Ringside Boxing Report: Terrance Cauthen – Joshua Onyango
Click for larger image © Mike McGuigan / Saddo Boxing
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The Blue Horizon was back in business this past Friday as promoter Veronca Michaels and Don Elbaum put together one of the best cards in recent memory at Philly’s legendary fight house. The six bout card was led by up and comer Max Alexander who made the jump to co-main event status and turned in a performance that tosses his name into the debate of the best light heavyweight on the Philly circuit. Headliner Terrance Cauthen took a slight step up in competition against the hard hitting Joshua Onyango and flashed the speed that makes him one of the toughest men in the business to catch on camera.
Also on the card was hometown heavyweight Chazz Witherspoon who stepped in for a six rounder against Akron gym rat David Polk. Once again Joey Abell said to hell with Minnesota’s sorry state of professional boxing and caught the red eye to Philly to see if he is really tough enough to make the transition from the gridiron to the squared circle. His last appearance at the Blue was one to remember and the crowd hoped to see his murderous right make quick work of Doug Robertson. Elad Shmouel was set to make his debut on American soil and faced off against Rasheen Daniels. It was also Baltimore middleweight Mike McFail’s birthday and William Boggs gave his best wishes, Philly style, by punching him more than the allowed 33 times to the arm, face and ribs. The fighters were swinging and the crowd was roaring, a perfect way to kick off the Philly spring boxing season.
Terrance Cauthen – Joshua Onyango
It is my personal opinion that if Terrence “Heat” Cauthen had a lick of punching power, he would be a world champion. While Trenton, NJ native lacks in the muscle department, he more than makes up for it with speed, defense and instinct. In Cauthen’s last two times in the ring, he has pitched back to back perfect games against mid level competition. This time he was matched up against Joshua Onyango, a predator in the ring who can score the big knockout.
In this bout Onyango tried all night to bring the fight to Cauthen, but like many others, he mostly came up with air when he swung. In the early rounds, Cauthen avoided the charge, slipping the jab and getting out of dodge as Onyango rushed in. The fight began to break down in the fourth. Up to this point, Cauthen is landing the right hook to the ear and now seems to want to work at a higher rate. He stays in the middle of the ring and begins to flash his hand speed and is connecting upstairs, but this allows Onyango to do some bodywork.
The Ugandan tries to mix in some power punches upstairs but Cauthen’s head movement is too fast. Near the end of the sixth, both fighters go toe to toe as a mini slugfest ensues in the middle of the ring. Cauthen dominated the seventh, landing combo after combo. In the eighth, Onyango knows he is behind and goes for broke. He forces the action into the corner but Cauthen responds with loud overhand rights that are finding the mark. The fight ends with both men wrestling around along the ropes.
Terrence Cauthen wins a unanimous decision to move to 30-3 (8). Scoring the bout are Judge Rose Vargas 78-74, Judge Steve Weisfield 79-73 and Judge Ronald Greely 78-74. SaddoBoxing has it 79-73 for Cauthen.
Joshua “Poison” Onyango drops to 12-13 (11) Cauthen was willing to fight and was able to stay out of harms way. While this one wasn’t a Drysdale like performance, Cauthen showed that he is worthy of a fight against a top tier performer in the near future.
Cauthan – Onyango
Click for larger image © Mike McGuigan / Saddo Boxing
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Max Alexander – Tiwon Taylor
This fight was supposed to be a major test for Camden, NJ’s promising light heavyweight, Max Alexander, as he was set to take on Vegas slugger Tiwon Taylor, who was dropping down from cruiserweight for this fight. The hard work put in at Liberties gym is paying off as Max responded to the challenge with his first career knockout, which came from a perfectly placed shot to the solar plexus.
Round one: The action starts out slow as both fighters eye each other up, trying to find a spot. Both men trade jabs and Alexander is starting to score the left to the body. Max also starts to double to jab then back away from his opponent.
Round: 10-9 Alexander
Round two: In the second, Alexander uses his jab to stop any offense Taylor tries to attempt. The unbeaten New Jersey man also begins to throw and land hard shots to the ribs.
Round: 10-9 Alexander
Fight: 20-18 Alexander
Round three: The pace is fast right from the bell and Alexander is peppering Taylor with the left and right to the face and ribs. Alexander throws a straight left to the solar plexus that seems to blow all of the air out of Taylor’s body, sending him to the canvas. Taylor beats the ten count and Max goes in for the kill, unloading rights and lefts to the body until Taylor goes down again and is unable to rise back to his feet.
Max Alexander wins the bout by TKO at 2:04 of the third round to climb remain undefeated at 9-0-1 (1). Tiwon Taylor falls to 24-13-1 (18).
Alexander – Taylor
Click for larger image © Mike McGuigan / Saddo Boxing
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Chazz Witherspoon – David Polk
Chazz “Mensa with Muscle” Witherspoon is a fast rising local Philadelphia heavyweight prospect who is now under the tutelage of Tom Moran. His opponent David Polk’s record isn’t very impressive at first glance but if you big a little deeper you see his only losses have come against some of the best young talent in the heavyweight division. Polk, of Akron, OH, immediately took the fight to Witherspoon and won the early rounds by staying active and doubling punches.
Witherspoon turned things around towards the end of the third after a fiery exchange on the ropes which left Polk stunned. Witherspoon continuously scored with his sensational overhand right and fluid body movement. From the fourth round on, Witherspoon dominated the contest and came close to scoring the knockout in on many occasions. Chazz would double the left to the body which left his opponent open for the overhand right.
