By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder
Salita Promotions introduced “Big Time Boxing” and debuted boxing Tuesday night at the Wayne State Fieldhouse on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Big Time Boxing USA is set to be a regular boxing program on the DAZN network.
The main event featured Ardreal Holmes Jr. (15-0, 6 KOs) vs Marlon Harrington (10-2, 9 KOs). The fight had the USBA Super Welterweight Championship on the line. Holmes, a more technical boxer vs. Harrington, a power puncher produced the pre-fight storyline. Round 1 had both fighters feeling each other out. But it did not take long in the 2nd Round for Holmes to hit the gas in the Motor City and drive right by Harrington. The first knockdown of Harrington was created with a massive left to his head. The blow buckled and sent Harrington to the canvas. A right by Holmes sent Harrington to the canvas for a second time. Harrington, in trouble, took a final combination to his head and fell forward to the ground. The TKO victory at the 1:25 mark of the 2nd Round showed Holmes at his very best. His ability to seize on Harrington in the 2nd Round is sure to have critics and fans now placing Holmes on their welterweight radar.
The swing bout produced the Fight of the Night, as fan favorite, Cameran Pankey (9-1, 4 KOs) faced a very aggressive, Juan Hernandez Martinez (3-3-2). The fight began with Martinez chasing down Pankey. Round 1 showed Martinez finding Pankey on the ropes and tagging him with massive shots. Pankey continued to back up in the 2nd Round, as Martinez moved forward. The abuse that Martinez was laying on Pankey, eventually broke him down on his knees to the canvas. But what came next was a remarkable performance of heart. Pankey, who appeared to be way behind and damaged, began to come back to the fight. Over the next three and final rounds of the 6-Round contest, Pankey traded blows with Martinez. The crowd applauded and chanted Pankey’s name in the final round as he gave his best attempt to try to win against Martinez. As the fight ended, it went to the scorecards. The judges all came back with the correct score in this writer’s eyes, as Martinez won by UD (57-56, 57-56, 57-56).
The co-main event had reigning USBA Light Heavyweight Champion Ali Izmailov (12-0, 8 KOs) defending and retaining his Championship over Britton Norwood (13-5-1, 10 KOs). The 1st Round was uneventful, but Round 2 had Izmailov scoring his first knockdown of Norwood. The 3rd had Norwood trying his hardest to keep up with Izmailov power shots. But the damage was just taking its toll over the fight. In the 4th Round, Izmailov connected with a right, then a short left, as Norwood was off balance to get his second knockdown of the fight. Norwood’s corner had seen enough and threw in the towel. The 1:28 TKO 4th Round victory for Ismailov showed his massive power and destructive style of boxing.
Super Welterweight Joseph Hicks Jr. (10-0, 7 KOs) scored a 42-second 4th Round TKO victory over Ricardo Ruben Villalba (20-11-1, 8 KOs).
In the opening bout, Middleweight Da’Velle Smith (8-0, 6 KOs) won by UD (59-55, 60-54, 60-54) over Rolando Wenceslao Mansilla (19-14-2, 9 KOs).
The card was promoted by Dmitry Salita and all matches were matched by Steve Clemente and Lina Kurylyuk.
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Harrington looked dreadful as his immense limitations were exposed here. Maybe he should consider going back to school to major in applied mathematics and artificial intelligence. He has a better chance of a lucrative career in this area than as a fighter.
I saw the fight on Youtube. He didn’t look that bad, did he? Does he really have a background in applied mathematics and AI or is that your way of saying anything else but boxing?
Ardreal Holmes Jr. (15-0, 6 KOs) did what he was supposed to do to a fighter with his experience, what happens when he steps up is the question. Lubin is a good test!