By: Sean Crose
Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel and Casino hosted a ShoBox card Friday evening that was broadcast live by the cable network. First up was a scheduled 8 round heavyweight affair between the 8-0-1 Moses Johnson and the 12-0 Elvis Garcia. The fighters traded leather early. This was not an opening round where the combatants felt they had to feel each other out. The two heavies continued to trade in the second. Each man landed well. By the third it appeared that neither fighter was particularly interested in the bout going the distance. Johnson was able to get to his man in the fourth.
The pace slowed a bit in the fifth as the two big men searched for solid shots. Although neither fighter was as energetic as he had been earlier, both swung away at will in the sixth. This was a brawl, plain and simple. What was evident in the seventh and eighth was the fact both combatants could take quite a punch. There had been nothing close to a knockdown throughout the fight up until that point. The eighth and final round saw Johnson and Garcia continue to go at it, toe to toe. It had been an entertaining affair, one the judges ultimately ruled in Johnson’s favor via majority decision.
Next up was a super welterweight throwdown scheduled for 8 between the 12-0 Marquis Taylor and the 8-0 Marlon Harrington. It looked as if Harrington was the stronger man in the first. Taylor tried stifling his opponent’s punches in the second to some effect. Taylor continued to employ an intelligent defense in the third. Harrington came forward aggressively in the fourth. By the fifth, however, it was Taylor who was coming forward. Taylor continued to control the range in the sixth. Harrington continued to have difficulty getting in on his man in the seventh. The same could be said of the eighth, as well. Suffice to say, Taylor was rewarded with the unanimous decision win.
It was time for the main event, a 10 round super middleweight match between the 26-2 Sena Agbeko and the 16-0 Isaiah Steen. The opening round saw Steen sticking and moving. The fast Agbeko, however, pressured his man in the second, then continued to in the third. Steen appeared to be having difficulty controlling the range in the fourth. By the midway point of the fight, Agbeko appeared to be doing a better job pursing Steen than Steen was having throwing Agbeko off his game.
The sixth and seventh provided nothing particularly new. The truth was that Steen had no real answer for Agbeko’s aggression, though the Ohio native certainly tossed his jab out regularly and with determination. Agbeko appeared relaxed in the eight, making sure he wasn’t exerting too much energy while Steen attempted to stick and move. The ninth was close, as most of the fight had been. Indeed, Agbeko appeared to have a slight cut over his left eye. The tenth saw Steen effectively employ the defensive strategy which had served him unevenly throughout the bout.
After the final bell, Agbeko was able to exit the ring with a brand new unanimous decision win on his resume.
