By Jason Marchetti at ringside
Photos: Emily Harney
In the main event at Foxwoods Casino, Jimmy Williams (14-0-1, 6 KO’s) knocked out Issouf Kinda (18-5, 7 KO’s) in a controversial ending at welterweight.
In a relatively even fight through 4 rounds, Kinda and Williams traded shots as both fighters had their moments at a distance. However as the fight got closer in the ring, referee Steve Smoger appeared to attempt to break the action as both boxers kept fighting. Kinda and Williams continued to punch, and Williams’ final blow also hit Smoger. Kinda dropped to the floor and Smoger immediately began the count. Kinda’s corner threw the stool in the ring as Smoger counted Kinda out and mayhem broke loose inside and outside the ring.
Security did very little to control Kinda’s corner and fans and things got ugly as Williams’ corner also entered the ring. Smoger offered little explanation, but a replay confirms he was trying to break the fighters as they both continued to throw punches. Williams actually hit Kinda behind the head several times during the attempted break. Smoger had earlier called two knockdowns ‘slips’ prior to the end of the bout which weren’t very clear.
Italian Heavyweight Juiseppe Cusumano (12-1, 10 KO’s) teed off on Robert Dunton (11-17-1, 6 KO’s) with overhand right hands and ended the bout in the 1st round by TKO. Dunton came into the bout out of shape and Cusamano capitalized right away. This was Cusamano’s third straight win under promoter Jimmy Burchfield.
Jamaine Ortiz (5-0, 3 KO’s) dominated Angel Figueroa (4-5-1) in a 4 rounder at super lightweight. Ortiz, from Worcester, Mass, earned a unanimous 40-36 decision after cutting down the ring and scoring from all angles. Figueroa showed toughness but was unable to score hardly any clean shot against his southpaw opponent. Ortiz is known for his footwork and fast hands and is one of the top young prospects from New England in his division.
In an excellent fight involving two young New England welterweight prospects, Cristobal Marrero (5-0, 2 KO’s) kept his record undefeated by fighting off the early attack of Miguel Ortiz (2-1, 1 KO) in a 6 round bout. Ortiz controlled the early action as it took a few rounds for Marrero to time and wear down his opponent. Ortiz showed little fear as he walked down Marrero in the early rounds and scored with hooks and straight right hands. However, Ortiz turned the tide and counterpunched his way back, cutting Ortiz in the 4th and dropping him to the canvas with a solid left hook in the 5th. Ortiz may have lost the final two rounds, albeit closely. The final scores were 57-56 for Otriz and 57-56 (twice) for Marrero.
‘Popeye’ Richard Rivera (3-0, 2 KO’s) outboxed UFC veteran Leandro Silva (0-1) in his cruiserweight professional debut. Silva spent most of the fight carrying his hands low, dancing around the ring, and laughing off Silva’s punches. However, Silva scored throughout the four rounds, coming forward for most of the bout and scoring a flash knockdown in the 2nd round. Silva, clearly out of his element, didn’t look comfortable or let his hands go in any of rounds. The final scores were 40-35 on all the scorecards.
Tough light heavyweight Nate Schulte (0-3) battled US Marine Jerel Pemberton (1-0), son of super middleweight ‘Sandman’ Scott Pemberton, over 4 rounds of action. Pemberton attacked Schulte on the ropes and landed several hooks to the head which earned him a unanimous victory in his professional debut. Pemberton shook off some of Schultz’ attack in the third, whose conditioning seemed to be the difference in the fight. All three judges scored it 40-36.
In the opening bout at Foxwoods, southpaw Jose Rivera (4-1, 3 KO’s) scored with his right hook through the early rounds to win a unanimous victory over Corwin Farmer (1-2) in a 4 rounder at jr. middleweight. Rivera placed a well-timed straight left hand to Farmer’s nose in the fourth, which halted his opponent’s charge. The final scores were 40-36, and 39-37 (twice).
