By Ricardo Ibarra
Photos by Mike Blair/Boxingprospects.net

Adding a ninth professional victory to his unbeaten ledger, former Pacific Northwest amateur stand-out Nicholas Jefferson (9-0, 5 KOs) claimed a five round unanimous decision win over journeyman Sean Gee (4-10) on Saturday night at Green River College in Auburn, Washington.

Headlining PNW Professional Boxing Promotions’ seven-bout card, Jefferson turned in a workmanlike performance, using his longer reach and effective movement to out-land his opponent throughout most of the fight.

Jefferson, of Tacoma, Washington, set the range early in the first round, working off his jab and unloading with sharp right hands. Gee, fighting out of a southpaw stance, pressed forward in an effort to get in close enough to land his right hook, but had trouble getting inside his opponent’s long one-twos. Jefferson consistently found his mark in the round, unloading with sharp combinations from the outside and catching Gee with effective counters as he tried to get in close.

In the second, Gee stepped up his aggression, swarming Jefferson and unloading with wild hooks in close. Jefferson displayed a good defense, though, covering up to avoid his opponent’s assault and maneuvering out of the pocket before Gee could land anything of consequence. Jefferson continued to land the cleaner and more effective shots in the round, but Gee was making it a rough fight for the young fighter.

Jefferson worked from range in the third, snapping at Gee with one-twos and drilling him with hard counters as he tried to cut the distance. Mid-way through the round a pin-point accurate right hand from Jefferson as he pivoted out of the pocket seemed to rock Gee. Moments later Jefferson clearly had Gee in some trouble after a left hook landed flush to the side of the head. The Tacoma fighter continued to unload, finding angles and smashing his opponent with well-timed punches to the head and body.

Gee rallied back in the fourth round, forcing his way in close enough to smother his opponent’s offense and land with his own volley of punches. The two engaged in some brisk back and forth action, but as the round neared the mid-way point, Jefferson began to reclaim the momentum, digging hard to Gee’s mid-section and coming back upstairs.

Down the final stretch of the fight, Jefferson took over with a consistent assault, tagging Gee repeatedly. After five scheduled rounds, all three judges saw the fight the same at 49-46, awarding the unanimous decision win to Jefferson.

“He’s a tough guy,” said Jefferson of his opponent after the fight. “He made it a good fight. I could’ve done a lot better, but Sean Gee is a hell of an opponent. He came to fight…I wish I could’ve done a lot more, but a fight is a fight and that’s what he made it…I’m glad he came out to fight and gave my fans a good night. My crowd came out and showed the support…Tacoma was definitely in the building.”

The win was the second of the year for Jefferson. Gee, meanwhile, suffers his fourth consecutive loss. The bout was contested in the welterweight division.

A six-fight undercard made up the rest of the line-up. In the co-main event, Seattle’s Rob Diezel (13-7, 4 KOs) scored a dominant five round decision win over Yakima’s Gilberto Duran (3-2, 3 KOs). Diezel set the tempo of the fight early, firing stiff jabs and unloading with sharp combinations on his forward pressing opponent. As the fight wore on, Diezel continued to gradually increase his output, catching Duran with clubbing right hands and hooks to the body. Throughout the fight he was first to get off, cracking Duran with clean punches before either moving away or covering up in a peek-a-boo defense to avoid Duran’s retaliation. A cut over the eye of Duran opened late in the fourth after a barrage from Diezel. Diezel continued to control the action in the final round, moving effectively and connecting with solid combinations. All three judges scored the fight a shutout at 50-45. The fight took place in the Jr. featherweight division.

Fighting in his thirteenth professional bout, Spanaway, Washington’s Kevin Davila (3-8-2, 1 KO) scored his third win as a paid prizefighter, taking a four round majority decision victory over Seattle’s Jorge Linares Montejo (4-4, 3 KOs) in a lightweight bout. Davila swarmed in close and unloaded early in the fight, catching Linares with looping right hands and short hooks in the pocket. For the first two rounds, Davila connected the cleaner punches, roughing Linares up in close and tagging him repeatedly. As the second round came to a close, Davila smashed Linares with a hard right hand and left him visibly wobbly as he walked back to his corner. The third round was closer with both fighters exchanging shots in close, but in the fourth Davila upped his work-rate and closed out strong, connecting at a more consistent rate. Two judges saw the fight for Davila at 39-37, with the last seeing it even at 38-38.

