Hard Hitting Promotions Presents Friday Night Boxing - Friday, March 30th (Philadelphia, PA)

Hard Hitting Promotions returned to the Fillmore Philadelphia on Friday night for an action-packed night of professional boxing. The eight bout card featured a ten round, welterweight main event between Philadelphia's Raymond "Tito" Serrano (24-5, 10 KOs) and Baltimore's Malik Hawkins (13-0, 9 KOs). Serrano and Hawkins fought for the vacant WBA-NABA USA Welterweight Title.

Hawkins went on the attack early in the first round when he hurt Serrano with two right hands to the head. Serrano was in trouble again in the second round when Hawkins connected on a right upper cut to the jaw. Serrano remained behind on the cards through the first three rounds. As the end of the fourth round neared, Serrano attempted to rally by landing a multi-punch combo of punches to the head and body of Hawkins. In the seventh round, Hawkins controlled the tempo of the fight by landing a series of multi-punch combos that left Serrano dazed. In the eighth round, Serrano was in survival mode as he was stalked around the ring by his opponent. Despite appearing exhausted and hurt, Serrano demonstrated his toughness by staying on his feet. In the ninth round, Serrano landed two big left hands to Hawkin's head as the end of the round neared. These big shots allowed Serrano to win the round. At the outset of the tenth and final round, the two fighters exchanged body shots in the center of the ring. The two men brawled over the course of the round and fought aggressively all the way up to the final bell. The judges scored the bout 97-93, 96-94, and 98-92, all in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Malik Hawkins.

In the co-main event of the evening, heavyweight prospect, Darmani Rock (11-0, 7 KOs) defeated Ronny Hale (4-12, 4 KOs) in the second round of a scheduled six round contest. The stoppage came at the 1:07 mark of the second round, when Rock knocked down his opponent with crushing left and right hands to the body. He followed these blows up with a right hand to the head that ended Hale's night. That was the Philadelphian's second straight, and seventh overall, knockout of his professional career.

Philly fan favorite, Branden Pizarro (9-1, 4 KOs) defeated San Diego's Pablo Cupul (9-24, 5 KOs) in a four round, lightweight contest. Pizarro, who is coming off of his first professional defeat, outclassed his tough opponent through all four rounds of action by landing several big shots to Cupul's head and body. In the third round, Pizarro flirted with a knockout victory when he pinned Cupul up against the ropes with a series of big left and right hooks. Cupul survived the beating to lose the fight on the cards, with all three judges scoring the bout 40-36 for Pizarro.

Sammy Teah (13-2-1, 6 KOs) made quick work of Nicaragua's Orlando Rizo (19-13, 11 KOs) on Friday night. The bout, which was scheduled for six rounds, only lasted one with Teah bullying his opponent from the opening bell. Rizo was knocked down twice in the first round by Teah multi-punch combos, before being kayo'd with a left hook to the head. Referee Ronald Ali Bashir stopped the fight at the 2:33 mark of the first round of the lightweight contest.

Philadelphia's Jeremy Cuevas (8-0, 6 KOs) squared off against Efrain Cruz (4-5-1, 1 KO) of Florida in a six round, lightweight contest. After winning the first round of the bout, Cuevas, who maintained a low guard throughout the contest, was knocked down in the second round with a Cruz right hand to the head. Cuevas was hurt after recovering from this knockdown, but managed to finish the round. By the beginning of the third round, Cuevas appeared to be more settled into the fight, and went on to pick apart his opponent throughout the final three rounds. In the final round, Cuevas snapped Cruz's head back with straight left and right hands. All three judges scored the bout 59-55 in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Jeremy Cuevas.

Super middleweights, Ronald Ellis (15-0-2, 10 KOs) and Taneal Goyco (9-11-1, 4 KOs) fought in a four round contest. Goyco was the far less active fighter, who applied a defense heavy strategy to the bout. This strategy "worked" until the fourth round when Ellis sent Goyco to the canvas with a right hand to his head. The judges scored the bout 59-54 and 60-53, twice, for Ellis.

Roc Nation's Tramaine Williams (15-0, 5 KOs) defeated veteran fighter, Antonio Rodriguez (12-21-1, 5 KOs) in a six round, featherweight bout. Williams ended the first round with a big multi-punch combo that sent him to his corner full of confidence. In the second round, Rodriguez was stumbled with a Williams' left hand to the head. Rodriguez went on the offensive at the end of the third round when he threw a series of punches that connected to the head and body of Williams. Unfortunately for Rodriguez, he was unable to land the "lucky punch". When Rodriguez attempted to come forward on Williams in the fourth round, he was pushed back on his heels with an overhand left to the head. Williams went on to win the fifth and sixth rounds over Rodriguez, who had a cut appear on the side of his right eye in the final round. The judges scored the bout 58-56, 59-55, and 60-53, all in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Tramaine Williams.

The opening bout of the card was a light middleweight fight between Joey Alday (7-0, 7 KOs) and Mike Crain (1-2). Crain was knocked down with a right-left hand combo in the second round. Crain was sent crashing to the canvas in the third round when Alday connected with a left hook to his jaw. Referee Shawn Clark stopped the bout at the 1:28 mark of the third round of a scheduled four round fight.

