Tag Archives: Florida

Posted on 12/14/2016

WBC Convention Comes To South Florida
By: Ron Scarfone

The 54th annual World Boxing Council (WBC) Convention began on December 11, 2016 at the Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida. Art for the convention was created by artist Romero Britto and showed the black outlines and bright colors that his artwork is known for. This artwork was displayed at the convention and also on WBC official merchandise which is sold at the convention. One of the products for sale was an extra large sized Cleto Reyes boxing glove which showed the art made by Britto. Clothing and bags with the WBC logo were also for sale at the convention and The Ring Magazine was selling shirts with The Ring logo. According to WBC officials, 1,000 people from about 165 countries are expected to attend the convention and this includes officials such as supervisors, judges, and referees as well as promoters, journalists, fans, and world champions from the past and present. Banners were displayed throughout the convention featuring current and former WBC world champions. In the afternoon on December 11, Evander Holyfield was seen walking in the lobby of the resort. Holyfield was gracious with everyone and allowed people to take photos with him. I met him too. I shook his hand and said “I’m Ron Scarfone, boxing writer. Nice to meet you.” “Okay,” Holyfield said. That was the end of our brief conversation.

A cocktail party in the evening on December 11 welcomed the delegates from countries around the world. The party was also attended by former WBC champions Ronald “Winky” Wright and Evander Holyfield. International Boxing Organization (IBO) cruiserweight champion Marco Huck was also at the party. Huck was previously the World Boxing Organization (WBO) cruiserweight champion. At the party, I met WBC and WBO female middleweight champion Christina Hammer. Hammer previously was the World Boxing Federation (WBF) female middleweight champion. Hammer was born in Kazakhstan and now resides in Germany.

Hammer won the WBC title about a month ago when she defeated Kali Reis by unanimous decision. Hammer was accompanied by her manager. When asked about the possibility of Hammer fighting in the United States, her manager said that he is trying to make that happen. Hammer said that she would like to have a fight in America. In her professional career so far, Hammer has only fought in Europe. Because of the dearth of talent in the female middleweight division, Hammer’s opponents have mostly come from other weight classes and her opponents either have to move up or down in weight to be in the middleweight division.

Hammer mentioned Maricela Cornejo as a possible opponent. Cornejo was a super middleweight in her last fight, but fought for the vacant WBC female middleweight title in April 2016. Cornejo lost by split decision to Kali Reis. Reis lost her WBC title to Hammer last month.

The official opening of the convention was the morning of December 12. The resort provided breakfast for the convention. I sat at a table where former junior welterweight and welterweight world champion Paul Malignaggi was sitting at. I would have said hello to him, but I was too busy stuffing my face with scrambled eggs and potatoes. Malignaggi was the host of the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was in another room. The WBC belt was displayed in front of the stage. A very large screen television was in back of the stage. I sat in the area that I thought was reserved for the media, but it was actually reserved for current and former world champions. Apparently, an elderly man thought I was a boxer. He approached me and shook my hand without saying a word and walked away. A woman from the WBC then asked me if I was a champion. I said no and that I am with the media. She said that the WBC had a section for the media to sit at previous conventions, but not this year. There were plenty of chairs and I moved to a row farther back.

The opening ceremony began with a video on the large screen about the history of boxing. The video stated that archaeological findings provide evidence that boxing began as a sport in Ethiopia 8,000 years before Christ. It was depicted on Egyptian hieroglyphics 5,000 years before Christ. Boxing was one of the founding sports at the first Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. Boxing was also popular in Ancient Rome. During the Middle Ages, there were wars and plagues. Boxing faded into obscurity during this time and was replaced by athletic activities such as archery and jousting.

Boxing finally reappeared in England and became popular during the 1700s. The first world champion was James Figg in 1719. Figg is considered to be the first heavyweight champion of boxing. In 1867, the Marquess of Queensberry rules were created. These were a set of basic rules that modern boxing is based on which includes requiring the use of gloves instead of bare knuckles and a 10-second count for a knockdown. Boxing eventually became popular in the United States and the rest of the world, but the sport still lacked unity around the world.

