Warner Center War 7 Ringside Coverage

war-at-woodland-hills-7 In Woodland Hills, CA it was a 70's theme for Warner Center War 7, held on Saturday, March 31, 2012. 8 bouts took place between young up and coming fighters, presented by Art of Boxing and Bash Boxing. Ring Announcer was Jim Fitzgerald. Judges were Celia Ciaz, Marty Denkin, and James Jen-Kin. Referees were Lou Moret and Jack Reiss.

In the Middleweight main event, Donyil Livingston suffered the first defeat of his career at the hands of Miami's Elie Augastama. The taller Augustama dropped the Palmdale native with a right hand at the end of round one, yet it was a difficult affair to score thereafter. Augustama often gave up his height to fight on the inside, and each fighter had their moments. The fight went to the scorecards after 6, where Augustama pulled off the upset by scores of 58-55 on 2 scorecards, while Livingston was up 58-55 on the third. Livingston falls to 8-1-1-4KO's, while Augustama improves to 6-4-1-3Ko's.

In the Super Middleweight co-main event, Tyrell Hendrix, of West Los Angeles, overcame a slow start to break down and stop Woonsocket, Rhode Island's Reynaldo Rodriguez in 4 rounds. Rodriguez appeared to win the first right, but as Hendrix began to find his distance with right hands to the body, and left hooks up top, he eventually wore down his opponent, prompting a stoppage at 2:09 of the fourth, when Rodriguez sank to a knee and did not beat the count. Hendrix moves to 8-1-2-3KO's, while Rodriguez (originally from Puerto Rico), falls to 6-4-1-3KO'S.

"Kid Yamaka" Zachary Wohlman got the first stoppage win of his career, albeit in bizarre fashion. The L.A. native was declared the winner when his opponent, Clifford McPherson injured his right thumb and could not continue. At the time of the stoppage, McPherson was looking better than his now 2-9 mark would suggest . The Cleveland fighter caught Wolhman with an overhand right early on, and staggered the unbeaten prospect. Wolhman appeared to have righted the ship, and was beginning to outbox McPherson when a badly blocked punch resulted in the injury. Welterweight Wolhman, moves to 3-0-1KO.

In the only female bout of the night, Celine Roman suffered her first defeat, as she fell to 2-1 in a 4-round majority decision to Claudia Gutierrez, in a featherweight 4-rounder. Gutierrez, of Sacramento boxed well from the outside, and it took Roman, of Zacatecas, Mexico almost the duration of the fight, before she began finding her with overhand rights. Scores were 38-38, 39-37, and 40-36. Gutierrez improves to 2-1.

Another unbeaten fighter lost his "0", as Oscar Diaz of the Oxnard Robert Garcia stable dropped a 4-round decision to Oscar Santana, of Chino, CA. Santana often gave up his height against his southpaw opponent, but dropped Diaz with a hook/right hand combination in round 1. Diaz battled back to make it a close fight, by tagging his taller rival with straight lefts, but Santana still prevailed by close decision, due largely to his superior work-rate. Santana improves to 2-1. while Diaz drops to 2-1.

Oxnard, CA's Herbert Acevedo became the first fighter of the night to both enter and leave with his unbeaten record, as he improved to 7-0-4KO's with a 2nd round KO over Laredo, TX's Eddie Ramirez. Ramirez was game early, but was dropped hard with a right hand early in round two. Although he gamely punched back, Ramirez was dropped again moments later, and seemed to be having balance issues. After a follow-up barrage, referee Jack Reiss called a halt. The lightweight match-up sees Ramirez drop to 6-11-1-4KO's. "Hurricane" Acevedo, like Brandon Rios and Victor Ortiz, is a Garden City, KS native who has made his way to Oxnard.

Lightweight Neil Arrellano made his professional debut a successful one with a four round decision over Shawn Gary. Gary, of Lancaster, CA was also debuting, but was unable to make good work for his height, as he was outhustled by Arrellano in most moments. Arrellano, of san Fernando, who was coming off a 5-year layoff between his amateur and pro careers, was able to maintain a good work rate, yet Gary seemed to do enough to win the final round.

In the night's opener, Daniel Roman improved to 2-1-1KO with a four round TKO over Jesus Adame. In an action-packed war, Romans' superior footing and technique made all the difference, and Roman's shots were far sharper. Roman eventually wobbled Adame badly against the ropes in round 4, and the referee stopped the bout. Adame, of San Bernardino, drops to 2-1.

Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com