Witherspoon steps it up in the power punch department and consistently rocks Polk’s jaw. To Polk’s credit, he only hit the canvas once after taken a beating that would have eliminated most fighters.
Chazz Witherspoon wins a unanimous decision. Judge Rose Vargas scores it 58-54, Judge Steve Weisfield 59-53 and Judge Ronald Greeley 59-53. SaddoBoxing scores it 59-53 for Witherspoon, who climbs to 11-0 (7). David Polk goes to 10-6-1 (0)
Witherspoon – Polk
Click for larger image © Mike McGuigan / Saddo Boxing
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Joey Abell – Doug Robertson
Heavyweight Joey Abell is downright scary. This 6’4 monster from Minneapolis. MN damn near killed a man during his last time at the Blue and the stone cold look was in his eye once again. The EMTs were on standby and it didn’t take long for them to start earning their paycheck as Abell clocked Robertson with a left hook that put the Texas man on his back for much longer than the ten seconds needed to score a knockout.
Round one: For about twenty five seconds, Doug Robertson hung in there with Joey Abell, throwing jabs and trying to establish position. Then hell broke loose as Abell began to throw those powerful punches. A left hook followed by a right uppercut to the mid section sent Robertson to the canvas where he should have stayed. Robertson did manage to rise to his feet but was immediately greeted with an Abell left hook, which knocked the man out cold.
Joey “Minnesota Ice” Abell gets a first round TKO to go to 6-0 (6) and Longview, TX’s Doug Robertson drops to 2-8-1 (0).
Abell – Robertson
Click for larger image © Mike McGuigan / Saddo Boxing
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William Boggs – Mike McFail
It was Baltimore’s veteran light middleweight Mike McFail’s thirty third birthday and before the match his opponent, William Boggs of Philadelphia, made the kind gesture of handing him a birthday cake while the ring announcer was introducing the fighters. After that point, it was no more Mr. Nice Guy as these two fighters went to war in their scheduled four round bout.
Round one: Both fighters come out of the corner hard, looking to land the big punch but while both are swinging for the fences, not many of their efforts land. The action settles down a bit and Boggs effectively uses a right jab to keep McFail from advancing. McFail steps it up and charges Boggs, landing a few wild left and right hooks. The young Philly fighter stands his ground and lands clean shots of his own in return.
Round: 10-9 Boggs
Round two: McFail comes out wanting to trade again and is on the receiving end of a big right hand which jellies his legs. Boggs switches from southpaw to conventional in an attempt to put away his foe but is unable to finish the job. As the round ends, McFail regains his wit and lands a hard left hook followed by a straight right to the face.
Round: 10-9 McFail
Fight: 19-19 Even
Round three: Both fighters come out going toe to toe once again. McFail is throwing hooks to the head while Boggs is coming straight down the pipe; both are landing at an exciting rate. Boggs is able to work McFail into the corner but gets caught with a roundhouse left. McFail does not capitalize and the action heads back to the center of the ring. Boggs stands his ground and goes back to the jab that was so effective in the first. McFail eventually works around Boggs’ jab and cleans his foes clock with a straight right hand followed by a clean left uppercut. The crowd erupts in applause after the bell sounds.
Round: 10-9 McFail
Fight: 29-28 McFail
Round four: The fight is close and Boggs seems like he doesn’t want to go to war, instead opting to use the jab. McFail isn’t working like he has in previous rounds and the action is slow. Boggs’ jab is winning the round big until the final ten ticks when McFail scores a late flurry in the corner. After the bell both fighters raise their arms to claim victory and the crowd gives them a big round of applause.
Round: 10-9 Boggs
Fight: 38-38 Even
Winner William Boggs is awarded a unanimous decision 40-36 and 39-37 (twice). Saddoboxing scores the bout a draw at 38-38. Boggs goes to 3-0 (0) while Mike McFail falls to 12-29-1 (4).
Boggs – McFail
Click for larger image © Mike McGuigan / Saddo Boxing
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Elad Shmouel – Rasheed Daniels
Israeli junior welter Elad Shmouel was making his debut on American soil and wasted no time disposing of his opponent, Rasheed Daniels, who made the trip from Warren, Ohio. Not sure if it was Shmouel’s punching power or a lack of conditioning from Daniels which resulted in an early knockout for “The Kosher Pit Bull”.
Round one: Both fighters are active early throwing fast jabs, Elad seems to have a slight advantage. Daniels is dazed early and meets the canvas courtesy of a Shmouel left-right combo. Daniels rises and is dropped again with a straight right. Daniels gets up again and Shmouel applies the pressure but doesn’t seal the deal before time expires.
Round: 10-7 Shmouel
Round two: Daniels seems to have a little bit left and lands a left uppercut to start the round. Shmouel responds with a left to the chin which forces Daniels to the mat and his corner to throw in the towel.
Elad Shmouel goes to 11-1 (6) on the strength of a TKO at 1:16 of the second round.
Shmouel – Daniels
Click for larger image © Mike McGuigan / Saddo Boxing
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Tim Coleman – Marquis McConnell
In the opener, Baltimore welterweight Tim Coleman boxed the socks off of Marquis McConnell of York, SC and cruised to an easy unanimous decision. Coleman showed versatility and managed to end the fight while being barely touched himself.
Tim Coleman wins a unanimous decision to climb to 4-0 (1) while Marquis McConnell drops to 1-2 (0).