Report/Photos by Boxing Bob Newman
Tony & Christen Jeter of Jeter Promotions put on a rocking 10-bout card at Live! Casino in Hanover, Maryland. The card pitted fighters from Baltimore and surrounding Maryland locales against foes from across America as well as Colombia and St. Maarten. Matchmaker Nick Tiberi also outdid himself on this night, as there were split decisions, knockout fighters forced to go the distance and overall competitive bouts across the board. This show should’ve been on television or streamed as it was a shame only the live audience witnessed these bouts!
In the main event, Jordan White of Washington, D.C. edged Brandon Valdes of Baranquilla, Colombia for the vacant WBC USNBC Super Featherweight title over ten rounds.
After a very tactical opening, things got heated in the fourth when White dropped Valdes with a quick counter left to the temple. Valdes lasted the round and continued to cautiously press in the fifth. Try as he might, Valdes couldn’t affect White when he did manage to penetrate his foe’s guard. White dislodged Valdes’ mouthpiece in the ninth as the two swapped hooks. The best action came in the waning seconds as both let leather fly beyond the bell. Both corners leaped into the ring, adding to the chaos. The scores were split: 97-92 White, 95-94 Valdes, 96-93 White.
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In the semi-main event, Demond Nicholson methodically took apart and ruined the plans of Gabriel Pham to make a splash in the 168 lb division. Instead, Pham made two splashes to the canvas: once in the first courtesy of a short, powerful left hook on the break, then in the fifth from a stunning one-two, which dropped him to his knees for the count of referee Bill Clancy. Pham had no answer for Nicholson’s relentless pressure. Nicholson moves to 25-4-1, 20 KOs, while Pham slips to 15-3, 8 KOs.
In the opening bout of the evening, Ahmad Muhammad Jones of Baltimore took on Philadelphia’s Tryee Arnold in a scheduled four round Super Lightweight tilt. In the first, “Mojo”Jones took the action to the 33-year-old Arnold, pressuring him to the ropes and around the ring. In the second, Arnold actually fired back on a few occasions, making things interesting, if only for a moment. Arnold picked up where he left off early in the third, silencing the crowd as he caught Jones with several combinations, stunning the youngster (22 years old to Arnold’s 33). By the end of the third, Mojo was back on the attack, jolting Arnold to the head, causing him to hold. Late in the fourth, Arnold turned his head, complaining of a rabbit punch. The tactic backfired as Jones chased and fired, prompting referee David Braslow to stop it at 2:02 of the final round. Jones moves to 2-0, 2 KOs while Arnold slides to 1-4.
Next up, Joseph Veazy of Baltimore took on Charlottesville, VA’s Corey Champion in a scheduled four round welterweight affair. The long and lean Veazy was woken up by a Champion right to the head right away. Veazy employed his jab to set up nice combos thereafter. Round two saw Veazy stun Champion with precise one-twos on more than one occasion, as the latter looked to be wilting just a bit.
Veazy kept things under control in the third until he walked into a Champion jab and stumbled back into the ropes just before the bell ended the round. Veazy opted to box neatly and not get into any trouble looking for the KO in the final round. In the end, it was “Bazooka Joe” Veazy by scores of 39-37 and 40-36 x 2, moving his record to 6-0, 4 KOs. Champion sinks to 2-4, 2 KOs.
Super Lightweights Tyhler Williams (Philadelphia) and Maurice Anthony (Ypsilanti, MI) left little in the ring as both picked their shots, but at a high pace. Both fighters employed a tight guard, opening up only to firepower jabs and hooks to the head and body of the other. Williams definitely forced the action but Anthony countered back enough to keep Williams honest. The action really heated up in the fourth as Anthony fought back hard, giving as good as he got. A furious sixth saw Anthony’s mouthpiece go flying, prompting Williams to furiously move in for the finish. After several seconds, referee Brent Bovell called time and replaced the mouthpiece, buying Anthony a brief respite. Both men battled to the bell, neither giving quarter and drawing cheers of respect from the crowd. Scores were 60-54, 58-56, 59-55, all for Williams, who improves to 6-0, 4 KOs, while Anthony dips to 3-4, 3 KOs.
