Boxing News Boxing News
By Keith McMenamin and Jeff Imbrogno
Philly Fighters Win “War”
Shuler Boxing was back at the First District Plaza in Philadelphia for a night dubbed the “War at the District” featuring local fighters against out of state competition. The war turned into a massacre for the Percy Custas stable as Simon “One Punch” Carr, Jamaal “Tyson” Davis and USBA Super Middleweight and USBA Light Heavyweight Champion Yusef Mack all won with impressive knockouts. Some of the Philly heavyweights outside of the ring also checked in for a night at the fights. Sly Stallone stopped by after completing the final scenes for the upcoming Rocky VI, former heavyweight champion Smokin’ Joe Frazier was on hand for a book signing. Between fights, fans were also treated to two performances by rapper and Philly native Freeway and comedian, Buckwild.
Yusef Mack vs. Tim Shocks
Philly’s own Yusef Mack entered the ring with Freeway ahead of him, free-styling to the beat of “Flipside.” At that moment, I knew Tim Shocks had no chance to win this fight. Mack dominated from the moment the bell sounded. He threw combinations to the head and body and scored with just about everything he threw. Shocks was knocked down in the first round after a series of body shots against the ropes, and was bleeding from the nose midway through the first round. Mack continued to dominate in the second round, showing great ring generalship and a relentless approach. He landed with ease to the body and knocked down Shocks for a second time with a big right hook to the head. The crowd began urging the referee to stop the fight by the beginning of the third round. Shocks attempted to fight back, but Mack was too strong, too fast and too skilled. The referee stopped the fight after the third round, as he determined that Shocks was able to defend himself. Yusef Mack takes the victory by way of third round TKO, improving to 22-0-2 (14) while Tim Shocks, from Washington State, falls to 26-21-4 (15)
Maurice Wheeler vs. Najee Shaheed
Brockton, Massachusetts man Najee Shaheed came back to Philly to avenge his razor thin margin loss to the local fighter Maurice Wheeler back in November of last year and these two heavyweights provided some moments of excitement, though neither fighter landed that one punch that brings his opponent to his knees and makes the crowd cringe the moment it lands. Wheeler established his jab early and used it often through out the fight. The punch seemed to inflict very little damage to Shaheed because he continued to move forward. While it may not have inflicted much pain, it was enough to win Wheeler the first round. The second round featured more action as Wheeler worked his jab and landed two nice left hooks to Shaheed’s head. Shaheed rallied in the middle of the round, landing a nice one-two combination and a strong left hook to Wheeler’s head. The third round featured a few nice exchanges but Wheeler’s jab was less effective, although he still scored well with it. The fourth round had some good early action with Wheeler and Shaheed exchanging jabs and a couple of hooks. The fifth and sixth rounds were much of the same. Wheeler kept dominating with his jab and Shaheed swung wildly, attempting to land a knockout punch. The scoring went to the judges who all saw Wheeler as the better man once again, this time in a convincing manner of 60-54 on all 3 scorecards. Maurice Wheeler wins the unanimous decision and improves to 10-4-1 (1) by achieving a 60-54 points margin on all three cards. Najee Shaheed drops to 21-12-2 (11)
Jamaal Davis vs. Joshua Smith
Philly middleweight Jamaal “Tyson” Davis got his first taste of a fighter with real ring experienced and passed with flying colors. Davis dominated the fight with his speed, and Nashville’s Joshua Smith had no answer for him. Davis landed hooks at will against the smaller Smith,who couldn’t match Davis’ energy level and work rate. Davis knocked down Smith twice in the first round after landing several hooks to the Tennessee native’s body. Davis was like a shark that smelled blood and kept Smith on the ropes or in the corners for the majority of the fight, unloading on the ribs and head. Davis knocked down Smith again in the second round with a left hook to the body. The fight was stopped one minute and five seconds into the third round after Davis landed several hooks to Smith’s head with no response or attempt to block from Smith. Jamaal “Tyson” Davis wins by way of third round TKO, moving to 5-1 (4) in the process as Joshua Smith falls to 17-23-1 (15)
Glenn Turner vs. William Bailey