In 1963, representatives from 11 countries met in Mexico City to form the World Boxing Council with goals such as unity, reciprocity, and protection of the boxer. Jose Sulaiman was elected president of the WBC in 1975. A tribute to Sulaiman who died in 2014 was shown on the large screen. Sulaiman is credited with reducing championship fights from 15 rounds to 12 rounds, mandating that the official weigh-in take place 24 hours before the fight, having the thumb attached to the glove, and the creation of intermediate weight divisions. The video also showed that Sulaiman approved female boxing which seemed to imply that he was the first to do this. Barbara Buttrick of the Women’s International Boxing Federation (WIBF) began sanctioning women’s boxing in the 1990s. The WBC began sanctioning women’s boxing in 2005. Another video on the large screen showed the current WBC world champions and highlights of their fights, but the video only showed the men and not the women. If the WBC wants to provide equal publicity for the women, then they should have been shown in the video.

Many male and female world champions from the past and present attended the convention. WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin spoke at the podium and then former WBC middleweight champion Marvin Hagler gave Golovkin a trophy. Malignaggi commented what a fight that would have been if Hagler and Golovkin fought against each other in their primes. Vitali Klitschko also talked at the podium about his life and how he was inspired to become the WBC heavyweight champion when he was young by watching Mike Tyson fight on television. Roy Jones Jr. then gave Klitschko a trophy. Klitschko was named Eternal World Heavyweight Champion by the WBC.

The WBC dedicated the convention to Muhammad Ali who they have dubbed “King of Boxing.” Laila Ali spoke at the convention about her father Muhammad Ali who passed away in June 2016. Laila Ali won the first WBC female super middleweight championship in 2005. A wax statue of Muhammad Ali was put on the stage for everyone to see. Although Don King did not attend the opening ceremony, he wrote a statement which was included in the convention program book. “I loved the man. He was my friend for life. But, Ali will never die. I think we want to celebrate Ali’s life for being the man he was: A fighter for the people and a champion of the people. He demonstrated the type of character, the intestinal fortitude, the inspiration, the motivation to stand up for what he believed in and say what he means and mean what he says and was willing to take the consequences of his actions. Like Martin Luther King, his spirit will live on, he stood for the world.”

The WBC announced that the WBC super featherweight title fight of Francisco Vargas vs. Orlando Salido which resulted in a majority draw was chosen as the WBC Fight of the Year. Vargas was the defending champion and Salido was the challenger. It was a slugfest and the judges’ scores reflected the back-and-forth battle that took place. Two judges scored it 114-114 while the other judge scored it 115-113 in favor of Vargas, but the overall result is still a draw and Vargas retained his title. Vargas also won WBC Fight of the Year honors last year when he won the title over Takashi Miura.

Having the convention in South Florida does not mean it is all sun and fun. There are meetings, workshops, and seminars on the agenda and schedule. The Medical Committee was scheduled to meet in the afternoon on December 12. Maybe the committee discussed whether women can fight for the same amount and duration of rounds as the men, but I doubt it. There are other official meetings scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the WBC Convention. Another major sanctioning body is having their upcoming convention in Florida. The 2017 International Boxing Federation (IBF) Convention will take place in St. Petersburg, Florida from May 21 to May 25.

Posted on 09/24/2016

Diaz wins by decision; Clary Upset
By: James Cullinane

Featherweight prospect Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz of Puerto Rico improved his record to 18 – 0 (11KO) winning a unanimous decision over Raul Hirales (22-6-11, 11KO) of Mexico in the main event of the Top Rank Boxing sponsored “Solo Boxeo” at the Osceola Heritage Park Exhibition Hall in Kissimmee, Florida on Friday night.

Diaz, promoted by Top Rank and a stable mate of WBO Latin American Lightweight Champion, Felix Verdejo, was headlining his first card and did not disappoint the predominantly, Puerto Rican crowd.

Diaz landed sharp, clean body shots and combinations throughout the fight and was never in trouble against Hirales, one of the toughest opponents he has faced to date.

As the fight progressed Hirales was able to land some clean shots to the head of Diaz, but each time he did, Diaz countered effectively with crisper, harder combinations that stifled any momentum Hirales hoped to build. Diaz worked harder and more effectively each round, never leaving the outcome of the fight in doubt.

Both fighters came out slugging in the eighth and final round with Diaz finishing strong to seal the victory.

Earlier in the night, in a stunning upset, previously undefeated, Top Rank featherweight, Toka Kahn Clary (19-1-1, 13 KO), was knocked out in the first round by Jhon “The Disaster” Gemino (15-7-1, 7KO).

Clary, the more aggressive fighter from the start, showed glimpses of his speed as he flicked his jab at the shorter Gemino. But Gemino was a quick study and midway through the opening round countered one of Clary’s jab with a perfectly timed, overhand right that cracked Clary across the chin and dropped him to the canvas.

