Salisbury, Maryland- The Showtime boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation at its best is a stage for the best up-and-coming talent to showcase their skills in clashes that determine which fighters remain “blue chip” prospects and which get knocked back down to the club level circuit. The series does not always live up to this high mark of excellence, but last night it did.
In front of a raucous near sell out crowd, 20 year-old phenom “King” James De La Rosa, (18-0, KOs 12) had a harder time with Baltimore native Tim Coleman, (14-1-1, KOs 3) than many had expected. Coleman came in known for his defense, but on this night he often beat De La Rosa to the punch and if he had power the night would have likely been his. The “King” was down on most score cards going into the last few rounds, but as Steve Farhood pointed out, the bruising body shots he landed on Coleman in the middle rounds rendered his opponent too weak to close the deal. De La Rosa rallied against the tired Coleman and won the match 96-94 on all three of the judge’s scorecards.
The co-main event featured local prospect Fernando “The Salisbury Sensation” Guerrero, (10-0, KOs 9) swapping leather with Tyrone Watson (7-1, KOs 3) in a middleweight showdown. Before the bell rang the “third man in the ring”, the fans, made their presence known. This led Showtime commentator Nick Charles to say, “we’ve done fights in just about every state and over seas but this place is unsurpassed. I’ve never heard a crowd that surpasses this. We said on the air that it was like a title fight atmosphere. Here is a packed house turning out for a guy 9-0. It really speaks volumes [for Salisbury]. It was really exciting to be a part of this.”
Fans began cheering for Fernando Guerrero hours before his match was to begin, chanting FER-NAN-DO over and over like possessed soccer hooligans without the inebriation (the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center does not serve alcohol). Many expected their hometown hero to clobber Tyrone Watson from pillar to post and record an early knockout. What they were treated to was good tussle where they were free to cheer without having to worry about the ultimate outcome. The matchmaking on this fight was perfect for Guerrero’s development. After a first round where both men seemed tentative, Guerrero came right out in the second round, threw a lot of punches and never stopped. Several times during the bout it appeared Guerrero had Watson nearly out of there, but he was always able to find an avenue of escape. Though he was clearly taking a beating, Watson was able to push Guerrero to the final bell, something no one had ever done before. Coming into the match Guerrero had fought just 18 rounds in 9 fights, all ending in knockout, on this night he logged 8 more rounds and settled for a unanimous decision. All three judges had the score a shutout with two of them scoring the fight 80-72 and one giving Guerrero a 10-8 round, without any knockdown, leading to a 80-71 score.
Afterward, Tyrone Watson was in awe of the crowd and even admitted, “they took me out of my game.”
After the match, in between adoring fans and fellow boxers giving Fernando Guerrero “attaboys”, he said, “the more the crowd cheered, the more I wanted to knock him out. I’m 10-0 right now. I’m on top of the world right now. Showtime, thank you!”
In regard to his dispatched opponent he said, “he hit me a few times, but that’s boxing you’re going to get hit. It wasn’t anything serious.”
He couldn’t avoid talking about his hometown, “We packed this place out. I hope I proved that Salisbury is the place to be. There is some great boxers that do not have the support that I have. They went crazy. They’re all my friends. I want to thank them.”
Finally, he conceded, “I probably could have taken him out, but I have a lot to learn. I’m going to look better by doing less, but I’m still learning.”
In the surprise of the evening Baltimore’s Willie Williams, (11-2 KOs 3) was unable to overcome fellow Baltimore resident Henry Mayes (7-6-1, KOs 4) and was lucky to come out with a majority draw. The scorecards read 57-57, 57-57 and 58-57 for Mayes.
The fight of the under card featured Shawn Porter (1-0, KOs 1) making his professional debut against Norman Johnson (0-1) who was also fighting professionally for the first time. What transpired was a blitzkrieg of frenetic energy, speed and accuracy that ended Johnson’s evening at 1:17 in the first. Said Porter afterward, “I loved fighting in front of this crowd and the way the announcer brought me out was awesome!” He also confirmed that he is tentatively scheduled to fight near his hometown in Akron, Ohio.
Farah Ennis (7-0, KOs 4) fought hard and nearly won every round of his match against Ariel Espinal (6-5-2, KOs 2). However, Ennis, a counter-puncher, was not able to win the favor of the crowd who liked the way Espinal would take thundering shots to his face and body and continue moving forward pressing the action. In a fight that he clearly lost, Espinal won the crowd and respect of many for his valiant effort.
The opening bout was the only more match up of the evening. Lateef Kayode (3-0, KOs 2) totally outclassed Octavius Davis (2-2-1, KOs 1) who was mercifully TKO’ed at 1:07 of the second round.
If you missed it the first time, Showtime will broadcast replays on Wednesday, October 8th, at 11pm ET/PT on Showtime TOO.