MW

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King's Promotions Presents Live Pro Boxing - Friday, March 2nd (Philadelphia, PA)

Philadelphia's own Christian Carto (14-0, 11 KOs) made a statement on Friday night in front of a sell out crowd at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia. Carto, a bantamweight prospect and local fan favorite, fought Detroit's James Smith (12-2, 7 KOs), who trains out of the legendary Kronk Gym, in an eight round main event. The 21-year-old Carto effectively utilized his jab in the opening frame. In the second round, Smith appeared baffled by Carto's speed, as he continued to connect with jabs to Smith's head at will. Smith, frustrated by his opponent's skills, hit Carto with a low blow in the third round. Before the low blow, Carto had landed several crushing blows to the head and body of Smith. Carto's third round offensive explosion was highlighted with vicious left and right hooks that hurt his opponent. At the end of the fourth round, Carto again hurt Smith with a right hook to the head. Smith, who demonstrated his toughness by absorbing dozens of big shots by Carto, looked gassed by the sixth round. The young Philadelphian bullied Smith during this round, and hurt him again with a multi-punch combo. Smith managed to stay on his feet and survive the round. A big Carto right hand to Smith's head in the seventh almost ended the night for Smith, but the fighter wrapped up Carto and stayed on his feet. In the eight and final round, Smith, who realized he was behind on the cards, came out swinging for the fences. His wild punches did not find their mark and Carto cruised through the round. The judges scored the bout 80-72 twice and 79-73, all in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Christian Carto.

The co-main event of the evening featured an eight round bout between two Philadelphia super middleweights, Christopher Brooker (13-5, 5 KOs) and Jamaal Davis (16-13-1, 7 KOs). Davis, who was making his first title defense, was hit with a Brooker left hand to the head in the first round. Davis spent the second and third rounds trying to keep the brawler Brooker from fighting him on the inside. During exchanges, Davis positioned himself close enough to Brooker to smother most of his punches. Brooker caught Davis with a series of big hooks at the end of the third round, but the defending WBF United States Super Middleweight Champion survived the round. To the crowd's delight, the two men fought a good exchange in the middle of the ring during the fourth round. Tempers flared at the end of the fifth round when Brooker hit Davis in the head after the bell rang. Davis responded with a punch of his own. Referee Blair Talmadge had to jump in between the two fighters to break up the post-bell antics. In the sixth round, Brooker trapped Davis and unloaded a series of punches on him. In the eighth and final round, Brooker, ahead on the cards, looked for a knockout. He hit Davis with a big big right hook, that he followed up with a left hook to the head. Davis was hurt in this round, but the veteran fighter fought valiantly to the final bell. The ringside judges scored the bout 79-73 twice and 77-75 for the winner by unanimous decision, Christopher Brooker. 

Tyrone Crawley (7-1) and Anthony Mercado (11-3, 10 KOs) squared off in a super lightweight contest. This was supposed to be the first career eight round contest for Crawley, who is the son of Philly boxing legend Tyrone "Butterfly" Crawley. The fight was a competitive contest from the opening bell. Crawley caught Mercado with a big right hand that hurt his opponent as the second round ended. Mercado stumbled into his corner only to answer the bell dazed in the third round. The two men battled through the third round. Following this round, Crawley's left hand was examined by his corner, which included Ivan Robinson, and the ringside physician. Crawley, who appeared to be in immense pain, refused to answer the bell in the fourth round. He later reported to his fans on social media that he had broken a bone in his left hand. Mercado, who was behind on the cards at the time of the stoppage, won by TKO and ended a three fight losing streak.

South Philly heavyweight Dominique Mayfield (0-1) had his professional debut spoiled in front of his hometown fans by veteran fighter, Ronny Hale (4-11, 4 KOs) of Austin, Texas. In the opening round, Hale dominated his rookie opponent. He hurt Mayfield with a multi-punch combo. He followed up this barrage with a big right hand to the head that sent Mayfield to the canvas. Mayfield pulled himself up off the canvas only to be knocked down again by a Hale clubbing right hand to the head. Mayfield, hoping to avoid the upset, rose from the ground dazed and badly hurt. Hale, smelling blood in the water, went on to viciously beat Mayfield with clubbing right and left hands to his head and body, that sent Mayfield crashing to the ground for the third time. Referee Blair Talmadge stopped the bout at 1:40 of the first round of a scheduled four round contest.

New York's Victor Vazquez (10-3, 4 KOs) made quick work of Philadelphia's David Gonzalez (8-3-2, 2 KOs) in a super lightweight bout that was scheduled for eight rounds. From the opening bell, Vazquez dominated Gonzalez. Vazquez TKO'd Gonzalez with a left hook to the head at the 1:56 mark of the first round.

Rasheed Johnson (3-1, 1 KO) was scheduled to fight Vincent Floyd (3-4-1, 2 KOs) in a four round, welterweight bout. Floyd came in overweight for the bout, and as a result, the contest was cancelled. Johnson, looking to not disappoint his fans, fought Rondel McGee in a three round exhibition bout. Johnson totally outclassed his opponent, who appeared to be picked out of the casino lobby, over the course of just under two rounds of boxing. Johnson landed numerous uncontested shots on his opponent in the first round. In the second round, referee Blair Talmadge had seen enough when McGee stopped fighting back against Johnson.

The opening bout of the evening featured super flyweights, Jerrod Miner (1-1-1, 1 KO) and Rondarrius Hunter (1-2-1, 1 KO). Atlanta's Hunter hurt the Philly native with a big right hand to the head at the beginning of the first round. Miner responded by throwing big hooks at his opponent, that did little to no damage. Hunter displayed great defense in the second round as he made Miner miss on a series of right and left hooks. Miner knocked Hunter down with a right hand to the head in the fourth round. Hunter recovered from the knock down and fought to the final bell. The judges scored the bout 37-37 twice and 39-35 for Miner. The contest was ruled a split draw. 

MW