By Arvin Nundloll
In the night’s swing bout, Julian Sosa fought Erick Daniel Martinez in a scheduled 6 round Welterweight fight. Both Sosa and Martinez fought in each other’s pocket, trading crisp inside hooks and uppercuts in quick succession. Martinez was dropped suddenly towards the end of the 3rd by a counter right hook that had him seeing stars. Martinez to his credit was able to see out the round and come out for the 4th. At the end of 4 rounds, the judges scored the fight 40-35 all around to Julia Sosa. Sosa moves to 10-0-1, 3 KO’s while Martinez drops to 14-10-1, 8 KO’s.
Detroit native Tony Harrison took on Paul Valenzuela Jr. of Santa Rosalia. Mexico in a scheduled 8 round middleweight bout. Harrison played his part as the aggressor of the fight, going after Valenzuela Jr. with calculated jabs in an attempt to open his opponent. The 2nd round saw Valenzuela Jr. on the canvas due to a slip but that didn’t deter Harrison from continuing to pile on the pressure to unnerve Valenzuela Jr. In round 5, Valenzuela Jr. received a low blow from Harrison and quickly returned the favor by handing a low blow to Harrison to even the score. An explosive 7th round saw Harrison go for the kill after landing a sharp straight hook to wobble Valenzuela Jr. Harrison got sloppy however and ate an overhand right that knocked his senses off but Valenzuela Jr. ran out of gas going for the knockdown. Round 8 was filled with the smell of a KO in the air but both fighters seemed fatigued and content to see the end of the round.
After 8 rounds, the fight was scored 80-71, 78-73 and 78-73 to Tony Harrison. Harrison move sup to 25-2, 20 KO’s while Valenzuela Jr. valiantly drops to 20-6, 14 KO’s.
Cindy Serrano fought a tactical 8 round fight against fellow Super Featherweight Edina Kiss. Serrano pressed the action, landing clean scoring jabs against Kiss while dominating the center of the ring. Kiss struggled to find her rhythm and ended up coming short with her middle round exchanges with Serrano. As the fight progressed Serrano began to take a step back and make a seemingly one-sided fight a bit more contestable, allowing Kiss to press a bit more than usual in the 6th and 7th.
A slight twist with the judge’s scorecard as they scored the fight 78-74 to Serrano, 78-74 to Kiss and 79-73 to Serrano. Serrano is now 27-5-3, 10 KO’s, while Kiss is now 13-6, 7 KO’s.
The undefeated Super Welterweight showdown between Chordale Booker and Malcolm McAllister led to a closer fight than expected. Booker, hailing from Brooklyn, NY, drew in the energy of his hometown fans to be the aggressor in the opening round, tagging McAllister (from Long Beach, CA) with jabs before using his reach to avoid any counter punches. McAllister had a good 4th, finding his timing to return right hooks to Booker. Round 5 saw Booker unload bombs on McAllister, overhand right hooks and lunging jabs that visibly stunned McAllister. After the damage was dished, McAllister used his distance to stay out of harm’s way and make it out of the round. Booker finally dropped McAllister in round 7 with a well-timed counter hook, instantly flooring McAllister before he scrambled to make the count. Booker took mercy on McAllister and allowed him to see out the final few seconds before entering round 8. The final round also brought both fighters to the brink of a knockout with Booker throwing everything at McAllister before eating a barrage of counter punches that snapped Booker’s head back.
At the end of 8 rounds, the judges scored the fight 79-72, 78-73 and 78-73 to Booker, who is now 8-0, 4 KO’s while McAllister picks up his first professional defeat and is 9-1, 8 KO’s.
In a one-sided, 4 round, welterweight fight, Richardson Hitchins went the distance against Jordan Morales. Hitchins started off strong as he dominated the center of the ring, forcing Morales to step forward and engage. Morales returned fire in the 2nd round before Hitchins cruised through the final rounds. All three of the judges at ringside scored the fight the 40-36. Hitchins is now 3-0, 1 KO while Morales drops to 2-3, 2 KO’s.
George Arias endured a tougher than expected heavyweight fight against Mario Heredia. Scheduled for 8 rounds, Arias started strong in the 1st, hurling overhand right hooks at every given opportunity as Heredia came in sight.
Arias knocked down in the second round from a debatable slip. A slugfest ensued for the remainder of the round as Arias tried to restore control. Heredia regained steam and started to control more of the action on Arias, landing with a right uppercut just a clinch seemed probable.
The 5th round brought out the firework as both fighters started unloading at will, providing constant exchanges that quickly drained the energy out of Arias and Heredia. Towards the end Heredia began to take too many punches while attempting to stay upright and barely saw the end of the round. The ringside doctor assessed Heredia and decided that he was in no shape to continue, awarding rias his 9th professional victory. George Arias moves to 9-0, 5 KO’s while Heredia picks up his record to 14-6, 12 KO’s. Official time of the stoppage was 2:59 of round 5.