Unbeaten cruiserweight Abraham Martin (4-0, 4 KOs) added his fourth straight win inside the distance, defeating Hermiston, Oregon’s Alexandro Alvarez (0-2) in the second round. Martin, of Medford, Oregon, went to work early, smashing Alvarez with a heavy right hand as the round got underway. He continued to find his mark with right hands and, mid-way through the opening round, buckled Alvarez with a series of uppercuts. In the second, Martin continued to pepper Alvarez with precise right hands, catching Alvarez repeatedly with clean shots to the head. After a series of rights buckled Alvarez’ knees again, his corner threw in the towel, giving Martin the win at 1:23 of the round.

Rebounding from his lone professional defeat, Seattle’s Shae Green (4-1-1, 1 KO) scored a four round unanimous decision win over William Parra-Smith (1-3, 1 KO), of Anchorage, Alaska. Green boxed at range in the first round, using his longer reach to keep Parra-Smith on the outside and at the end of his punches. In the second, Parra-Smith began to close the gap and force the fight to the inside. The closer proximity of the fight did give Parra-Smith more opportunities to land, but it also gave Green more chances to counter, which he quickly began to capitalize on. Staying in close and trading in the pocket, Green landed the harder and more accurate punches, drilling Parra-Smith with solid shots to the body and following up with hooks upstairs. The remainder of the fight was contested mostly at close range, with Green’s busier pace and more accurate punching giving him the edge in an entertaining welterweight battle. The official tallies all went to Green by scores of 40-36, 40-36, and 39-37.

Bend, Oregon’s Chris Johnson (4-0, 1 KO) pitched a four-round shut-out victory over Yakima, Washington’s Charon Spain (1-13-1) in a Jr. middleweight match-up. Johnson, fighting out of a southpaw stance, dropped Spain early in the first round with a straight left. He went on to control the remainder of the round, popping Spain repeatedly with sharp straight lefts. Johnson continued to land the cleaner punches in the second round, popping Spain with one-twos and countering as Spain made his way in close. Spain did find some success late in the third as Johnson abandoned his movement and chose instead to trade in the pocket, but even then, Johnson connected consistently with the cleaner punches. In the fourth, Spain took a knee after a flurry from Johnson, claiming a thumb to the eye. Referee Louis Jackvony ruled it a knockdown regardless and, after the mandatory eight count, asked the ringside physician to examine Spain. After the action resumed, Spain unloaded with a sense of urgency, swarming in close and wailing away with a wild assault. In doing so, though, Spain left himself open for Johnson’s counters and, late in the round, Johnson again sent him to the canvas, this time with a left hook. The round ended before Johnson could follow-up on the knockdown. All three judges gave every round to Johnson by scores of 40-34, and 40-33 twice.

In the evening’s opener, Tacoma’s Gerardo Esquivel (2-1-1, 1 KO) and Beaverton, Oregon’s Journey Newson (0-1-1) battled to a majority draw in an entertaining Jr. welterweight scrap. The bout quickly erupted in the first round, with the two combatants unloading with heavy artillery. Newson gained an early edge in the fight, tagging Esquivel with a hard left hook that momentarily buckled him. Newson kept the pressure up, connecting with hard power shots and putting his opponent on the defensive. Esquivel picked up his output in the second round, working behind his jab and blasting away with hard hooks to the mid-section. The round was close, with Newson countering well with looping right hands and Esquivel landing consistently in close, but the flow of the action seemed to favor Esquivel. In the third, Newson had a slight edge early in the round with his winging right hands, but Esquivel came on half-way through the round, connecting in close with effective combinations. Esquivel came out swinging with a purpose in the fourth round, catching Newson repeatedly with vicious flurries in close. The two traded momentum and swapped heavy leather in the final stretch of the fight, giving the local crowd an exciting end to a good fight. After four rounds, one judge scored the fight for Esquivel at 40-36, with the other two seeing it even at 38-38.

A scheduled fight between Sebastian Baltazar and Steven Hellman was scrapped when Hellman failed to show up for the weigh-ins.

PNW Professional Boxing Promotions will return to Green River College in Auburn on October 26th. For more information on their upcoming events, visit the PNW Professional Boxing Promotions Facebook page.

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