By: Ken Hissner

At the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia Friday night unbeaten South Philly bantamweight Christian Carto defeated Kronks James Smith on a Kings Promotion before another sold out crowd in spite of a snow storm Friday night.

In the Main Event Bantamweight unbeaten Christian Carto, 14-0 (11), of South Philadelphia, PA, easily defeated James Smith, 12-2 (7), of Kronk out of Detroit, MI, over 8 rounds of action.

In the first round Smith landed first with a right to the chin of Carto who countered with a left hook to the chin of Smith. Carto used a double jab to the chin of Smith followed by a right to the head. Carto landed a left hook to the chin of Smith getting his attention. Smith ended the round with a left hook to the chin of Carto. In the second round a solid jab from Carto stopped Smith in his tracks. Both boxers were warned by referee Benjy Esteves, Jr. about hitting behind the head. Smith missed with several punches but Carto landed a right to the chin. Smith landed a left hook to the chin having Carto in a corner than Carto came back with half a dozen punches backing Smith up. Smith’s right fell short and Carto countered with a right to the chin. Smith landed a left hook and Carto countered with a right both to the chin at the bell.

In the third round Carto landed first with a right to the chin of Smith. He followed with a combination to the head. Smith drove Carto into the ropes with a left hook but Carto blocked the follow-up right. Carto missed with a lead right but landed a left hook to the chin of Smith. Both landed well until a Smith right went low. Referee Esteves, Jr. gave Carto a minute rest. Against the ropes Carto landed a right to the chin of Smith who came back with a right of his own but missed.

In the fourth round Smith landed first with a right to the chin of Carto. They exchanged left hooks. Smith turned southpaw and got hit with a Carto left hook to the chin. Smith landed a left hook to the chin of Carto but got countered with a combination to the head. Carto rocked Smith with a left hook to the chin. Carto landed a straight right to the chin of Smith and seconds later landed a left hook to the chin of Smith just prior to the bell. The many Carto fans showed their appreciation.

In the fifth round Carto landed a right over a jab to the chin of Smith. Carto landed a 3-punch combination starting with a right hand. Carto landed a wicked left hook to the body of Smith. Carto landed a right to the head of Smith at the bell. In the sixth round Carto used his hand speed with several jabs followed by a right to the chin of Smith. Carto landed a left hook to the chin of Smith knocking him off balance. Carto landed half a dozen punches without return from Smith. Smith landed several left hooks to the body of Carto.

In the seventh round Carto landed several left hooks to the chin of Smith. Carto landed a left hook to the chin of Smith knocking him back a step. Carto missed with a right but landed a double left hook to the chin of Smith. In the eighth and final round Smith came out fast knowing he was well behind trying to land a wild left hook but missed. Smith ducked into a Carto left hook to the chin. Smith missed with a wild right looking exhausted. Carto kept Smith off balance with jabs. Carto landed a 3-punch combination just prior to the ending of the round and the fight.

Judge Steve Weisfeld had it 79-73 while Judges Marc Werlinsky and Dewey LaRosa had it 80-72 as did this writer. Mickey Rosati, Jr. and Frankie Carto worked the Carto corner.

“He’s a strong kid and a good fighter. I’m only getting better with every fight. And thanks to my fans for coming out and Wendy Hamilton of SugarHouse,” said Carto.

In the co-feature Philly’s Super Middleweight Christopher “Ice Cold” Brooker, 13-5 (5), in a hard fought fight defeated Jamaal “Da Truth” Davis, 16-13-1 (7), formerly of Philadelphia and now out of Harrisburg, PA, winning the vacant WBF Super Middleweight title. President James Gibbs presented the belt to Brooker.

In the first round due to too much wrestling it was halfway through the round before Brooker landed the first punch a short right to the chin. Just prior to the end of the round Brooker landed a solid left hook to the chin of Davis hurting him. In the second round both fighters went to the body of one another. Davis pinned Brooker against the ropes with a flurry of punches. Davis came back with a left hook to the chin of Brooker in the middle of the ring. Brooker hurt Davis with a left hook to the chin.

In the third round both boxers went back to wrestling. Brooker landed the first significant punch a left hook to the chin of Davis at the midway point of the round. Brooker backed Davis into a corner landing a right to the chin but Davis landed the final punch a left hook to the chin of Brooker. In the fourth round in the middle of the ring a fight broke out with Davis landing a left and Brooker a right to each others chins.

In the fifth round a Davis left hook to the chin drove Brooker back several steps. Inside Davis landed several left hooks to the chin of Brooker. They exchanged right hands to the chin.

