By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder
Second 2 None Promotions presented Best of Tomorrow 13 Friday night at Club Venetian in Madison Heights, Michigan. The main event featured hometown welterweight Reggie Harris Jr. (7-0, 3 KOs) winning a split decision against Empire Boxing Club’s Rashid Stevens (6-1, 5 KOs). Both fighters put their undefeated records on the line for a packed room to witness.
In Round 1, Stevens went straight to the center of the ring and started firing jabs from the southpaw position. Harris’ offense was more wild, as Stevens looked more composed. Round 2 had Stevens, once again, the center of the ring and scored with jabs and body shots. Harris finished the round strong as both fighters were firing shots at each other at the end. Round 3 was the closest of the 8-round bout. In the following rounds, again, Stevens pointed off his jab and body work. Harris, being the smaller fighter, lunged in to create good offense, often getting Stevens to the rope. The final rounds of the competition had both fighters trading blows. When all was said and done, the main event went to the judges (79-73-Stevens, 77-75-Harris, 78-74-Harris) SD win. You could argue the fight could have gone to Stevens. The entertaining fight should be run again. Even if that is not possible, both fighters have a bright future in boxing. And Stevens should be commended for risking his record in his opponent’s home state.
The co-main event was more like a wrestling match, as light heavyweight Jayden Taulker (0-3) and Aaron Rivera (2-0, 1 KO) ended up on the canvas often as a result of a lot of pushes and tackles. Aaron Rivera was awarded the DQ win at the 1:09 point of the 2nd Round, as Hall of Fame Referee Frank Garza had seen enough of Taulker non-boxing physical behavior.
Light heavyweight Antwan Jones improved to (9-0, 4 KO) by a 2:34 TKO win in the second over Billy Cunningham (11-42-1, 6 KOs). Jones dominated the 1st Round by firing vicious body shots. In the 2nd, Jones was firing his whole artillery, as body shots got him his first knockdown over Cunningham. The moment Jones hit with an uppercut, Cunningham was down for the second time in the same round. At that time, Referee Ansel Stewart had seen enough and waved off the fight.
Isiah Stubbs (0-5) had a permanent piercing that needed to be removed from his cheek before he would be able to fight. Removing the piercing did not help, as super featherweight Cameran Pankey (4-0, 3 KOs) looked impressive catching Stubbs with a right counter, as Stubbs walked in. The punch thrown, as Pankey was moving out of the way, left Stubbs on the mat for a long time. The 49-second TKO victory for Pankey leaves him in a potential great start to a long career.
Davontae Kirk (3-0, 3 KOs) beat fellow welterweight Rodrigo Solis (0-2) by a 1:44 mark TKO of the 2nd Round. Solis had hit the canvas once and later, his corner threw in the towel. Solis was upset by the stoppage, as he had moments in the short fight. Kirk fought a tough competitor. Now, he will look to move quickly in his early career.
The opening fight had heavyweight Walter Burns winning by majority decision (39-37-Burns, 38-38, 40-36-Burns) over Brandon Everett (0-1). Burns improved to (6-0, 4 KOs).
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