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Washington, D.C., welterweight Dusty Hernandez-Harrison, 19, kept his undefeated record intact with a six-round unanimous decision victory over 32-fight veteran Ben Ankrah of Accra, Ghana.
Hernandez-Harrison kept his rugged opponent at the end of his jab throughout the fight at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino on Saturday and improved his record to 16-0 with nine knockouts. Official scores were 60-54 twice and 59-55.
“These are the type of fights I need to keep improving,” Dusty Hernandez-Harrison said. “He was definitely my toughest opponent as a pro, although other guys may have had better boxing skills.”
Hernandez-Harrison‘s father and trainer, Buddy Harrison, agreed with his son’s assessment and feels these are the kind of fights that are needed to get the young fighter to the next level.
“This was exactly the type of fight I thought it would be and I wanted for Dusty,” the elder Harrison stated. “I wanted him in there with somebody who was going to give him rounds, tough rounds, someone who would make him work for the victory.”
It was a special night in many ways for Hernandez-Harrison. In addition to appearing on the HBO undercard, WBA Super Middleweight Champion and the No. 2 Pound-for-Pound boxer in the World Andre Ward was at ringside broadcasting the event for HBO. Ward is a professional athlete that the young Hernandez-Harrison tries to emulate in and out of the ring.
“Between Dusty’s education in the ring, and Andre’s insight after the bout, Dusty left Foxwoods with a solid growth experience,” Jeff Fried, Hernandez-Harrison’s promoter, said. “Dusty has great respect for Andre as a mentor and listened so intently to every word Andre shared with him after the bout.”
Hernandez-Harrison will be back in action on Friday, Aug. 23, in Dover, Del., at the beautiful Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. This will be his second fight at Dover Downs. Last time, hundreds of fans from the Washington, D.C., metro area made the 90-mile drive to come out and show their support.
