ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — In the main event of the evening, Yuriorkis Gamboa sent Jorge Solis to the mat five times in four rounds to remain undefeated in front of a sold out crowd at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall.
The opening round saw little action as both fighter’s were content with feeling one another out. The second round was a different story, however, as Gamboa overwhelmed his counterpart, sending him crashing to the canvas on two separate occasions.
Gamboa’s first knockdown came courtesy of a crisp left hook. Solis beat the ten count, and quickly regained his legs, only to be met with a flurry of punches from Gamboa. Eventually, Gamboa dropped Solis again after a combination ending with a right hand, combined with little push, sent Solis down.
Gamboa cruised through the third round and with only ten seconds remaining he delivered a skull-crushing left hook that collapsed Solis to the mat for a third time. He was able to beat the ten count and walked backed to his corner between rounds on shaky legs.
In the fourth, it was more of the same, Gamboa landed a quick one-two flush that sent Solis flying on his back and to the mat for a fourth time. Solis, looking over at his corner while on a knee, waved to his corner to let the fight continue. That proved to be unwise because as soon as the fight continued Gamboa rushed to Solis and fired off a flurry of punches that would ultimately send Solis to the canvas for a fifth and final time.
Referee David Fields stepped in and called a halt to the bout at the 1:31 mark of round four.
“Of course, I knew that Solis had shown a great fight against Pacquiao”, said Gamboa after the fight. “And, of course, it was an extra motivation to beat him faster than Pacquiao did. I wanted to make a statement tonight. I always enter the ring to prove that I am the best fighter in the world. Whoever wants to prove me wrong should just come and fight me. I don’t care about my opponent’s names – I want the big fights to show the world that I am the best.”
Promoter Ahmet Oner was once more thrilled by Gamboa’s performance. “That was exactly the Yuriorkis Gamboa we all know and want to see”, said Oner. “He didn’t look as determined and explosive in some of his last fights. But today he showed the full package again: his extraordinary hand speed and overall movement plus his enormous power and accuracy. He is definitely one of the most exciting fighters in the world today. And I don’t see anybody he has to be afraid of. Gamboa is simply made for this sport. He’s a natural born boxer and winner.”
With the win, Gamboa remains undefeated and improves to 20-0, 16 KOs, while the veteran Solis drops to 40-3-2-1, 29 KOs.
In another championship bout featuring two undefeated fighters, Miguel Angel Garcia became the new NABF and NABO featherweight champion as he stopped the former unbeaten fighter, Matt Remillard.
The first round saw good action, with Oxnard, California’s Garcia ultimately getting the better of his counterpart. The best action came about two minutes in when Garcia hurt Remillard with a barrage of punches that hard a hurt Remillard covering up his face with his back against the ropes.
In the second round, Manchester Connecticut’s Remillard found success by applying constant pressure. His best punch came about midway through the round when he landed a straight right flush on the left side of Garcia’s face.
Garcia started break Remillard’s defense in round three as he continuously sent shots straight up the middle, Garcia’s fists always finding their target. At times in the third round, Remillard seemed a bit lost, his only answer to Garcia’s punches was to flick an ineffective left jab at him.
The middle rounds belonged to Garcia, as continued to breakdown the red-faced Remillard. Garcia fired straight shots up the middle, but when Remillard would sure up his guard there, Garcia would hook in punches around the gloves.
In the ninth round, Garcia dropped Remillard with a grazing left hook. Remillard beat the referee’s ten count but stood on shaky legs. Garcia quickly greeted the hurt champion with a barrage of punches that forced Remillard into retreat. Garcia then landed a crushing left hook right on the button that sent Remillard violently back to the canvas. He impressively beat the ten count once again and stood just in time to hear the bell concluded round nine.
In the tenth, Garcia picked up where he left off, continuing to punish the champion. Once again Remillard went down the canvas, this time courtesy of a Garcia right to the head.
In between rounds ten and eleven, Remillard’s trainer, Mike Skowronski stepped in to save his fighter and stop the bout.
As a result, Miguel Angel Garcia captures the NABF and NABO featherweight titles and improves his record to 25-0, 21 KOs, while Remillard suffers his first professional defeat and falls to 23-1, 13 KOs.
In an electrifying USBA super bantamweight title bout, Philadelphia’s Teon Kennedy successfully defended his title against a tough Jorge Diaz.
It was a battle of wills between the two undefeated prospects, a battle that would somehow go the distance even though each boxer was on the receiving end of some vicious blows.
The fight opened with Diaz acting as the aggressor. He constantly came forward, continuously finding a home for his right hand. Kennedy, who is an above average counterpuncher in his own right, seemed uneasy and awkward in the opening rounds in this fight.
In the second round, Diaz caught Kennedy flush with a left hook to the side of his face. It was quickly followed a by a straight right, a combination that momentarily hurt the champion. It also resulted in a cut to open over Kennedy’s right eye.
In the third round, Kennedy began to turn the tides. With his back nearing the ropes, Kennedy caught Diaz with a left hook high on Diaz’s head, forcing the challenger off-balance to the point where both his gloves touched the canvas, resulting in a knockdown. It was only after this knockdown did Kennedy come forward for the first time in the fight.
In the fourth round, the two continued to exchange blows. A divided crowd was more than alive by this point as chants of “Jorge! Jorge” were countered by chants of “Teon! Teon!” Late in round four Diaz seemingly hurt Kennedy with a straight right, but Kennedy recovered quickly.