Clary was unable to get off the mat and was still clearly dazed long after the referee counted him out. Gemino leapt for joy in his corner as he was declared the winner at 1:30 into the first round. A huge underdog coming into the fight, this was by far Gemino’s biggest victory as a professional.

In the most entertaining fight of the night, Super Lightweight, Julian “Hammer Hands” Rodriguez (14 – 0, 10KO) outslugged Brazilian Claudionei Lacerda (17-16-1, 12 KO) in an eight-round thriller, eventually winning by unanimous decision.

Rodriquez, also a Top Rank fighter, almost suffered the same fate as Clary as Lacerda came out swinging and dropped Rodriguez to a knee with a crunching left to the body early in the opening round. Fully intending to end the fight, Lacerda followed up after the mandatory eight with a wild flurry that Rodriguez was able to fend off with good defense.

As Lacerda slowed his attack, Rodriguez, a former Golden Gloves Champion (141 lbs) from New Jersey, was able to climb back into the fight with several hard lefts that rocked Lacerda. The action went back and forth for the remainder of the round and set the tone for the rest of the fight.

Fully recovered from the knockdown, Rodriguez came on strong and clearly won the second and third rounds by connecting with several, hard combinations that hurt Lacerda.

Though outmatched, Lacerda showed great heart and stayed in the fight with his aggressive counterpunching in the fourth. In the fifth round, Rodriguez stunned Lacerda with a hard right to the head, but Lacerda still would not quit, coming back and having perhaps his best round in the sixth.

In the seventh, Lacerdo hit Rodriguez with a clean, uppercut that shook Rodriguez, but only momentarily. “Hammer Hands” then turned it on to finish the round strong, punishing Lacerda with a series of strong lefts to the body and head. The eighth and final round was more of the same as Rodriguez and Lacerda gamely mixed it up.

Rodriguez landed a hard, right to Lacerda’s chin midway through the final round that hurt Lacerda and excited the crowd, but he was unable to finish the tough Brazilian and the outcome was left to the judges.

A physical fight with lots of clinching between exchanges, both fighter’s faces were red and swollen at the end of the bout. The final scores were 77-73, 78-72, 78-72 all in favor of Rodriguez.

The final Top Rank fighter on the card, Jean Carlos “Chapito” Rivera (8 – 0, 5 KO), was dominant in his victory over Raul Chirino (7 – 3, 3 KO) of Miami.

In his one round of action, local, Orlando boxer and fan-favorite, Rivera beat Chirino high and low, bloodying Chirino’s nose and pounding his ribs. A crisp uppercut after a body shot midway through the round forced Chirino to take a knee for a mandatory eight count.

More punishing body blows by Rivera, one of Top Rank’s most highly regarded prospects, and Chirino had the fight taken out of him. He barely survived to the bell ending the first round and was unable to answer the bell for the second. The win kept Rivera’s professional record a perfect eight wins against no losses.

Other results:

2014 Golden Glove (152 lbs) winner Sammy Valentin (8 – 0, 6 KO) of Tampa, FL defeated Gledwin Ortiz (4 – 2, 3 KO) of the Bronx, NY with a 3rd round knockout in a competitive, back and forth fight. Valentin caught Ortiz with a hard right on top of the head that dazed Ortiz midway through the third, then followed with a flurry of lefts and rights, culminating with an upper cut that dropped Ortiz to the mat. Ortiz beat the count, but was still wobbly, forcing referee Frank Santore to call off the fight.

Jonathan Irizarry (2 – 0, 2 KO) of San Juan, Puerto Rico overwhelmed Nolasco Tomas (0 – 2, 0 KO) scoring a knockout 1:32 into the first round to score his second consecutive knockout victory to begin his professional career.

