight classes, and genders. The main event of the evening featured a super middleweight contest between Brandon Robinson (14-2, 9 KOs) and Martez McGregor (8-3, 6 KOs). 

In the opening frame, Robinson moved in and connected with a hard right hand to McGregor's face, a shot that snapped his head back. In the third round, McGregor effectively applied pressure to Robinson. McGregor controlled much of the tempo of the fourth round. He knocked Robinson into the neutral corner with a big left hand as the round approached its end. 

This was a sloppy fight through the first five rounds. The crowd rose to their feet in the sixth round, as Robinson connected with a series of straight right and left hands to McGregor's head and body. As the sixth round approached its end, the two fighters had a good exchange near the blue corner. Throughout the eighth and final round, the two fighters swung wildly and wrapped one another up to avoid any unnecessary damage. All three judges scored the bout for the winner by unanimous decision Brandon Robinson. The judges scorecards read 77-75 twice and 78-74.

Avril Mathie Remains Undefeated 

Australian bombshell, Avril Mathie (4-0-1, 2 KOs), remained undefeated with a unanimous decision victory over Karen Dulin (3-22-1, 1 KO). The  swimsuit model turned bantamweight boxer, Mathie, established her jab in the opening frame and outpointed the veteran Dulin. In the third round, Mathie control the tempo of the fight by landing a series of hooks to the head and body of Dulin. After four rounds of action, all three judges scored the bout 40-36 for the winner by unanimous decision, Avril Mathie.

Accidental Headbutt Halts Bunch vs. Floyd

In what was a highly entertaining fight before it was stopped in the third of six scheduled rounds, Trenton's Shinard Bunch (3-1, 3 KOs) fought Philadelphia's Vinny Floyd (4-8-1, 2 KOs) in a welterweight contest. A Bunch right to the body and left to the chin knocked Floyd down in the first round. Bunch had Floyd on shaky legs after the knockdown, but failed to put pressure on his taller opponent to secure the knockout. In the second round, Floyd was knocked back into the ropes with a multi-punch combo that was highlighted by a right hand to the head as time expired. The referee ruled this a knockdown. 

In the third round, the fight was stopped due to a cut on Floyd's scalp, that was opened up due to an accidental headbutt. Because the fight did not reach the fourth round, it was ruled a no-contest. The two men will  fight again on December 6th when King's Promotions returns to the 2300 arena.

Allen Returns to his Winning Ways in Front of Hometown Crowd

Damon Allen (16-1-1, 5 KOs) bounced back from his first career loss last August with a victory over Dieumerci Nzau (11-10, 8 KOs). Allen answered the opening bell by controlling the tempo of the fight and landing shots at will. He rattled Nzau with a big left hand to the head in the first round. Nzau swung wildly and ineffectively at his opponent in the second, clearly frustrated by Allen's poise and fight plan.

Allen punished Nzau with repeated left hands to the head in the third round. In the fourth round, the sound of two of Allen's left hands connecting with Nzau's head echoed through the arena. 

A left hand to the head shook Nzau in the sixth round. Both fighters looked exhausted later in the sixth and final round. The last-minute was filled with instances of both men hanging all over one another. To the delight of the pro-Allen crowd, all three judges scored the bout 60-54 in favor of the local fan-favorite.

Nelson Bounces Back from Three Straight Defeats

The former Pennsylvania Lightweight champion, Naim Nelson (14-4, 1 KO), halted his three fight losing streak with a unanimous decision victory over Harrisburg's Roy McGill (6-4, 3 KOs). The junior welterweight contest was evenly matched through the first two rounds. Miguel put his foot on the gas in the opening seconds of the third round, and then the action seemed to settle down. The two men spent the last three rounds chasing each other around the ring to the displeasure of the crowd. The judges scored the bout 58-56, 59-55, and 60-54, all in favor of Nelson.

