By Gary “Digital” Williams at ringside
Arlington, VA super middleweight Filip Stankovic rebounded from suffering his only pro loss in January by scoring a third-round TKO over the “Haitian Hammer” Patrick Pierre of New Orleans, LA Saturday at the Waldorf Culture Center in Waldorf, MD. The bout was the main event of the Cynation Sports Promotions card.
Stankovic and Pierre fought evenly in the first round but in the second, Stankovic started to pick up his pace and pressured Pierre with solid lefts and rights. The pressure paid dividends in the third round as Stankovic landed a right hook that sent Pierre to the canvas. Moments later, Stankovic sent another right hand to drop Pierre than put on more pressure to force referee Bill Clancy to stop the contest at 1:58. Stankovic, a native of Nis, Serbia, is now 5-1, two KO’s while Pierre falls to 3-8, one KO.
The co-feature bout was an upset as Eric Manriquez of Houston, TX won a six-round majority decision over previously undefeated Oscar Moreno of Brooklyn, NY by way of Mexico City, Mexico in a super middleweight contest.
Manriquez never stopped coming forward and seemed to surprise Moreno with his offense. Moreno landed his share of punches but by the second half of the bout, Manriquez was able to put Moreno on his heels. Manriquez’s offense proved to be the difference as he would go on to victory. Judge Vic DeWysocki scored the bout a draw, 57-57 but was overruled by judges Bill Clancy (58-56) and Don Risher (59-55). Manriquez is now 7-6-1, four KO’s. Moreno drops to 7-1, six KO’s.
Washington, DC super middleweight Gregory “Glizzy” Clark recovered from a second-round knockdown to win a six-round unanimous decision over Aaron “A-Train” Casper of Augusta, GA by way of Baltimore, MD.
Casper had the early advantage in the bout by landing strong punches to Clark’s body. One of those body punches sent Clark to the canvas in the second round. However, Clark recovered and got his offense going in the second half of the contest and was able to turn the tide of the bout. All three judges (Brent Bovell, Bill Clancy, Don Risher) scored the bout 58-55 for Clark, who raised his record to 4-3-1, one KO. Casper’s record falls to 5-3, four KO’s.
In a female super lightweight encounter, Michaele “Rogue” Nogue of Chesapeake, VA won a four-round unanimous decision over the debuting Dasha “Champ Queen” Ragland of Harrisburg, PA. Nogue, who is a member of the United States Coast Guard, was able to put on a strong performance with a nice offensive onslaught. Ragland fought gamely but was unable to keep up with Nogue’s pressure. Judges Clancy and Risher scored a shutout for Nogue, 40-36 while Bovell saw it 39-37. Nogue wins her first pro contest and is 1-1.
In the opening contest, Lusby, MD super featherweight Nathaniel “ASAP” Davis registered a second-round TKO over Alexis “Textbook” Rivera of Brooklyn, NY. Both men were making their pro debuts.
In the first round, Davis landed a picture-perfect counter right hand to Rivera’s face to drop him to the canvas. Davis would follow up in the third round with a solid left hand that forced referee Clancy to stop the bout at 30 seconds of the third.
Cynation Sports is headed by Cory Sanders. The matchmaker was Brian Dillon. This reporter served as the ring announcer.