Posted on 09/19/2016

Camacho Conquers in Tribute to Father
By: Ron Scarfone

At Six Bends Harley-Davidson in Fort Myers, Florida, a boxing event titled Return To Macho Time was presented by Hard As Stone Promotions in association with Bonita Beach Boxing, Inc. Six Bends is an unusual motorcycle dealership because it also functions as an entertainment venue which has events such as rock concerts. This event was a tribute to International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Hector “Macho” Camacho. Camacho died in 2012 after being shot in Puerto Rico. Camacho’s 24-year-old son Christian “MC” Camacho is following in his father’s footsteps and is also a pro boxer. The event could also have been titled Return To The Ring for two of the boxers on the fight card who were previously inactive: David Armstrong and Derrick Wilson. Robert Daniels had been scheduled to fight, but his bout was cancelled. Frank Gentile who is the Assistant Executive Director of the Florida State Boxing Commission said that this decision was made due to “medical reasons.” After the boxing event, Daniels said that it was because of “personal reasons.” Daniels also said that he will be fighting in Flint, Michigan soon. Daniels is 48 years of age and he seeks to make a comeback. Daniels’ last fight was in 2012. Daniels is best known for winning the vacant WBA cruiserweight title over Dwight Muhammad Qawi by split decision in 1989.

Christian Camacho made his pro debut in 2013 against Enrique Angeles Jr. in Mexico which is Angeles Jr.’s home country. Angeles Jr.’s record was officially 1-1 at the time. However, it was later revealed that Angeles Jr. actually had eight additional wins which were off the record (no pun intended). Camacho was unaware that Angeles Jr. fought in eight more bouts than his record indicated. This information was revealed to him after the fight. Camacho won his next three bouts in Florida prior to this one at Six Bends, so his record was 3-1. Camacho lives in Orlando, Florida and he faced Brandon Lane of San Antonio, Texas in the featherweight division. Lane lost his pro debut in March and had a record of 0-1. Camacho vs. Lane was the main event for this tribute to Hector “Macho” Camacho and it was scheduled for four rounds. In the first round, a punch combination by Camacho knocked down Lane. Lane was able to get up before the count of ten seconds. Lane would not get knocked down again, but Camacho also outboxed Lane in rounds two, three, and four. All three judges scored the fight 40-35 in favor of Camacho by unanimous decision. Camacho improves his record to 4-1, 0 KOs. Lane remains winless at 0-2, 0 KOs.

David “Diamond D” Armstrong faced Courtney “Lionheart” Jackson in the welterweight division. Armstrong’s previous fight was in 2009, so he was making a comeback after a seven year hiatus. Armstrong is now 46 years old and lives in Fort Myers, Florida. Jackson is 28 years old and lives in Miami, Florida. Jackson served in the United States Navy and is now a pre-med student at the University of Miami. Jackson has an undefeated record, but his wins mostly came against boxers with winless or losing records. Prior to this event at Six Bends, Jackson fought Ramesis Gil of the Dominican Republic last month. Gil had a losing record, but he mostly fought opponents with winning or undefeated records. Jackson defeated Gil by unanimous decision, but only by a slim margin of 57-56 on all three judges’ scorecards. This was in spite of the fact that Gil knocked Jackson down in one of the rounds. Armstrong was a world-class boxer in 1997, but that was many years ago. Armstrong won the WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title in 1997 and received a title shot against WBO lightweight champion Artur Grigorian, but lost by unanimous decision. Armstrong vs. Jackson was the co-main event for this tribute to Hector Camacho. Jackson was bigger, faster, stronger, and much younger than Armstrong who had been inactive for several years. Jackson used his straight right to snap Armstrong’s head back. He also landed to the body with this type of punch. Armstrong never gave up, but Jackson was simply superior to him. In round four, Jackson knocked down Armstrong. Armstrong was able to get up, but was floored again with a left hook to the head. Armstrong got up on wobbly legs and the referee decided to stop the fight. The time of stoppage was 1:02 of round four and Jackson won by TKO. Jackson remains unbeaten at 13-0, 7 KOs. Armstrong’s record drops to 20-12-2, 12 KOs.

“Magic” Marcus Willis of Fort Myers, Florida faced Frank “Flash” Gedeon of West Palm Beach, Florida in the super welterweight division. In 2012, Willis lost by knockout in an interim WBO Latino super welterweight title fight against Jorge Melendez. Gedeon was tall and lanky and Wills was shorter and stockier. Both men landed hard shots, but “Flash” was often stationary and Willis was doing most of the fighting. All three judges scored the fight 59-55 in favor of Willis by unanimous decision in this six-round bout. Willis improves his record to 17-4-2, 4 KOs. Gedeon’s record falls to 6-2-2, 5 KOs.

