By: Rich Lopez
Shobox made its return back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the 2300 Arena. The telecast featured a total of four fights. In the main event and the co-feature, two fighters had impressive debuts on Shobox. In addition, the other two fights showcased undefeated prospects.
The main event was in the lightweight division. Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (19-1-1, 14 KO’s) of Mexico, won a ten round majority decision over Thomas “Gunna Man” Mattice (15-2-1, 11 KO’s) of Cleveland, Ohio. In the opening round, Cruz came out and put the pressure on Mattice. Cruz focused on the body of Mattice. In round two, Cruz continued to outwork Mattice. Cruz continued with his body punching. Cruz started strong in round three and then finally Mattice woke up. Mattice landed two right hands that backed up Cruz and got his attention. On the ropes, Mattice landed two left hands to the body of Cruz. Mattice got into a groove in round four. He was out boxing Cruz and using his jab well. At the moment, Cruz seemed puzzled by the movement of Mattice. Round five was a close round as both fighters had good exchanges in the center of the ring. Mattice seemed to have edged out Cruz in the round. Cruz picked up the pace in round six. At the end of the round, Mattice landed a right hand on Cruz and Cruz responded with a counter left hook. As round seven started, Mattice looked tired. Cruz landed a left hook that staggered Mattice. Mattice then grabbed Cruz to survive the round. At the end of the round, Cruz landed an overhand right that hurt Mattice once again. In round eight, Cruz continued his assault with body punches and was also landing uppercuts. Mattice survived the round. Mattice came back a little in the ninth round but Cruz still outworked him. In the final round, Mattice got a second wind. He stood in the middle of the ring and landed good combinations to the head of Cruz. Mattice outworked Cruz in the final round but it was not enough. Cruz won the fight by majority decision with scores of 95-95 and 96-94 (twice).
Mattice who had become a staple of Shobox came up short in the fight and was outworked. The twenty-one year old Cruz made an impressive Shobox debut and showed why he is called the Pitbull.
The co-feature was in the super bantamweight division. Raeese “The Beast” Aleem (16-0, 10 KO’s) of Las Vegas, Nevada scored a fourth round TKO over Adam “Mantequilla” Lopez (19-4-2, 9 KO’s) of San Antonio, Texas. In the opening round, Aleem showed off his speed and landed good combinations to the head and body of Lopez. Aleem continued to display his speed in round two. Aleem moved well and was giving angles. Lopez just kept following Aleem around the ring. In round three, Aleem let his hands go more and was putting a beating on Lopez. Lopez tried his best but was too slow for the quicker Aleem. Aleem closed the show in round four. He threw power shots that hurt Lopez. Lopez was busted up and bleeding from the nose. The corner of Lopez saw enough and stopped the fight. The time of the stoppage was 1:31 of the fourth round.
Like Isaac Cruz in the main event, Aleem was also successful in his Shobox debut. Look to see Aleem in Shobox again.
In a super lightweight contest, Montana “Too Pretty” Love (13-0-1, 6 KO’s) of Cleveland, Ohio scored an eighth round unanimous decision over Jerrico “Hands of Stone” Walton (16-1, 7 KO’s) of Houston, Texas. It was a battle of undefeated fighters. Love took control of the first round by landing straight punches to the head and body of Walton. In round two, Love landed a left hand followed by a right hook that staggered Walton. Walton grabbed on to Love and managed to survive the round. Walton would have a good comeback in round three. Walton landed a good overhand right on Love. In round four, Walton landed a right hand that wobbled Love. This time Love was forced to grab and hold onto Walton. Round five was a good round for Walton as he pushed back Love to the ropes. Walton also landed good body punches on Love. Walton continued the pressure in round six and seemed to edge out Love in the round. Love turned things back in his favor in round seven. He landed a right hand that stunned Walton. Walton managed to survive the round. In the final round, Walton was fatigued and Love stayed busy and boxed well. The scores were 78-74, and 77-75 (twice) all for Love.
The opening bout of the telecast was in the super welterweight division between two unbeaten fighters. Joseph “Action” Jackson (16-0, 12 KO’s) of Greensboro, North Carolina won an eighth round unanimous decision over Derrick “D-Man” Colemon Jr (11-1, 8 KO’s) of Detroit, Michigan. Jackson started off quick in the opening round throwing a lot of punches. Most of the punches were blocked by Colemon. Colemon landed a left jab and right hand that were the most significant punches of the round. In round two, both fighters exchanged punches well. During a moment, both fighters threw and landed left hooks with Colemon getting the better of the exchange. Colemon put the pressure more in round three, going to the body of Jackson. Colemon also landed lead right hands to the head of Jackson. Round four was a better round for Jackson. Jackson did a good job of landing counter punches on the charging Colemon. Jackson displayed good boxing in round five. He showed side to side movement and out boxed Colemon. Jackson continued to out box Colemon in round six. Jackson was landing good combinations to the head of Colemon. In round seven, Jackson landed a left hook that hurt Colemon which made Colemon back up. Jackson then dug punches to the body of Colemon. In the final round, Jackson dominated Colemon with body punches and straight head shots. The scores were 77-75, 80-72 and 78-74 all for Jackson.