Umberger Kayos DeShields

Chestnut Hill's Ryan Umberger (3-0, 3 KOs) increased his knockout streak to three with a victory over Camden's Leon DeShields (0-7). An Umberger right hook to the body sent DeShields to the canvas in the opening seconds of the first round in this junior middleweight bout. DeShields recovered from the knockdown only to be finished off later in the round at 2:49, when Umberger nailed him with a overhand right to the head. 

Rivera Wins by Second Round TKO

Cruiserweights Angel Rivera (5-1, 4 KOs) and Nicoy Clarke (2-5) squared off in a fight that was scheduled for four rounds. The opening round was filled with lots of action. Clarke tried to trap Rivera in the first round, but Rivera kept punching his way out of these traps. Rivera finished off Clark in the second round with an uppercut followed by left and right hooks to the head and body. Clark crashed to the canvas and referee Erik Dali waved off the fight at the 1:41 mark of the second round.

Martin, Down in One, Recovers for Win

James Martin (5-1) defeated Juan Rodriguez (8-16-1, 6 KOs) by unanimous decision in the opening bout of the evening. A Rodriguez body shot in the opening round caused Martin to take a knee. Later in the first round, Martin appeared to hurt Rodriguez on two occasions, but failed to press the attack and secure a knockdown. A right hand from Martin in the second sent Rodriguez tumbling back into the corner. Rodriguez wrapped Martin up to kill the multi-punch onslaught.

Rodriguez showed his ring experience in the third round by smothering multiple attacks by Martin. There was a big exchange of shots in the center of the ring to start the fourth round. Unfortunately, this early action in the round would be negated by excessive holding throughout the last two minutes of the final round. The judges scored the bout 38-37 and 39-37 twice for Martin.

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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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Premier Boxing Champions Returns to Sands Bethlehem Event Center on 9/19

Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) returns to Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Pennsylvania on September 19th. The card, which is promoted by King's Promotions, will air on FS1 starting at 9 PM EST. As of now, the card features 11 professional bouts. The televised matches on this FS1 "Toe-to-Toe Tuesdays" card includes a ten round, junior welterweight contest between Mario Barrios (19-0, 11 KOs) and Naim Nelson (13-3, 1 KO), and an eight round, featherweight bout between Stephen Fulton (11-0, 5 KOs) and Adam Lopez (8-0, 3 KOs). Barrios, a San Antonio native, is coming off an impressive knockout victory over Jose Luis Rodriguez (22-10, 13 KOs). Barrios faces Philadelphia's Naim Nelson, who has lost his last two bouts to Tre'Sean Wiggins (8-3-1, 6 KOs) and Alejandro Luna (22-0, 15 KOs).

Philly's Stephen Fulton, who is no stranger to fighting at Sands Casino, last fought and defeated Luis Rosario (8-1-1, 7 KOs) at the event center. His opponent, Adam Lopez, is an orthodox fighter from Glendale, CA. He most recently boxed Paul Romero (7-1-1, 1 KO), who he defeated by majority decision.

Tomorrow night's card also features the following non-televised bouts:

Earl Newman vs. Paul Parker, eight rounds, light heavyweights

Jimmy Kelleher vs. George Sheppard, four rounds, super middleweights

Gary Antonio Russell vs. Cristian Renteria, six rounds, bantamweights

Gary Antuanne Russell vs. Jesus Lule, four rounds, junior welterweights

Ryan Wilczak vs. Devin McMaster, four rounds, middleweights

Jeffrey Torres vs. TBA, four rounds, junior welterweights

Thomas Velasquez vs. Tyrome Jones, six rounds, lightweights

Juan Sanchez vs. Gorwar Karyah, four rounds, featherweights

Harold Lopez vs. Manuel Guerra, four rounds, bantamweights

Doors at 4:30 PM EST with live boxing at 6:30 PM.

Tickets can be purchased through the Sands Bethlehem Event Center website and the box office.

MW

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