By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos: Bob Ryder
Dominating. Methodical. Ahead of his competition. But can it be marketable and packaged? Unbeaten lightweight Albert Bell doesn’t care. “It’s all about the win,” he said. “My people are happy. I can turn it up when I want.” Bell dominated Richard Maldonado on Saturday night in the main event at the Seagate Convention Center in Toledo, Ohio.
Bell is correct. His style, although not the most exciting to a crowd, may be the most effective. Make no mistake, when Bell throws you hear the power. But we would love to see more throwing. Battling a cramp that came up early in the fight, Bell proved to the crowd his skill is on a different level. Sometimes you can make it look so easy, people overlook the skill set.
Round 1 had Bell landing some big shots on his opponent, easily controlling the round. Round 2, Bell fired a fast left jab. The round, also, scored Bell a knockdown as opponent, Maldonado, was caught. The quick flash knockdown produced no damage as Maldonado easily got up.
The middle rounds saw Bell executing perfect left hooks to the head, never extending to Maldonado’s range. He, also, displayed a series of touches that Maldonado could not ever respond to. The light punches were not meant to damage. Bell was just reminding Maldonado that there is nothing he could do about it. Maldonado never gave up and produced a durable opponent. Maldonado actually produced a knockdown of Bell in the 8th and final round. It was ruled a punch to the back of the head by Referee Gary Wolfe but because Bell’s knee touched , he had to start the count. Bell improves to (10-0, 3 KOs) with his (77-73, 78-72, 78-72) UD over Maldonado (8-7-1, 1 KO).
Angelo Snow improves to (7-2, 5 KOs) with an impressive victory over Joel Guevara (3-3-1, 2 KOs). Snow started off slow, often allowing himself to get up against the ropes and cornered by Guevara. It’s in the corners that Snow’s biggest strength is nullified, his speed and his elusiveness. In the 3rd Round, Snow was caught by a left that sent him flying across the ring, only held up by the ropes. Referee Jamie Howe decided to not rule that a knockdown. The punch proved to be a wake-up call to Snow, who then began to take over. 1-2 combinations from Snow, actually spun Guevara around in the 4th. Snow, now controlling the center of the ring, hit Guevara with an overhand right followed by body shots that dropped him in the 5th. Guevara never really recovered from the knockdown and Snow looked good in the later rounds. The judges all saw in favor of Snow (58-55, 58-55, 58-55) with a UD welterweight victory.
Heavyweight Jamal Woods stunned the Toledo crowd with a 2:58 1st Round TKO of Cassius Anderson. The fight marked the first time Anderson fought someone with a win on their record. Woods was able to catch Anderson with a 1-2 combination that dropped the undefeated fighter. Anderson stood up and struggled with Woods’ pressure and was caught in the corner. Woods, using multiple combinations, was able to force Anderson to fall again. Anderson beat the count, but did not display that he could continue to Referee Wolfe. The win improves Woods to (16-38-7, 11 KOs) as Anderson falls to (4-1, 3 KOs).
In other bouts, heavyweight Marquis Valentine (5-1, 2 KOs) defeated Kaleb Slaughter (0-1) at the 3:00 minute mark of the 2nd Round with a TKO. Slaughter injured his hand in the fight and could not continue.
In the night’s most entertaining bout, Raymond Castenara (2-0, 1 KO) defeated lightweight Darnell Pettis (2-9) by (39-37, 40-36, 40-36) UD.
Super bantamweight Juan Nobles (2-0, 2 KOs) won with a 50-second 2nd Round TKO over opponent Austin Lajiness (0-1).
The show was produced by Pulse Boxing, promoted by Vic Green, and matched up by Vick Green and Aaron Rodriguez.
