By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder
Detroit-Carlos Llinas’ Night of Knockouts proved to be a great show showcasing upcoming talented prospects, as well as some veterans of the sport. Darryl Cunningham (43-10, 19 KOs) has been the King of Soundboard Theater in Motor City Casino and Hotel. Labeled as “The People’s Choice” by the fans, Darryl had the plans on one more run to the top. In Cunningham’s way was Antonio Hernandez. Hernandez proving records do not mean anything in this sport, was feared amongst some of the people that surround the Detroit boxing scene as perhaps Darryl’s toughest opponents he has faced. So, you had the savvy Cunningham vs. a young hitting Hernandez.
Hernandez started off early Round 1. The middleweight caught and hurt Cunningham right away. The 2nd Round Cunningham was able to keep Hernandez away with a stiff jab. Cunningham, moving at a more controlled pace, just wasn’t able to match Hernandez’s speed and power. In the 3rd, when Hernandez was able to land, Cunningham stumbled. The 6-Round fight would end in the 4th, as Hernandez was able to trap Cunningham in his corner. Cunningham, was able to stumble out, but was then hit with a three-punch combo in his opponent’s corner that sent him to the canvas. Cunningham tried his hardest to get up, but the fight was waved off by Referee Frank Garza after Cunningham was still stumbling at the count of 10. Cunningham was respectful and said after the fight, “The better man won,” and admitted he was badly hurt in the middleweight contest. On the other side, you have Hernandez (6-11-2, 4 KOs) now, a very dangerous fighter, who keeps earning respect every fight, as he continues in his career.
Heavyweights Ray Austin and Rydell Booker fought to a draw. The 51-year-old Austin (29-10-5, 18 KOs) still had quick hands and was able to catch Booker (26-4-1, 13 KOs) early. Credit to both heavyweights, as cardio was not an issue, as the fight went the full 6 rounds. (58-56-Austin, 58-56-Booker, 57-57) were the scores from the judges.
Super Welterweight Jermarco Holloway improved to (4-0, 2 KOs) by defeating a sound pro debut in Rodrigo Solis (0-1). The southpaw Holloway struck early with a 1st Round knockdown of Solis. The next three rounds, Holloway easily controlled the fight after hurting Solis. Holloway won the UD (40-35, 40-35, 40-35).
Garrett Ross took on a bigger and undefeated Isiah Gathings Jr. Ross stuck to a quick jab and closing the distance to have all three judges give the Super Welterweight the UD (40-36, 40-36, 40-36).
Lightweight Munib Al Samani made quick work of Clayton Crosslan by winning by KO 1:16 of the 1st Round. Salmani improved to (2-0, 2 KOs) as Crosslan dropped to (0-2).
Welterweight Dwane “Street Fighter” Taylor (2-0, 2 KOs) destroyed Trequan Shields (0-1) with a left body hook to the liver that earned him the 1st Round KO at the 1:04 mark.
Pro debut Super Lightweight Gabrielle Hayes (1-0) won by UD over Nicole Reinhart (2-2, 1 KO). The scores all in favor of Hayes were (39-37, 39-37, 40-36).
The first fight of the night had Super Welterweight Javonni Bennett (1-0) defeating Antonio Daniels (0-1) by UD (39-37, 39-37, 39-37) in their pro debut.
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That picture is embarassing for boxing.
Out of the 5 people pictured here, if you were to rank who’s in the best shape:
1) The girl
2) The guy on the left climbing through the ropes
3) The Ref
4a) Ray Austin
4b) Rydell Booker
USFBulls727:
– Thank you for the chuckle
– In order (my 2 cents) :
1. The young lady
2. The Ref
3. The other 3.
Take care.
– Gary G.
Once again the Michigan commission approves fighters that shouldn’t even be in the ring. Detroit boxing has never been more disappointing.
My God, how pathetic. Ray Austin and Rydell Booker should both be ashamed of themselves. If you don’t have sense enough to condition yourself properly before putting on a pair of trunks and stepping into the ring, then you really shouldn’t be allowed to fight. These two bird-legged humpty dumptys make me want to immediately go on a 30-day juice fast during the Thanksgiving holiday, hitting the gym twice a day in the process. Sad. My goal in life is to never let myself go to such an extent, that I look as pathetic as Ray Austin and Rydell Booker look in this picture.
My nephew snapped a photo of me during Easter dinner. My belly protruded big time. After seeing that pic, I decided that I needed to lose weight, so I stopped drinking beer. Yuengling laid off 10% of their work force, but I lost no weight. It was only after I stopped drinking Snapple Iced Tea that I went from 202 lbs to 168 lbs. It was the sugar that was doing it.
– Take care.
I remember seeing a documentary on the effects that repeated blows to the head have on boxers, and one of those effects was the body (or the pituitary gland, to be exact) losing the ability to produce testosterone, which leads to weight gain. It featured James Toney, who said his testosterone level was almost non-existent. Type “Traumatic Brain Injury – ESPN Outside the Lines” in a YouTube search. The video is less than 5 minutes long worth a look and may explain why boxers like Austin look the way they do after a long career…
Austin looks more like James Toney than James Toney does…
I actually thought it was James Toney when I saw the pre-fight pic!
Austin has got the WBC Sticker on the left side of his shorts?
When you make it a point of saying, “cardio was not an issue” with respect to a professional boxing match? Perhaps it’s time for both of its participants to re-evaluate their decision to get into the ring.
The best shape of the five? The gal, by far, and she ain’t no great shakes.