In the sixth round Kennedy countered a Diaz right hand that sent him crashing to floor. Somehow Diaz was able to beat referee Steve Smoger’s ten count and continue the fight. The game Diaz stood on clumsy legs, wobbling back into the ropes as Kennedy tried to finish the fight. Four consecutive head shots were landed and any other referee other than Smoger probably would have stepped in and called a halt to the bout. He didn’t and no less than twenty seconds later did the resilient Diaz rattle off a three punch combination of his own. As the round concluded, Diaz — who was clearly still hurt — clutched Kennedy’s hip and dragged them both mat as the bell sounded.
When round seven opened up, Diaz clinched frequently, buying time for his legs to regain their strength. By this time, Diaz’
s eye was beginning to severely swell, to the point where he was having trouble opening it. Smoger kept looking in at Diaz’s face, but decided to let the bout continue.
The fight continued to electrify the crowd for the final three rounds, as each fighter was willing to eat a few punches to dish out a few of their own. Both fighter’s fought to keep their undefeated record until the final bell sounded.
When it did, the judges scored the bout a unanimous decision in favor of the champion, Kennedy. Judge Steve Weisfeld saw the bout 115-111. Judge Alan Rubenstein scored the fight 118-109 and judge John Poturaj had it 117-109, all for Kennedy.
With the win Kennedy retains his USBA championship and improves his record to 17-0-1, 7 KOs, while Diaz loses his first professional bout and drops to 15-1, 9 KOs.
Baltimore Ravens’ safety and former Notre Dame football captain, Tommy Zbikowski improved his professional boxing record to 3-0 with a win over former MMA fighter, Caleb Grummet.
Zbikowski, who trained under the tutelage of Emanuel Steward for this fight, showcased an impressive arsenal of weapons throughout the first two rounds of this bout, before fading heavily.
Zbikowski began the fight as a southpaw, making a visible commitment to attack his heavier opponent’s body. Grummet took the punches well and returned fire with a few successful body blows of his own.
The second round was all Zbikowski as he hurt Grummet early in the round. With Grummet dazed and agains the ropes, Zbikowski was able to land some devastating uppercuts, as well as a vicious three punch combination to Grummet’s body. Grummet was able to survive Zbikowski’s onslaught in the second round and came out firing on all cylinders in the third round.
Grummet came out aggressive in the third round, constantly walking forward, forcing Zbikowski to retreat. The former cage fighter continuously landed flush punches to a fatigued Zbikowski, but he was deducted a point for his third low blow of the round.
In the fourth round, Grummet continued to fight like it was his Super Bowl. Again he was relentless with pressure, forcing an absolutely exhausted Zbikowski against the ropes. Zbikowski absorbed three minutes worth of Grummet punches, and twice during the round, took his eyes off his firing opponent to check how much time was left in the bout.
In the end, the first two rounds coupled with the point Grummet lost due to low blows, was enough for Zbikowski to earn a unanimous decision and improve his record to 3-0, 2 KOs. Judges scores read as follows: 39-36, twice, and 38-37.
With the loss, Grand Rapid’s Michigan’s Caleb Grummet falls to 0-1-1.
Undefeated prospect and former Manny Pacqiuao sparring partner, Glen Tapia, scored a unanimous decision victory over the durable Eberto Medina.
The first opened up with good action, both fighters throwing a healthy mix of body and head punches. The highlight of the first round came midway through when Tapia landed a one-two that stunned Medina momentarily.
The second round began with Tapia bombarding his surprised counterpart, who immediately backed against the ropes where he was met with a head-snapped right hand. Medina, who was clearly hurt by that punch, went from corner to corner in retreat. Tapia continued to apply pressure, but Medina was able to weather the storm early in round two.
Medina started to find some success in round three as he continuously applied pressure and walked Tapia into corners. Tapia seemed comfortable fighting with his back near the ropes, as he successfully countered Medina time after time. Towards the end of round three, Tapia caught Medina with a left hook that sent him stumbling backwards until he took a seat on the canvas. He beat the referee’s ten count with ease, and continued on to hear the bell to conclude round three.
The fight continued to entertain as both fighters continued to engage one another. It was Tapia, however, who continued to land the cleaner, more devastating blows. Credit Medina for battling, however, as he continued to pressure Tapia in hopes of landing one big punch until the final bell sounded.
In the end, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Passaic, New Jersey’s Tapia. Scores read as follows: 59-54, 60-53, and 60-52.
With the win Tapia improves his already perfect record to 9-0, 5 KOs, while Newark, New Jersey’s Medina drops to 5-6, 1 KO.
Former National Golden Gloves Champion Miguel Cartejena probably didn’t anticipate his professional debut to be a brawl — and it wasn’t at first. But after a vicious wild-swinging exchange between he and Omar Gonzalez opened the third round, that’s what it became.
For the final six minutes the two fighters dug in and traded blows, with Cartejena consistently getting the better of the southpaw, Gonzalez.
It wasn’t an aesthetically pleasing bout, with both fighters colliding numerous times due to the orthodox-southpaw match up. It was a crowd pleaser, however, as the Cartejena fans — who were numerous and audible throughout the bout — cheered their fighter throughout.
Puerto Rico’s Camilo Perez needed exactly three minutes to dispose of his now 0-2 opponent, Desi Williams. It was clear from the onset that North Carolina’s Williams was in over his head. The crisper, more technically sound, and flat-out better fighter — Perez — first knocked Williams down against the ropes with a half punch/half push right hand. Shortly after, with Williams running across the ring in retreat, the stalking Perez landed a left hook to the side of William’s face that sent him down for the ten count.
With the win Perez improves his record to 2-0 with 2 knockouts.
Photos–Chris Farina / Top Rank
