By: Ken Hissner
On Saturday night Hard Hitting Promotions Will Ruiz and matchmaker Manny Ramirez put on 8 bouts before a very good attended crowd. These bouts took place at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia.
In the Main Event Super Middleweight southpaw Derrick “Take It to The Bank” Webster, 27-1 (14), of Glassboro, NJ, halted Les “Lock Load” Sherrington, 37-11 (21), of Broadbeach, Australia, at 1:32 of round 9 in a scheduled 10 rounds.
In the first round Webster landed the first effective punch a lead left to the mid-section. Sherrington landed a right, left to the chin backing up Webster. Webster landed a 3-punch combination rocking Sherrington who immediately tied him up until the bell sounded. In the second round Sherrington landed a combination to the head as Webster acknowledged it. Webster landed a left uppercut to the chin of Sherrington who came right back at Webster.
In the third round Sherrington landed a low blow having referee Gary Rosato give Webster a minute rest. Sherrington landed three straight punches as Webster was backing up. In the fourth round the boo’s started. Webster not being the most exciting boxer playing it safe. Whenever Sherrington comes forward he does well but sitting back Webster pick’s him apart with his jab.
In the fifth round it was more of the same with Webster backing up piercing Sherrington with his jab. Sherrington landed the last punch of the round a right to the body of Webster. In the sixth round Sherrington landed a combo as Webster was moving away. Webster landed an effective 3-punch combo to the head of Sherrington getting his attention. Webster ended the round with a solid jab to the chin of Sherrington.
In the seventh round Webster started bouncing around like a “kangaroo” to the “man from down under”. Webster landed a partially blocked left to the right glove of Sherrington. Sherrington landed several body shots causing Webster to spin around. In the eighth round Sherrington landed a lead right to the chin of Webster who immediately grabbed Sherrington. Webster landed a flurry of punches backing Sherrington to take a knee. Webster jumped on him with a flurry dropping him again causing referee Rosato to step in and stop it.
Very impressive was 18 year-old Lightweight Branden “The Gift” Pizarro, 11-1 (5), of Philadelphia, stopping Hector Marengo, 7-12-4 (4), of Arecibo, PR at 1:32 of the second round of a scheduled 6.
In the first round it didn’t take long before crowd pleasing Pizarro landed a right, left and right dropping Marengo barely beating the count of referee Steve “SS” Smoger. Pizarro jumped on him right up until the bell sounded! In the second round Pizarro picked up where he left off in the previous round throwing punch after punch until Marengo dropped to the canvas. He was up but wobbly as referee Smoger wisely waved it off.
Back in the win column Lightweight Liberian Samuel “Tsunami” Teah, 14-2-1 (7), of Philadelphia, stopped Zack “AK 47” Ramsey, 8-4 (4), of Springfield, MASS, at 2:49 of the first round in a scheduled 6.
In the first round it was all Teah having Ramsey on the defense. Suddenly a right uppercut to the mid-section dropped Ramsey who tried to get up causing referee Rosato to call a halt.
Exciting southpaw Lightweight Jeremy “King” Cuevas, 10-0 (8), of Philadelphia, stopped southpaw Uganda’s Deo Kizito, 3-4 (2), of Dubai, UAE, now living in Wash., DC, at 2:02 of the sixth round in an action packed fight in a scheduled 6, in the best fight of the night!
In the first round Cuevas wasted no time throwing punches backing up Kizito. Halfway through the round Cuevas hurt Kizito with a right hook to the head that had Kizito wobbling several feet backwards. Cuevas jumped on him but Kizito managed to weather the storm. In the second round Cuevas landed a chopping right to the head of Kizito. Half a minute later Kizito got into an exchange with Cuevas showing he didn’t come to fall down.
In the fourth round Cuevas came out twirling his left hand while landing a snapping jab to the chin of Kizito. Cuevas had Kizito in a corner landing a barrage of punches and it looked like referee Smoger was stepping in to stop it as Cuevas backed off thinking it was stopped. All of a sudden both fighters went to war. Cuevas thought he knocked Kizito down ending the fight and ran to the corner and up on the ropes with hands held high. Referee Smoger called it a slip as Kizito went down but Cuevas didn’t see the slip signal. Cuevas went right after Kizito who held his own until the bell.
In the fifth round Kizito for some reason must have thought it was the last round and went to touch gloves as Cuevas smashed him with a straight left to the chin. Kiziot showed very good recovery when he got hurt. Cuevas continued landing punch after punch as Kizito backed up before coming back with punches of his own. The fans were loving it! In the sixth and final round they touched gloves and Cuevas landed a straight left to the chin of Kizito. Kizito landed several low punches as referee Smoger gave him a break but Cuevas waved it off and went after Kizito. Cuevas went after him landing punch after punch until Kizito hit the canvas with referee Smoger wisely waving it the end!
