By Jason Marchetti at ringside
Photos: Emily Harney

In the main event, ‘T-Nice’ Toka Kahn-Clary (24-1, 16 KO’s) defeated John Vincent Moralde (19-1, 10 KO’s) by TKO at the Strand Theatre in Providence, RI. The card was promoted by Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Boxing Promotions and televised on CBS Sports Network. This featherweight bout earned him the WBC USNBC Featherweight Title

Kahn-Clary, a southpaw, dominated the entire fight against his previously undefeated opponent, applying pressure early in the fight and never taking his foot off the gas. Moralde did not win any rounds and put up little offense versus Khan-Clary’s hand speed and slick footwork and retired on his stool at the end of the 7th round.

In the 4th, Kahn-Clary began to show his pedigree as Vincent fatigued. ‘T-Nice’ used angles and a variety of combinations against Vincent as he retreated nearly the entire fight towards the ropes. In the 5th and 6th, Toka was landing straight left hands and right hooks at will and it was just a matter of time until Vincent either took a knee or quit. In the end, Vincent never hit the canvas, but Kahn-Clary earned a well deserved victory at home with his new promoter and team looking on.

Kahn-Clary commented after the fight. “I’m not a one dimensional fighter. I kept walking him down and worked on his body [throughout the fight]. I feel I’m ready for anyone at 126 or 130 lbs!”

Evander Holyfield was impressed with his new protege. “[Toka] is ready for a title shot right now. He has the experience and the heart as we saw tonight.”

Fabio ‘Stone Crusher’ Turchi (13-0, 10 KO’s) improved his record on the second televised bout of the evening versus Demetrius Banks (9-4, 4 KO’s) at cruiserweight. Banks retired on his stool at the end of the 4th round likely due to exhaustion. Turchi chased Banks throughout the fight, pounding away at his opponent, who seemed out of shape as his punches were wide and his guard was low from the first round. Turchi capitalized on his opponent’s lack of conditioning and scored every round until Banks threw in the towel between rounds.

Irvin Gonzalez (8-0, 7 KO’s) finished off Marlon Olea (13-2, 12 KO’s) with a right hand to the body in the 3rd round in their scheduled 6 rounder at featherweight. From nearby Worcester, MA, Gonzalez toyed with his opponent early in the fight and landed combinations at will, particularly the left uppercut. In the 3rd, he cut off the ring and applied a bit more pressure on Olea who was overwhelmed from the opening bell. Gonzalez, a promotional free agent, looked excellent on the opening bout on CBS Sports Network and in front of Holyfield who was sitting ringside and looking to add to his stable of fighters in New England.

‘Nice’ Nick Delomba (12-2, 2 KO’s) outworked Louis Cruz (12-4, 6 KO’s) over 8 rounds of action at jr. welterweight. Delomba and Cruz split the early rounds but Delomba took over as the fight progressed. Cruz was warned, then deducted a point in the 4th for a low blow. Delomba timed his opponent well and was much busier than Cruz fighting both on the inside and out. . Cruz had little answers in the 7th and 8th rounds as he could not match Delomba’s stamina and his punch count and accuracy suffered. Delomba, a solid technical fighter who is known for taking tougher fights, was impressive as he was coming off a loss to rising welterweight prospect Jimmy Williams (15-0-1) last May. The final scores were 79-72 and 78-73 (twice).

Massachusetts’ junior lightweights Timmy Ramos (4-0-2, 4 KO’s) and Phil Davis (1-1-1) fought to a majority draw in their 4 round bout. Ramos’ long reach wasn’t enough to keep Davis away and having moments of his own. Davis needs some experience, but has an excellent left hook that will serve him well in the future. Ramos’ 1-2 combinations weren’t consistent or dominant enough in the eyes of the judges. The final scores were 39-37 (Ramos) and 38-38 (twice).

In his professional debut, Poindexter Knight demolished Samuel Forjoe (0-2) in the first minute of their bout at welterweight. Knight threw several combinations and backed up Forjoe into the corner where referee Danny Schiavone stopped the contest as Knight was taking punishment and not throwing punches. Official TKO time was 1:03 of round 1.

Jeremy ‘J-Flash’ Nichols (8-1, 2 KO’s) defeated Daniel Sostre (13-16-1, 5 KO’s) by unanimous decision in a 6 rounder at jr. middleweight. Nichols controlled most of the bout backing up Sostre and scoring up and downstairs. Sostre suffered a gash on his right brow but was competitive despite the difference in record. The final scores were 60-54 and 59-55 (twice).