Brooker drove Davis into the ropes with a flurry. In the sixth round the in fighting continued with both landing left hooks to the chin. Davis coming up in weight for this one has the experience while Brooker the strength.

In the seventh round Davis landed a chopping right to the head of Brooker who came back with a left hook to the chin of Davis. Davis started boxing more with a jab but left hand low got caught with a right by Brooker on the chin. In the eighth and final round inside Brooker landed a right uppercut to the chin of Davis. Then Brooker came back with a solid left hook to the chin of Davis getting some noise from the crowd. A lead right from Brooker to the chin of Davis rocked him. Brooker followed up with another right having Davis in trouble. The fight ended with Brooker having Davis on the ropes.

Judge Walinski and Weisfeld had it 79-73 and judge LaRosa 77-75 with this writer having it 78-74. Blair Talmadge was the referee.

Super Lightweight Tyrone “Butterfly” Crawley, Jr., 7-1 (0), of Philadelphia, PA, retired after the third round, losing to Anthony “Club Man” Mercado, 11-3 (10), of Arecibo, PR, due to an injury in a scheduled 8.

In the first round Crawley landed a right hook to the chin of Mercado with the first punch of the round. Crawley continued to dominate with his jab keeping Mercado off balance. In the second round Crawley landed a straight left to the chin of Mercado rocking him. Crawley switched to orthodox and back to southpaw making Mercado miss quite a bit. Just prior to the bell Mercado went to throw a right but Crawley got there first with a right to the chin dropping Mercado who got up quickly.

In the third round Crawley landed a 3-punch combination to the chin of Mercado. Mercado continued to chase Crawley and walked into a right uppercut to the chin from Crawley. Mercado landed a left hook to the chin of Crawley who was against the ropes just before the bell. Crawley couldn’t continue due to an injured rib on the left side after the third round. Tyrone “Butterfly” Crawley, Sr. and Ivan “Mighty” Robinson were in Crawley’s corner. Crawley easily won the first 3 rounds.

Super Lightweight David “Two Gun” Gonzales, 8-3-2 (2), of Philadelphia, PA, was stopped by Victor Vazquez, 10-3 (4), of Yonkers, NY, at 1:56 of the first round of a scheduled 8.

In the first round Vasquez dominates from the bell switching from orthodox to southpaw. The much shorter Gonzales looked beat from the bell. A left hook from Vasquez on the chin dropped Gonzales and upon rising referee Esteves, Jr. wisely stopped the mismatch. Vasquez is now 4-0 against Philly boxers. Angel Pizarro, Sr. worked the corner.

Heavyweight Dominique “Majik” Mayfield, 0-1 (0), of South Philadelphia, PA, got stopped by Ronny “Big Country” Dion Hale, 4-11 (4), of Alabama, at 1:40 of the first round.

In the first round racing from his corner Hale dropped Mayfield twice with rights to the chin. There was another in between but referee Talmadge called it a non-knockdown. The official third knockdown came with another Hale right to the chin ending it as far as referee Talmadge saw it. Mayfield had many fans cheering his entrance.

Welterweight Rasheed “Sugar Sheed” Johnson of Philadelphia agreed to fight giving a 7 pound advantage to overweight Vincent Floyd but the commission declined. So he fought Rondel McGee from Yonkers, NY, in a 3 round exhibition and stopped him in the second when referee Talmadge saw enough and halted it.

Super Flyweight Jerod “The Golden” Miner, 1-1-1 (1), of Philadelphia, PA, drew with Rondarius “Too Fast” Hunter, 1-2-1 (1), of Atlanta, GA, over 4 rounds in the opening bout.

In the opening round Hunter landed the first punch a lead right to the chin of Miner. Miner came right back and landed a left hook on the chin of Hunter knocking him sideways several steps. Miner is the aggressor but got caught with the final punch of the round because he stood in front of Hunter not throwing anything and got hit with a right on the chin. In the second round Hunter landed a combination. Hunter keeps landing a lead right and a right uppercut that Miner ducked into. Miner is doing more missing than landing.

In the third round time after time Hunter lands a right hand as Miner walks right into it with hands down. Hunter ended the round landing another right hand to the chin of Miner. In the fourth and final round Hunter landed a combination. Miner dropped Hunter twice with right hands to the chin. Hunter was exhausted holding on but referee Talmadge allowed it to go the distance. The first knockdown looked more like a push.

Judge Weisfeld had it 39-35 for Miner. Judge’s La Rosa and Werlinsky had it 37-37 as did this writer.

Kings will be back at the 2300 Arena April 6th and back at SugarHouse May 11th per ring announcer Alex Barbosa. Event covered by 11 Sports Network with Marc Abrams and Rich Quinones doing the commentating.

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