Super featherweight Gadwin “El abayarde” Rosa, 7-0 (6), of Ocala, FL, stopped southpaw Angel Albeio, 4-10-3 (1), of Kissimmee, FL, at 2:05 of the fifth round in a lack luster bout scheduled for 6 rounds.
In the first round it was rather uneventful as both threw few punches other than jabs. In the second round Rosa landed a left hook to the chin of Albeio to start the round. There was little action after this with both back to jabbing which continued into the third round as Rosa continued for the most part being the aggressor.
In the fourth round the Philly fans were growing restless after following a good match prior to this. With both boxers being from FL you have to wonder if the sparred before and are continuing it now. Albeio is on the move as Rosa caught him with a glancing left hook to the side of the head. Rosa landed four punches to the body. Seconds later a Rosa right to the head started what a left hook to the mid-section finished dropping Albeio. As he got up he walked to his corner forcing referee Rosato to call a halt.
In the opening bout Cruiserweight and holder of half a dozen regional titles Prince Badi Ajamu, 29-5-1 (15), of Camden, NJ, lost a decision to Kenny Cruz Carasquillo, 3-2-1 (2), of Bayamon, PR, over 6 rounds.
In the first round Carasquillo landed wicked body shots on Ajamu. Ajamu continued using his jab and landed a punch a second past the bell and both touched gloves in good sportsmanship. In the second round Carasquillo turned southpaw and immediately back to orthodox. Halfway through the round Carasquillo landed a hard left hook to the chin of Ajamu. Ajamu pinned Carasquillo in a corner as both exchanged punches for half a minute. In the third round while against the ropes Carasquillo fought well with Ajamu getting the last punch in a right uppercut to the chin as the bell sounded.
In the fourth round Ajamu with hands held high throughout the fight brought them down with a vicious body attack from Carasquillo. In the fifth round a right hand from Carasquillo on the chin of Ajamu brought a roar from the crowd. Ajamu landed a left uppercut to the chin and followed with a right cross to the chin of Carasquillo. At the end of the round Ajamu looked spent. In the sixth and final round Carasquillo started opening up more and backed into a corner drawing Ajamu in landing several punches of his own. Then, just prior to the end of the round Carasquillo landed a flurry of punches.
Scores were 59-55 twice and 58-56 with this writer having it 59-55. The referee was IBHOF Steve “double SS” Smoger.
Super bantamweight Puerto Rican Romuel “Cuco” Cruz, 2-0-1 (1), of Philadelphia, and Jose Lopez, 0-0-1 (0), of New York, NY, battled to a majority draw over 4 rounds.
In the first round after several exchanges Lopez landed a solid right to the chin of Cruz. Lopez had a mouse under his right eye at the end of the round. In the second round Lopez landed an overhand right knocking Cruz back several steps. Cruz landed a left uppercut to the mid-section and Lopez came back with a right uppercut to the mid-section of his own.
In the third round Cruz worked the body of Lopez well. Lopez knocked out the mouthpiece of Cruz with a right uppercut to the chin. Cruz landed several punches but got countered by a Lopez right to the chin. The last 30 seconds both fighters went to war! In the fourth and final round Cruz used his jab well while Lopez missed with a big overhand right. Cruz landed several left hooks to the body of Lopez. Cruz moved better than in the previous rounds evading lunges by Lopez. Cruz landed a solid right to the chin of Lopez almost knocking him down just prior to the bell.
Scores were Werlinsky 39-37 Cruz, McNair 38-38, Page 38-38 and this writer had it 39-37 Lopez. Smoger was the referee.
Bringing his own cheering section Super featherweight Christian Tapia, 5-0 (4), of Coamo, PR, defeated southpaw Israel Suarez, 4-6-2 (2), of Luquillo, PR over 4 rounds.
In the first round every solid punch Tapia landed had his many fans cheering. Both fighters fought on even terms for the most part. Suarez got the last punch of the round in a straight left to the chin of Tapia. In the second round Tapia was out landing Suarez for the most part. In the final seconds of the round Suarez got in a solid lead left to the chin of Tapia.
In the third round Tapia landed half a dozen unanswered punches while inside. Tapia drove Suarez against the ropes rocking him several times until Suarez spun out. In the fourth and final round Tapia landed a vicious body attack of half a dozen punches almost doubling Suarez over. Tapia having Suarez in a corner brought his already standing large group of fans roaring their approval. Suarez was able to get through the round.
Scores were Weisfeld 40-36, Page 39-37 and McNair 39-37 as did this writer. The referee was Gary Rosato.
At ringside were unbeaten Jaron “Boots” Ennis, Garrett “The Ultimate Warrior” Wilson, Angel Pizarro, Jr. and Greg Hackett. Ever popular cut man Joey Eye worked several corners including the main event.