Derrick Wilson of Fort Myers, Florida faced Justin Lopez of Grandville, Michigan in the featherweight division. In 2013, Wilson lost by knockout in a WBC Silver featherweight title fight against Robinson Castellanos. Wilson lost two more bouts in 2014 and is now returning to the ring after a two year hiatus. Wilson never knocked Lopez down, but Wilson won every round. Wilson snapped Lopez’s head back several times, but Lopez was still standing. It was scheduled for six rounds and all three judges scored the fight 60-54 in favor of Wilson by unanimous decision. Wilson improves his record to 11-7-2, 3 KOs. Lopez’s record falls below .500 and has a losing record of 5-6, 5 KOs.

Tobias “Da Truth” Green of West Palm Beach, Florida faced Keith Humble of New Orleans, Louisiana. Green weighed a tad less than 140 pounds and Humble weighed three pounds above that. Humble landed the harder shots in round one. Humble pounded the body while Green was mostly throwing jabs. However, Green outboxed Humble in rounds two, three, and four. Green showed good footwork, agility, and speed. The punches that Green landed were taking their toll on Humble, but he never was knocked down and kept coming forward. One judge scored it 40-36 while the other two judges scored it 39-37. The 20-year-old Green won by unanimous decision and remains unbeaten at 5-0, 2 KOs. This was Humble’s pro debut, so his record is now 0-1, 0 KOs.

Leonardo “The Lion” Acanda of Miami, Florida faced Joe “The Thrilla” Miller of West Palm Beach, Florida in the light heavyweight division. This was a fierce fight with nearly non-stop action. The referee also got a workout just doing his job. Acanda was making his pro debut and Miller was 1-0. This was a brutal fight with close rounds, but Acanda appeared to have a slight advantage. Both boxers were showing signs of fatigue, but still throwing punches in the fourth and final round. One judge scored it 40-36 whereas the two other judges scored it 39-37. Acanda won his pro debut by unanimous decision and is now 1-0, 0 KOs. Miller received his first professional defeat and is now 1-1, 0 KOs.

Posted on 08/07/2016

Gonzalez Triumphs in Aftermath of the Storm
By: Ron Scarfone

A&T Events and Promotions in conjunction with Mundo Boxing presented an event titled “Miami Boxing Storm” on August 6 at the Miami Airport Convention Center in Miami, Florida. In addition to the boxing storm, there was a storm in the sky with thunder, lightning, and rain. There was so much rain that some of the streets were flooded and looked like rivers. There were many people who arrived late to the event. Boxing events usually start late in South Florida, but not this event. After 45 minutes, 3 four-round bouts had already been completed. The main event featured light heavyweight Yuniesky “The Monster” Gonzalez who is originally from Cuba and now lives in Miami. Gonzalez was previously undefeated at 16-0 and a rising star when he faced former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal in a ten-round bout. Despite pummeling Pascal throughout the fight, Gonzalez lost by unanimous decision due to three identically biased judges’ scores of 96-94. After that heartbreaking loss, Gonzalez faced legitimate contender Vyacheslav “Lion Heart” Shabranskyy in another ten-round bout. The fight was close and arguably could have been scored as a draw, but only one of the three judges felt that way. This judge scored it 95-95, but the other two judges who were both in favor of Shabranskyy scored it 98-92 and 97-93. As a result, Gonzalez lost by majority decision. Orlando Cuellar was the trainer of Gonzalez. Cuellar is best known for being the trainer of former light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson when he was at an elite level. Nevertheless, Gonzalez’s handlers felt a change needed to be made and decided to hire Pedro Diaz to be Gonzalez’s new trainer.

In order to get back into world title contention, Gonzalez needed to win again. The panacea proved to be Jackson “Demolidor” Junior of Brazil. Junior was previously undefeated at 15-0 and had won the Brazilian light heavyweight title and the WBO Latino light heavyweight title. However, he is no longer unbeaten as he has lost six of his last twelve fights prior to this fight against Gonzalez. Junior tried to regain the WBO Latino light heavyweight title, but lost by TKO. He had a couple more title shots for minor belts, but lost both by knockout. Junior’s nickname is in Portuguese and means “Daredevil.” As his nickname suggests, Junior is courageous. Gonzalez was definitely a step up in competition for Junior. Their fight was in the cruiserweight division because they were about three pounds above the light heavyweight limit of 175 pounds. Gonzalez looked bigger and stronger than Junior and Gonzalez’s punching power was apparent in the first round. Gonzalez knocked down Junior three times and the fight was stopped by referee Frank Santore because the three knockdown rule was in effect. The time of stoppage was 2:35 of the first round. Gonzalez improves his record to 17-2, 13 KOs. Junior’s record is now 21-7, 19 KOs. Gonzalez said that he wants to fight again on HBO which is the television network that broadcasted his two losses against Pascal and Shabranskyy.