Cruiserweight Glenn Turner was rep on the Philly circuit for putting on high energy fights but tonight was not one of those nights. The match looked like a slow dance with the partners occasionally punching each other in the side. The first round like every other round of this fight featured the two fighters throwing few punches and landing fewer. William Bailey, of Chesapeake, VA, connected with a right hook to Turner’s head and landed a shot to Turner’s body when the two fighters leaned against each other. The second round contained much of the same. Both fighters leaned, grabbed and threw body shots. Turner was able to land a few decent power shots, with a straight right, two left hooks and a right hook scoring to Bailey’s head. The third round was more of the same, with the only major event was that was Bailey deducted two points for low blows. The fourth round like the third before it became boring and uneventful. In the fifth, Turner was able to land four monster hooks cleanly to Bailey’s jaw, and exposed Bailey’s weakness, an inability to block left hooks to the head. Turner didn’t capitalize, however, and the sixth and final round looked a lot like the first four but Turner made the grave mistake of punching below the belt twice, resulting in two more point deductions, which cost him the win. The fight was scored a unanimous 56-56 draw, an unfulfilling conclusion to an unfulfilling fight Glen Turner goes to 7-2-2 (2) while William Bailey’s mark heads to 4-8-2 (2)
Simon Carr vs. Christopher Edmonds
Cruiserweight Simon Carr has thrown a grand total of six punches as a professional boxer and four of these shots have resulted in knockdowns. Coincidence? I think not. Before the fight, two men entered the ring holding a banner proclaiming that Simon “One Punch” Carr is the next great champion to come from Philadelphia. Carr may fulfill that prophecy one day but he needs to step in against someone who isn’t shaking in the ring. The first punch he threw was a right hook to Christopher Edmonds’ head. The punch landed and Edmonds hit the canvas. Edmonds got back on his feet, but Carr knocked him down with his second punch of the night, a left jab. Edmonds once again rose to his feet, but a left-right-left combination from Carr ended the match a minute and two seconds into the fight. Simon Carr gets a first round KO to go to 2-0 (2) while Cinncinati’s Christopher Edmonds loses his pro debut.
Farah Ennis vs. Sylvester Goldings
The second bout of the evening was the professional debut for both fighters. Philly’s Farah Ennis came to rumble and was very aggressive inside the squared circle. In the first round, Ennis scored early with two straight right hands that landed uncontested to Goldings’ body. Ennis scored again with a right hook to Goldings’ head. Goldings responded with a straight right hand to Ennis’ head. Ennis landed a straight right of his own to Goldings’ head towards the end of the round. In the second, Ennis exposed Goldings’ weakness, an inability to block body shots. Ennis landed a right uppercut to the body at the beginning of the round and then landed two straight rights to the body, the second of which knocked down Goldings. Goldings beat the count only to receive more of a hiding. Enniskept Goldings against the ropes landing several shots cleanly. Referee Hurley McCall stopped the fight after a right hook to Goldings’ head that caused him to stagger and nearly collapse. Farah Ennis takes the victory with a second round TKO and wins his pro debut. Sylvester Goldings picks up a loss in his debut.
Gabe Rosado vs. Mike Raynor
The first bout of the evening started slow with both fighters trying to find their range. Hometown fighter Gabe Rosado snapped a few jabs early in the round, but was unable to connect. Lumberton, North Carolina’s Mike Raynor landed the first power shot of the match with a left hook to Rosado’s jaw. Rosado responded by landing two right hooks to Raynor’s jaw in the last minute of the first round. The second round produced as little action as the first. Rosado landed a right hook that was partially blocked but then got in another hook cleanly to Raynor’s jaw. The action picked up towards the end of the round with Rosado scoring a two punch combination and trading hooks with Raynor as the round ended. In the third, Rosado took the initiative and pinned Raynor against the ropes, landing a series of power shots to Raynor’s head. Raynor managed to slide out, but found himself right back on the ropes. Rosado continued his attack landing more power shots and stopping Raynor with a hook to the body midway through the third. Gabe Rosado wins via a third round KO, improving to 2-0 (2) while Mike Rayor remains winless in five contests.
