By Gary “Digital” Williams at ringside

A number of young professional boxers faced mostly durable competition and came away with victories during the Nation’s Fight Night card at the Howard Theatre in Washington, DC.

In the main event, Hyattsville, MD welterweight Patrick Harris won a six-round unanimous decision over a very game Jesus Lule of Fort Myers, FL by way of Mexico. Harris relied mostly on his inside work, landing crunching shots to Lule’s body. Harris didn’t rely much on his jab as he was able to pummel Lule inside. Harris won by shutout across the board, 60-54, to remain undefeated at 12-0, seven KOs. Lule falls to 11-23-1, two KOs.

In the co-feature, highly-touted Philadelphia, PA welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis made short work of Ricardo Cano of Guadalajara, Mexico, scoring a first-round knockout. Ennis jumped on Cano early and backed him into a neutral corner. Ennis landed a left hand to the body and followed with a sweeping right hook to the head to drop Cano. After reaching the count of eight, Referee Sharon Sands stopped the bout at 40 seconds. Ennis is now 14-0, 12 KOs while Cano falls to 17-14-5, 10 KOs.

DC welterweight Kareem “Reemo” Martin bounced back from suffering his first pro loss by winning a six-round unanimous decision over Evincii “Prize Fighter” Dixon of Lancaster, PA. Martin’s offensive output turned Dixon into a punching bag with feet as Dixon gave back very little offense in return. Martin punctuated his performance with quick and powerful flurries in the final round. Martin scored a shutout on all the judges’s cards. Martin is now 9-1-1, three KOs. Dixon drops to 7-19-2, two KOs.

In ladies action, Baltimore, MD light heavyweight Franchon Crews-Dezurn won a four-round unanimous decision over “Lady Rocky” Sydney LeBlanc of Gretna, LA. The bout was a slugfest from start to finish as both ladies landed clubbing shots at each other. LeBlanc tried to live up to the Rocky nickname at times as she called Crews-Dezurn in to exchange punches. The judges saw a more powerful output from Crews-Dezurn as she won the bout by shutout across the board, 40-36. Crews-Dezurn, the wife of undefeated Baltimore boxer Glenn Dezurn, Jr., is now 2-1, one KO. LeBlanc’s record drops to 4-3-1.

Bladensburg, MD lightweight “The Dark Menace” Tiara Brown scored a second-round TKO over “Unpredictable” Tammy Franks of San Antonio, TX. Brown was able to land strong shots with both hands that battered Franks all over the ring before the bout was stopped by referee Brent Bovell at 49 seconds of the second round. Brown is now 3-0, two KOs. Franks is now 2-29-1.

In the most impressive performance of the night, Coachella, CA welterweight Brandun Lee put on a sterling performance en route to a second-round TKO over the normally tough Roy “The Reaper” Garcia of Alice, TX. Lee quickly started his dominance by landing precise blows to the head and body. The confident 18 -year-old Lee was so in control, he took a brief moment to pose in front of a ringside photographer during the action. Lee quickly overpowered Garcia before referee Sharon Sands halted the bout at 1:23 of the second round. Lee remains undefeated at 5-0, four KOs. Garcia falls to 4-24-1, two KOs.

Welterweight Tyrek “I.G.B. Irby of Hyattsville, MD scored an easy first-round KO over late sub Anthony Alston of Raleigh, NC. Alston was extremely overmatched as Irby pressured him and landed numerous punches. Alston looked for a place to fall and finally did on his back. Referee David Braslow counted to 10 and the bout ended at 58 seconds. Irby is now 4-0, two KOs while Alston is 0-2.

In the opening bout on the card, Washington, DC, welterweight Shynggyskhan Tazhibay won a four-round unanimous decision over veteran Robert “Hitman” Hill of Gulfport, MS. Tazhibay, a native of Kazakhstan, landed solid shots to the body throughout the contest. Hill was very durable but had no offense in return. Tazhibay won by shutout (40-36) across the board to raise his record to 5-0, two KOs. Hill is now 7-34-1, one KO.

The Nation’s Fight Night card was promoted by Jarod and Tatiana Moton. The matchmaker was Chris Middendorf. The ring announcer was Henry “Discombobulating” Jones.