The best fight of the event was between Courtney Jackson of Miami, FL and Ramesis Gil of the Dominican Republic. Jackson weighed about a pound under the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds whereas Gil weighed 140.8 pounds. Jackson was the hometown favorite from Miami and had never lost in his pro career. Although Jackson was undefeated, the vast majority of his previous opponents had losing records. Gil had a losing record himself, but he has mostly fought opponents with winning or undefeated records. Gil did not always lose to those boxers and was able to beat a few of them which included two wins over two previously undefeated boxers. In this fight against Jackson, Gil was landing punches often in the first half of the six-round bout and Gil seemed to have the advantage. In the fourth round, Gil knocked Jackson down with a punch to the head. Jackson survived the round and came back in round five with a left hook to the head that staggered Gil, but Gil remained standing. There were furious exchanges in the sixth and final round. The three judges each identically scored the fight 57-56, 57-56, and 57-56. There was a consensus among the judges, but journalists and fans in attendance may have had a difference of opinion as to who they believe deserved to win. Gil was hurt in the fifth round, but he did knock down Jackson in the fourth round and did well in most of the rounds. Jackson was fortunate to get the win here and remains undefeated at 12-0, 6 KOs. Gil’s record falls to 10-16-5, 7 KOs.

Tyrone “King of the Ring” Spong of Miami, Florida is a former kickboxing champion whose goal is to have similar success in the boxing ring. Spong is a heavyweight with punching power reminiscent of Mike Tyson in his prime. In his previous four fights, Spong won by knockout or technical knockout. His devastating power was in full effect for his fifth fight which was against Tracey Johnson of Boston, Massachusetts. In the second round, Spong hurt Johnson with a smashing punch to the head which sent Johnson reeling. Spong pursued him and unleashed more punches. Johnson was eventually just trying to protect himself and not attacking, so referee Frank Santore stopped the fight. Spong won by TKO in the second round and improves his record to 5-0, 5 KOs. Johnson’s record is now 4-3-4, 0 KO.

The co-main event was a short skirmish that lasted for about one minute between legitimate super middleweight contender Roamer Alexis Angulo of Colombia and Zoltan Papp of Hungary. Papp has a winning record, but lost whenever he stepped up in competition. Not surprisingly, Papp got smeared by Angulo. In the first round, Angulo knocked out Papp in a corner of the ring. Papp slumped down while sitting on the canvas. Angulo won by KO and remains unbeaten at 19-0, 16 KOs whereas Papp falls to 11-3-1, 7 KOs.

Two junior middleweights from Miami, Florida boxed for four rounds. John David Martinez made his professional debut against Jon Clifford Gray. Martinez had the height advantage over Gray and that probably made the difference in this even matchup. Two judges each scored it 39-37 in favor of Martinez while the third judge scored it 40-37 in favor of Gray. Therefore, Martinez won by split decision. Martinez won his debut and is now 1-0, 0 KO whereas Gray falls to 1-3, 0 KO.

Leider Pena of Miami, Florida won his pro debut as a super middleweight and defeated Ryan Soft of Minnesota. Soft was a soft opponent for Pena. Soft took a beating and was bleeding on his face which could have been from his nose, mouth, or both. Pena landed several punches as Soft fought valiantly, but referee Sam Burgos stopped the fight at 2:21 of the second round to save Soft from further punishment. Pena won by TKO and is 1-0, 1 KO after winning his debut and Soft is 3-6-1, 1 KO.

Antonio “Bang” Williams of Fort Lauderdale, FL is also undefeated at 4-0, 3 KOs after winning by unanimous decision against Brian Santos of Puerto Rico in a four-round bout which was in the super featherweight division. The three judges all scored the fight 40-36 in favor of Williams. Santos’ record is now 0-2-1, 0 KO.

Lightweight Ivan Jimenez of Ecuador is still undefeated at 5-0-1, 3 KOs after winning by unanimous decision in a four-round bout. Jimenez’s opponent was Ryan Picou of Las Vegas, Nevada. Picou’s record is now 2-11-1, 0 KO.

Junior middleweight Henrique Oliveira of Brazil stays unbeaten at 3-0, 2 KOs after defeating Miguel Queliz of the Dominican Republic by unanimous decision. Queliz’s record is now 6-2-1, 3 KOs.