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| Thompson Boxing Promotions is establishing a reputation for putting on excellent boxing shows and the March 31 card at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California was no exception. The Main Event was for the WBC Youth Welterweight Championship and it featured two very talented and unbeaten fighters but there was also sparkling action on the undercard as well. |  Click for larger image © Joe Ulrey Saddo Boxing |
Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley successfully defended his youth title against Eli Addison. Both men fought admirably with Mr. Bradley delivered punishing blows to the body throughout the contest. He was charging Addison from the second the first bell rang until the final bell sounded ending the contest. Addison came to fight as well. He would jab and move but too frequently got caught on the ropes where he was punished relentlessly.
In the second round there was an apparent clash of heads and Addison awkwardly slipped to the canvas. When he was back on his feet, it was apparent that Bradley was hurt badly. Addison worked Bradley over for the majority of the round. Bradley suffered a mild cut and swelling under his right eye during this onslaught. There is a saying about “payback” that I do not want to quote right now, but as Eli Addison can attest, it is very true. When Bradley regained his bearings near the end of the round, he resumed the punishing attack that he had started earlier.
He continued the attack, pounding Addison from ringpost to ringpost. There were several times this reporter felt that Addison was going to be knocked onto the ring apron. As the fight progressed, the body punches took their toll on Eli. He couldn’t move as well and his punching power had weakened sufficiently so that Bradley worked the body pretty much at will.
This was a very impressive outing for “Desert Storm”. Timothy Bradley, of Coachella, CA, appeared to be ready to fight more rounds if necessary after his unanimous decision victory and stays perfect at 12-0 (6) while Eli Addison, of Winston Salem, NC, suffers his first loss and drops to 8-1 (3).
There was a cracking super featherweight bout prior to the main event that saw Odilon “Ody” Rivera do a backflip in the ring during introductions. If Rivera, of East Los Angeles, was happy to be there, he shouldn’t have been as his opponent was the highly touted, undefeated Dominic Salcido. Although their respective records would indicate a much more one-sided contest, Rivera was competitive through the first three rounds. Salcido was always in control with a beautiful jabs and right crosses and as the fight progressed, Salcido began to pull away and deliver hard hooks to the body and head.
Midway through the fourth, Salcido grunted or yelled something out. Simultaneously, he unleashed a two handed assault that knocked Rivera to the canvas. Referee Jose Cobian quickly stepped in to stop the contest at 1:44 of round four.
Having been trained by Emanuel Stewart in the past, Salcido, 8-0 (5), is very talented and obviously well schooled. The Rialto, California native does appear to have problems with his hands however, and may have injured his right during this bout with Rivera, who falls to 5-8 (2).
Sytel “SD” Wilbarn made his professional debut a successful one against Francisco Rubio in a featherweight contest. Wilbarn dominated the bout by pursuing the southpaw Rubio with a steady assortment of left jabs and straight right hands. Rubio was tentative at first and kept a very safe distance before gaining confidence as the fight progressed. Rubio landed the best blow of the fight, a left hook to the chin that appeared to hurt Wilbarn in the waning moments of round four but it was, however, too little too late as Wilbarn, now 1-0 (0), earned a unanimous decision 40-36 on all scorecards. Rubio goes to 0-2 (0).
In the second fight of the evening, Rafael Garcia won a unanimous decision over Mario Franco in a featherweight bout. Rafael has a right arm but does not have a right “hand”. Both men fought very hard but the fight consisted of wild swinging with very little defense. Franco suffered a nasty cut over his left eye in the second round…the result of an apparent head butt. In the end, the stronger of the two brawlers prevailed and Garcia won by scores of 39-37 on all cards to improve to 1-0 (0). Franco is now winless in four outings.
The opening fight featured welterweight Adrian Tait fighting Felipe Campana and it was all action. Tait was the better, although inexperienced, boxer and went right after Campana with jabs and right hands. On the inside, Campana would dominate; unloading with uppercuts and body shots. In the end, after four action packed rounds, Tait won a split decision, 38-38 and 39-37 (twice), that this reporter felt could have easily been a draw. Tait wins his pro debut while Campana goes to 2-3-2 (1).
All in all, the 1600 plus fans who attended the fights at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California were treated to an exciting evening of boxing.
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