Boxing News Boxing News
The Champion Class promotion, produced by All-In Entertainment, could have been billed as a night of knockouts as four of the five bouts featured explosive KOs highlighted by a dominating performance and victory from Washington welterweight sensation Dusty Hernandez-Harrison.
In the featured bout in front of his hometown crowd at the University of the District of Columbia’s Sports Complex, the 18-year old Hernandez-Harrison displayed tremendous patience, lightning quickness and executed crisp jabs to post a resounding fifth-round TKO over Eddie Soto (12-7) of Providence, RI and run his professional record to 15-0 with 9 knockouts.
Soto was a game adversary, but was unable to match Hernandez-Harrison’s superior boxing skills and speed, constantly getting peppered by an effective jab. Hernandez-Harrison dropped Soto at the close of the second round with a perfectly executed left-right combination setting the tone for the rest of the fight.
Hernandez-Harrison, who starts colleges classes at UDC next month, remained clearly in control, eventually flooring Soto with a combination that left his opponent crumbled on the mat in the waning seconds of the fifth round.
One year removed from earning the 178-lb. title at the 2012 National Golden Gloves and being named the tournament’s outstanding boxer, Jerry Odom (4-0, 4 KO’s) scored his fourth straight victory by first-round knockout when he delivered some punishing body blows to stop Andrew Murias (1-1) at 1:07.
In a battle of giant heavyweights, Natu Visinia (9-0, 8 KO’s) of Lakewood, CA kept his record unblemished by overwhelming Upper Marlboro, MD’s Phil Brown (6-2, 3 KO’s) for a TKO at the conclusion of the first-round.
Alexandria, VA light heavyweight Patrick Coye (1-0, 1 KO) made an impressive professional debut when he delivered a crushing right hook that dropped Charles Parker (0-1) at 1:36 of the first round for his first win.
Landover, MD featherweight Kevin Rivers Jr. (7-0, 5 KO’s) kicked off the entertaining evening by cruising to a unanimous win over Jason Rorie (6-17, 3 KO’s). All three judges scored it 40-36.
D.C. light heavyweight Greg Newby’s bout against William Prieto of Lorain, OH was called when the Ohio fighter was deemed not medically fit to participate. Another top local prospect, Waldorf, MD welterweight Mike Reed, originally slated for the card also saw his bout fall out at the last-minute.
Notables among the capacity crowd were Washington Redskins wide receiver Pierre Garson, Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson, and District native and Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Wale who accompanied Hernandez-Harrison during his walk to the ring.
