In a wild all out action slugfest, cruiserweight Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey proved that he can be more than just a slick boxer as came back from a 3rd round knockdown to score an impressive stoppage over Emmanuel Nwodo.
The fight started badly for Godfrey as the power punching Nwodo scored heavily with right hand power shots that had Godfrey looking nearly out on his feet by the end of the round. Round 2 saw Godfrey revitalized as he stuck out his jab and tried to avoid trading too heavily with Nwodo; a solid plan that despite giving away the round, possibly allowed him to score his come from behind TKO. In the third Godfrey came out and attacked Nwodo, throwing his “Too Smooth” moniker to the wind and deciding instead to bang with the power puncher. An exciting round ensued in which both fighter scored heavily with both hands. In the middle of an exchange, Nwodo launched a right hand just as Godfrey was preparing to throw a right of his own. The punch caught Godfrey off balance and dropped him to a knee; but he rose without any ill effects just as the round was ending. The fourth round would prove to be the last as both fighters launched right hands with reckless abandon. Godfrey’s punches proved to be the shorter and made it to Nwodo’s head with regularity. Somewhere around the one minute mark, a right from Godfrey caught Nwodo’s nose flush; breaking it badly and taking away Nwodo’s legs. A series of follow up right sprayed blood across the ring and had Nwodo out on his feet. Despite swinging back with what strength he had left, Nwodo was clearly shot and the referee called a halt to the action and 1 minute and 57 seconds of round 4. It was a gutsy win for Godfrey (now 17-1 10KOs) and will be sure to raise his stock in the cruiserweight division. Nwodo (now 22-5 18KOs) despite being entertaining has proven himself just a step below the elite yet again and seems destined to being a gatekeeper for the division.
In the ESPN televised co-main event, CT native Matt “Sharpshooter” Remillard scored perhaps the most impressive win of his career, stopping Mexico’s Adauto Gonzalez in four rounds. Despite the definitive stoppage, it was a shaky start for Remillard who ate a number of left hooks to the body in the first round as he adjusted to the come forward style of Gonzalez. As round 2 began, Remillard came to life with a number of sharp left hooks to the body which cracked home with regularity and set the tone for the rest of the fight. Gonzalez gave his best and managed to tag Remillard on a few occasions with good combos but in the midst of one of his assaults, was caught by a flush left hook to the chin that dropped him to his knees. Up before the count, Gonzalez was on visibly shaky legs and borrowed time as Remillard swarmed in and quickly stuck a left hook to his head followed by a crippling left hook to the body. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. began his count but waved it off at 1 minute 13 seconds of the fourth round. Remillard looked impressive and this win and bumps his undefeated record to (15-0 8KOs.) Gonzalez slips to (10-6 4KOs.)
Up and coming light heavyweight Brian Macy of Ledyard, CT needed only 1 minute and 49 seconds to dispose of Lexington, KY’s Shawn Kirk; dropping him for the full count with a picture perfect left hook to the body. It was perhaps the first significant shot of the fight and provided Macy some good exposure on national television. With the win Macy is now (5-0 2KOs) while Kirk drops to (4-3 2KOs.)
Heavyweight Jason Estrada picked up his 14th win in typical fashion as he outpointed journeyman Dominic Jenkins over 8 lopsided rounds. Estrada is perhaps known best for his fast hands which he put on display as he peppered Jenkins with combos on the inside all night long. Jenkins did have his moments and tried to stick to working Estrada’s body in order to slow him down. Despite his best efforts, Jenkins never did slow Estrada down and settled into his journeyman role, losing every round but one on the judges scorecards. Estrada proved little in this bout that we didn’t know already and despite his technical skills, his lack of power is sure to hinder him in his rise through the ranks. He failed to hurt Jenkins at all over the 8 rounds despite the fact that Jenkins has been stopped 4 times in the past; once to light punching Eddie Chambers. Scores were 79-73 (three times) all in favor of Estrada who improves to (14-1 1NC 3KOs.) Jenkins drops his second fight in a row and falls to (13-9-1 1NC 6KOs.)
Local female favorite Addy Irizarry (6-2 2KOs) of Hartford CT, once again brawled her way to a convincing decision when she rolled over former WBC champ Yvonne Reis (7-13-1). Irizarry never fails to bring excitement to her bouts and her hometown fans showed their support by cheering every punch, real or perceived. The bout was one sided due mostly to Reis’s refusal to use her height advantage against the onrushing Irizarry; who was shorter by a good 4 inches. By choosing to fight on the inside, Reis made the fight an entertaining one but repeatedly ate right hands to both the body and head and was outworked in nearly every round. In the end, the judges mirrored the crowd in awarding Irizarry the fight by near shutout scores of 40-36 (twice) and 39-37.
Opening the evening were female featherweights Karin Dulin (0-2) of Mystic, CT and Philadelphia PA’s Christina Leadbeater (2-1). It was apparent from the first 30 seconds that Leadbeater had the heavier hands and after 4 rounds, her power advantage seemed to be the determining factor in the fight. Each fighter scored her share of punches, but it was likely the crisp left hook of Leadbeater that convinced the 2 of 3 judges to score in her favor. Leadbeater landed the punch with a measure of consistency each round and eked out the split decision win by scores of 39-37 (twice) with the third judge giving it to Dulin 39-38.