By Gary “Digital” Williams at ringside
Photos: Mike Greenhill

In the main event, Brian “El Boxi” Carlos Castano of Buenos Aires, Argentina stopped Wale “Lucky Boy” Omotoso of Los Angeles, CA by way of Nigeria at the end of the fifth round to win the WBO Intercontinental Junior Middleweight title.

The bout was an easy one for Castano as he outslugged Omotoso throughout the bout. Omotoso couldn’t return any offense. A hurt shoulder made things more difficult for Omotoso and forced the doctors at ringside to stop the contest at the end of the round. Castano remains undefeated at 19-0-1, 13 KO’s while Omotoso falls to 28-5, 22 KO’s.

In the co-feature bout, Javier Fortuna of La Roma, Dominican Republic put on a dominating performance on the way to stopping Jesus Cuellar of Buenos Aires, Argentina in the second round. This battle of former world super featherweight champions was a relatively easy one for Fortuna as he dropped Cuellar twice, the first was in the first round. The two men threw rights at the same time. Fortune’s right landed flush and dropped Cuellar. In the second, Fortuna sent a left-right combination to Cuellar’s head to knock him back down. Another quick flurry forced referee Bill Clancy to stop the bout at 2:01 of the second. Fortuna captured the WBC Continental Americas Lightweight title and raises his record to 35-2-1, 24 KO’s. Cuellar drops to 29-4, 22 KO’s.

David O. Morrell, Jr., a light heavyweight from Santa Clara, Cuba, stopped Quentin Rankin of Charlotte, NC in the second round. Morrell, who was competing in a scheduled eight-round encounter after only one previous pro bout, did damage early with a strong offensive attack that led to a vicious body shot that stopped Rankin in his tracks. Referee David Braslow stopped the bout at 1:01 of the round. Morrell is 2-0, two KO’s. Rankin is now 15-7-2, 12 KO’s.

Brehan, TX welterweight “Cowboy” Ryan Karl won by fifth-round technical decision when his opponent, Berman “Snake” Aguilar of San Jose, Costa Rica. Aguilar gained the early advantage in the bout, knocking down Karl with an overhand right in the first round. However, in setting up that punch, Aguilar hurt his left hand and the hand got progressively worse during the bout. Referee Bill Clancy, on the advice of the ringside doctors, stopped the contest at the end of the fifth round. Karl raised his record to 18-2, 12 KO’s. Aguilar falls to 15-6-1, five KO’s.

Washington, DC super lightweight Shyngyskhan Tazhibay won a four-round unanimous decision over Nicolas Atillo Velasquez of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tazhibay, a native of Kazakhstan, used a solid fundamental attack to earn the deserved victory. Scores were not given but all three judges were in agreement. Tazhibay remains undefeated at 9-0, two KO’s. Velasquez is now 11-7, three KO’s.

Capitol Heights, MD super lightweight Antuanne “The Last” Russell kept his perfect record intact with a crushing second-round knockout of Juan Huertas of Panama City, Panama. Russell went to work quickly and battered the overmatched Huertas. In the second, Russell’s continued punishment dropped Huertas to one knee. Huertas could not beat referee Bill Clancy’s ten-count and the bout was stopped at 40 seconds. Russell is now 12-0, 12 KO’s. Huertas is 14-2-1, 10 KO’s.

Undefeated welterweight Anthony “ATV” Velasquez scored a seventh-round TKO over Michael “The Hammer” Crain of Smyrna, DE. Velasquez stayed poised and disciplined throughout the contest as he controlled the action with solid head and body shots. Crain attempted to mount an offensive attack but he was overwhelmed by Velasquez’s onslaught. Referee David Braslow stopped the bout at 1:59 seconds of the seventh round to remain perfect at 8-0, eight KO’s. Crain falls to 3-4, one KO.

Glenarden, MD lightweight Drayvontay Speed Rawls captured an eight-round unanimous decision over Wanzell “Venom” Ellison of Newark, NJ. The two men traded blows throughout the bout. However, Speed Rawls was able to avoid some of Ellison’s punches as the bout went into the later rounds. Ellison landed an accidental low blow in the fourth round but was not penalized.

In the fourth bout on the TGB Promotions card at MGM National Harbor Casino in Oxon Hill, MD, bantamweight Antonio “Another” Russell made short work of Samuel Gutierrez of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Russell landed a wicked overhead right to drop Gutierrez to the canvas. Referee Kenny Chevalier stopped the bout at 2:01 of the first round. Russell remains undefeated at 16-0, 12 KO’s. Gutierrez falls to 16-26-6, six KO’s.

Hyattsville, MD super lightweight Patrick “YG Pat” Harris pummeled Joaquim Carneiro of Ceara, Brazil for six rounds en route to a technical knockout. Harris landed seemingly every punch in the book as Carneiro resembled a punching bag with feet. Finally, referee Kenny Chevalier stopped the contest at 25 seconds of the sixth. Harris’s record rises to 18-0, eight KO’s. Carneiro drops to 25-12, 23 KO’s.

Philadelphia, PA super welterweight Paul Kroll scored a 4th round TKO over Farhad Fatulla of Baku, Azerbaijan. Kroll knocked down Fatulla twice during the bout before it was stopped by referee David Braslow at 2:05 of the fourth round. Kroll is 6-0, five KO’s while Fatulla is 1-4.

In the opening contest at MGM National Harbor Casino in Oxon Hill, MD, super lightweight Tyrek “I.G.B. Irby of Landover, MD remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over a very game Joaquin Chavez of Los Angeles, CA. Irby took early control of the bout, landing left hooks to drop Chavez in the first and second rounds. By the middle of the bout, Chavez made things a little difficult for Irby by landing good shots of his own. The early deficit on the scorecards was too much for Chavez to overcome and Irby went on to win by scores of 78-72 and 79-73 twice. Irby is now 9-0, three KO’s while Chavez falls to 9-19-4, two KO’s.

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