Classy ring announcer Henry “Discombobulating” Jones polled the crowd by way of applause to see who was up for a rematch, which seemed to be in order judging from the crowd reaction.
Super Bantams Jaqeem Hutcherson (Baltimore) and Jalen Woodmore (Detroit) locked horns right away and referee Bill Clancy issued a stern warning to Hutcherson for throwing Woodmore hard to the canvas in the first. The die was cast as the bout continued to be an untidy affair with loads of holding, throw downs, and even a warning to the corner of Woodmore for too much vocal instruction and criticism of Hutcherson getting away with perceived rabbit punches. The punches were telegraphed, often missing and leading to an ugly choreography in the ring. Hutcherson drew another warning for rabbit punching in the fourth, then after consultation between the ring doctor, referee and Woodmore, Clancy deducted a point from Hutcherson for the repeated infraction. Still, Hutcherson did enough for a 39-36 x 3 win to move to 4-1, while Jalen Woodmore continues his streak at 0-2.
In a contest to decide the vacant ABF Super Bantamweight title, the introductions of the fighters lasted longer than the bout itself! Brandon Chambers (Baltimore) was ready to battle Paul Carroll (Columbia, SC) when, moments into the bout, Carroll injured his leg after stepping wrong and came up lame, hopping around the ring on his good leg. After conferring with the ringside physician, the bout was halted at 1:02 with Carroll unfit to continue due to self injury, as there wasn’t a punch landed or even thrown at the time of the injury. Chambers wins by TKO1 and claims the ABF belt. He moves to7-0-1, 3 KOs while the hard-luck Carroll falls to 4-3, 4 KOs.
Baltimore middleweight Mansaborie “Punisher” Conde lived up to his moniker, brutally blitzing poor St. Maarten native Malcolm Phillips at 0:28 of the first round. Phillips never had a chance once Conde began to unload, landing in a heap in the neutral corner, referee David Braslow stopping it in mid-count as he wanted to get the ring physician in ASAP. Conde moves to 5-0, 4 KOs while Phillips starts out at 0-1. It’ll be a long trip back to St. Maarten!
Baltimore’s Anthony Williams, Jr. and Harrisburg, PA’s Brent Oren vied for the ABF Atlantic Super Middleweight title. With both men being lanky and possessing little pop in their arsenal, this figured to go the scheduled six round distance. At times, things became almost unsightly, both men resembling two daddy-long-legs spiders, flailing at each other, doing little harm. Things remained unkempt throughout with the only drama coming in the waning seconds of the bout as Oren nailed Williams, Jr. along the ropes and both men tagged each other several times until the bell ended matters, much to the crowd’s delight. The judges saw it 58-56 Oren, 59-55 and 58-56 for Williams, Jr. who is now the ABF Atlantic Super Middleweight champ at 5-1, 2 KOs, while Oren slumps to a deceptive 4-8, 1 KO.
Heavyweight Colby Madison, (Baltimore) took on Raleigh, NC’s Antonio Roberts in a scheduled six round go. Madison appeared a bit gun shy from the outset, coming off a TKO2 loss last July and two of his three losses coming by stoppage. Roberts on the other hand, while having seven losses on his ledger, suffered only one via the quick route, proving if nothing else, his durability. Madison seemed to come alive in the third, pressing the action with his jab and backing Robertson to the ropes, if only to have Robertson fire back fearlessly. While Robertson often fell short due to his diminutive stature and reach, Madison often fell short with his long jab because he didn’t seem to have a sense of distance or timing. When the action moved to the corners in the fifth, Madison unloaded some heavy body and head shots with success. Madison still did enough to impress the judges to the tune of 60-54 across the board. He now goes to 10-3-2, 6 KOs, while Robertson goes to 4-8-1, 2 KOs.