By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos: Bob Ryder

In the biggest test of his young career, Ja’Rico O’Quinn (8-0, 6 KO’s) shined with a complete performance over Nick Otieno Okudo (31-13, 13 KO’s) Friday night, in Warren, MI. O’Quinn, whose potential as a boxing star under Salita Promotions, needed a step up in competition.

Otieno came in as a tough competitor, with an impressive resume. He is a true boxer with the only downfall of being 44 years old. O’Quinn’s speed and elusiveness proved strong over the super bantamweight 6-Round contest. His corner, Chad Jaquillard, agreed post fight and added he was happy with Rico’s performance.

Otieno opened the fight chasing O’Quinn. But a fast jab kept Otieno away. Later in the fight, Otieno looked to counter O’Quinn, but once again, the speed proved too much for the veteran. O’Quinn brought the sell out crowd to their feet with a 5thRound knockdown of Otieno. The quest for victory was easy. It was not that Otieno was bad. It just came down to O’Quinn was that good on this night.

Gheith Mohammed Karim improved to (3-0, 1 KO) with his super welterweight UD over Chester Tatmon (40-34, 39-36, 39-36). Mohammed and Tatmon had a close 1st Round. In the 2nd, Mohammed was able to score a knockdown of Tatmon. The 3rd Round saw Mohammed unloading on Tatmon and taking complete control of the fight. Mohammed’s victory drops Tatmon to (3-1, 1 KO).

Super welterweight Leon “Lethal” Lawson III had to battle a very sloppy opponent in Diamond Mitchell. A fight that sometimes resembled more of a wrestling match kept Lawson off balance for the first two rounds. Lawson was able to throw measured shots keeping Mitchell’s sloppiness at bay. In the 4th Round, Lawson slipped a right through the guard of Mitchell. The punch had Mitchell hitting the canvas. As Lawson gained complete control of the fight, Mitchell hit the canvas, again. Mitchell, then, proceeded to pick up Lawson and threw him to the ground. Mitchell momentarily lost control and cost Lawson the knockout. Referee Gerard White forced to now DQ Mitchell. The win improved Lawson to (2-0, 1 KO) and dropped Mitchell, who was apologetic to Lawson’s corner and the crowd, to (0-5).

Kronk boxer, Joseph Bonas (3-0, 3 KO’s) made quick work of John Pitts (0-2) with a 33-second 1st Round knockout of the super welterweight match. Bonas, who has struggled to find consistent fights, is cornered by Sugar Hill Steward. He has often been viewed as one of the most talented fighters in the Detroit area.

About Billions fighter, Desmond Jarmon, improves to (5-0, 4 KO’s) after knocking down opponent, Nathen Long (0-2) twice with a hard right. Long, who told Referee White, after two knockdowns, he no longer wanted to continue. He could not last more than 55 seconds of the 1st Round.

The night, also, featured two women making their pro debuts. Edith Ogoke, former 2012 Olympian from Nigeria, looked impressive with her UD (39-37, 40-36, 40-36) over Empire Boxing Club’s Kiara “KiKi” Marquez. The 1st Round featured Ogoke coming out fast. Marquez was stunned early in the fight, although, was able to gain her composure and looked better later in the 4-Round super welterweight bout. Ogoke (1-0) was gracious to the crowd in her speech post fight with announcer, Pete “Mr. Throwdown” Trevino. Credit does go to Marquez (0-1) for taking one legit opponent for her pro debut.

Heavyweight Curtis Head (4-1, 3 KO’s) wore out Alejandro Esquilin Santiago (0-2) to win by UD (40-36, 39-37, 40-35) over four rounds. Santiago looked ready for Head in the first couple of rounds. Often stomping his feet hard on the canvas to throw Head off his game plan. Santiago, also, tried to lure Head into the corners and counter Head’s punches. The 3rd and 4th saw Head pull away by out-boxing Santiago and using an impressive jab.

If there was a fighter who looked the part and landed like a knockout artist, it was Derrick “Ice Cold” Coleman Jr. Coleman (2-0, 2 KO’s) landed thunderous shots to his opponent, Edward Aceves (0-3). In the middleweight contest, Coleman scored a knockdown in the 1st with a left hook power shot. In the 2nd, Coleman put his foot on the gas scoring a TKO with the 3-knockdown rule. All three knockdowns in the 2nd coming from body shots. Two were from the left, while one was from the right to finish off Aceves.

Anthony Flagg (3-0, 3 KO’s) opened the night with a TKO 1:20 2ndRound win over Devante Jennings (0-1). Jennings’ glazed look after a knockdown forced Referee Gerard White to make the stoppage in the cruiserweight contest.

The night was matched by Aaron Rodriquez, Pee Robinson, and Kenny D. Moore. It was promoted by Kenny D. Moore and Tuong Vi Tran, both of Second 2 None Promotions. This was the third fight card in Warren, MI at Decarlos Convention and Banquet Center for Second 2 None, and the most successful yet. The sold out crowd featured local promoters, fans from Flint, Detroit, and Ohio coming out to show their support for the sport of boxing.