Back-to-back pro boxing events concluded last night for Vertex Promotions as super lightweight Adrian “Tonka” Sosa remained undefeated, winning the “Fight Night on the Charles at Mosley’s III” main event, at Mosley’s On The Charles in Dedham, Massachusetts.
Sosa (12-0, 9 KOs), who hadn’t fought in 28 months, returned to the ring with a fury, albeit showing signs of rust. His hand were quick, as usual, and he was well poised as his veteran Mexican opponent, Danny “Venado” Flores (15-25-1, 8 KOs), continually but unsuccessfully tried to lure Sosa into traps. Sosa was the hunter, stalking a game Flores, who often stayed in the corners or on the ropes baiting Sosa to mix it up.
In the third round, Sosa dropped Flores with a sweet left-right combination, but Flores was remained resilient. Sosa obliged, ten-fold. He was the clear aggressor from start to finish, setting the pace and resulting in an 8-round shutout decision for Sosa, winning every round on all three judges’ scorecards, against the granite-chinned Flores.
“I had to work off some rush fighting for the first time in more than 700 days,” Sosa admitted. “I’m not disappointed in my performance though. I needed to get in some rounds, and he was tough. I kept my poise in the ring. I would have liked to have finished him off, but I really needed rounds. I’m very happy with my new management (Fighter Locker) and Ryan (Roach). I’m looking to step up next year. We have a list of potential opponents we’ll go over and choose one.”
In the co-featured event, undefeated welterweight Eric “Gladiator” Goff improved to 4-0 with his third career knockout, by way of a powerful left hook that nearly put an out-classed Luciano Santos (0-2) to sleep. A native of Hawaii, Goff now fights out of Springfield, Massachusetts.
Dorchester (district of Boston) featherweight Troy Anderson, Jr. (2-0, 2 KOs) completely dominated pro-debuting Chakem Brooks enroute to a second-round technical knockout. Anderson, a 2016 Rocky Marciano Tournament champion, dropped Brooks at the end of round one with a left hook. Brooks managed to beat the count, however, he was knocked down three additional times in the second round, after which referee Kevin Hope waved off the fight.
The pro debut of highly regarded Irish prospect Tommy “The Kid” O’Toole, walked into the ring by a bagpipe player for the fighter who was ‘shipping up to Boston’ for a sensational first-round knockout triumph. The Galway southpaw consistently drilled Brazilian cruiserweight Francisco Ariri Neto (1-15, 1 KO), who landed on the canvas three times, much to the delight of the largely Irish American crowd. O’Toole, who won a gold medal at the 2019 Irish Elite Championships, used a straight left for the first knockdown, quickly followed by a combination for Neto’s second trip to the mat, and finally a left to the body that Neto was unable to rise from before the referee’s count reached ten.
In a battle of Kansas super lightweights, pro-debuting Marcus Davidson (1-0, 1 KO) dropped Austin Reed Ward (0-9) three times in the first half of the opening round for a win by technical knockout. Davidson decked Ward with a crisp left hook, straight right in the corner, and finally a nice uppercut.
New York welterweight Brandon Idrogo (4-1, 4 KOs) bounced back from his first pro loss in his last fight, stopping overmatched journeyman Paulo Souza (0-23) in the third round. Idrogo battered Souza from the first bell until an unanswered barrage of punches led referee Tom Clark to half the action.