Jr. welterweight contender “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis (21-2, 10 KOs) took on durable journeyman Ben Ankrah (11-8, 3 KOs) in a ten round bout. Arnaoutis was originally slated to face Juan Valenzuela, but after a falling out, Ankrah stepped in.
Arnaoutis began the fight measuring his straight left hand and jab and kept up a moderate pace as his opponent stalked in a very crouched stance. Things picked up more as the fight progressed. Arnaoutis found a home for his right jab-straight left combination. ANkrah’s response was overhand rights in an attempt to catch Arnaoutis coming in. With Arnaoutis’ high accuracy, the crowd felt a knockout coming.
Ankrah was much more durable than expected. His chin held up to Arnaoutis’ sharp shots, and he was even able to land some strong punches from time to time. Still, it was not enough to win many rounds, but he did manage to fluster Arnaoutis at times. As the fight neared its end, Arnaoutis did not slow down, and took a stronger approach to Ankrah’s body, which seemed to be working. In the end, all three judges had it for Arnaoutis, with two scoring it a shutout of 100-90 and one scoring it 96-94.
Vinny Maddalone will always be a favorite to fight fans. He may not have ever been a world champion, but in every one of his fights, there’s probably more drama than any title fight we have seen in years. Wednesday night was no different as he took on Terrell Nelson. It was a war right from the outset as Nelson wanted to prove that he was more than willing to brawl with the brawler. Maddalone had no problem with it, and began winging bombs of his own. There wasn’t much technique in the fight, but the crowd was on their feet from opening bell to close. At one point, using his heavier body to back Maddalone into the ropes, the New York crowd became a bit worried for their hometown kid. The first round was over, and not before even more drama. What seemed to be a accidental clash of heads opened up a nasty cut on the top of Maddalone’s forehead, which seemed to distract him.
The second round saw more of the same, only this time it was Maddalone that had Nelson against the ropes. Nelson managed to get out of the way, but he was in retreat mode and Maddalone sensed that and decided to get more precise with his punches. After a body attempt, he brought it up stairs and wobbled Nelson back into the corner. A heavy combination later, and the referee was forced to jump in and call a halt to the action at :45 of the second round giving Maddalone a TKO victory.
Eddie Irizarry showed that he is more than willing to improve on his technique and skill as he looked very much improved when he faced Jose Zamora in a 4 round featherweight bout. Zamora began the fight in a very aggressive fashion, hoping to fluster the hometown fighter in front of his family and friends. Irizarry was not phased. He stuck to his gameplan of picking apart his opponent with strong body punches followed up with sharp straight punches to Zamora’s chin. As the second round commensed, Zamora had begun to slow down, and it was Irizarry’s turn to get aggressive. It did not last long as a right hand stunned Zamora on his feet, and a left hook sent him crashing hard to the canvas. Zamora was out for the count at 1:26 of the second round, giving Irizarry a knockout victory.
You will probably never find a better guy than Bryant Pappas. By day, he is a police officer, scoring big busts like the drug bust that got him headlines in the local papers, and by night, he boxes in front of hundereds of fans on his way to a spotless record of 6-0 with 6 knockouts. But don’t let his record fool you, he is not the most talented of fighters. Pappas has been fed the worst of the worst, and it didn’t change Wednesday night. He took on Chris Morton, who probably has never actually trained for one of his three fights as a professional. Pappas was able to stop him in pathetic fashion at 1:58 of the first round when the referee stepped in. Pappas continues his perfect record.
Sure, Pappas isn’t the best in the world, but he’s doing what he loves and has actually shown amazing improvement since the first time I saw him. Even sparring partners were amazed at how they used to be able to handle him in gym sessions, but now cannot keep up with his pace, stamina and determination. Say what you want about the guy, but I’m certainly glad he’s fighting on our side as a cop!
Ahmed Samir certainly has the look of a cruiserweight to keep an eye on, but we all know that looks mean nothing once you step into the ring. Coming in against Tyrone Smith, he was expected to have his hands full. It was the right hand that controlled the fight for Samir. He did not show much power, but he showed the strength to physically move his bigger opponent with his punches, and that says a lot. By the second round, a chopping right sent Smith to the canvas, and has Samir’s fans in attendance cheering. Smith was able to make it to his feet and go on survival mode until the fourth round, where he attempted to rally and come back with a possible stoppage. It didn’t bother Samir too much, as he was able to weather Smith’s aggression and eventually use it against him, closing out the fight with a strong combination. In the end, the judges all had it the same, scoring it 40-35 for Samir.
Jose Guzman had some pretty big shoes to fill on Wednesday night. He is the brother of former WBO super featherweight champion Joan Guzman. They look very much alike, but he needed to show that he was able to showcase the combination of speed and power that his brother has throughout his career. He took on Luis Lopez in a four rounder. Guzman showed the confidence, speed and strength, but not the one punch KO power that we expected. That was until the beginning of the fourth round where his corner shouted specific instructions to him. Guzman came out and threw a right hand followed by a left hook in an effortless manner, and Lopez was left unconscious on the canvas. The bout was called to a halt at 1:39 of the fourth round.