Retro was the theme, as boxing returned to Hollywood Blvd July 12th, at the historic Florentine Gardens. Bash Boxing and Art of Boxing Promotions presented a 9-bout (all four-rounders) car showcasing local talent. The referees were Wayne Hedgepeth and Tony Krebs. Ring announcer was Jim Fitzgerald.
In the Welterweight main event, Zachary "Kid Yamaka" Wohlman stayed unbeaten as he scored a four round unanimous decision over Phoenix's Jose Martell. Martell awkwardness provided tense moments, especially in round 3, but Wohlman was by far the superior boxer, and utilize defense and counterpunching to maintain control. 40-36 twice, while the third judge had a more appropriate 39-37. Wohlman proves to 4-0-1KO, while Martell drops to 2-3-1 KOs.
Another L.A. fighter remained unbeaten, as junior middleweight Terrell 'Tyger" Williams scored a 1st round KO over Cleveland's Clifford McPherson. For the second straight fight, McPherson seemed to quit, as he was dropped by a hard body shot. Williams connected with a soft shot to the temple as McPherson was on one knee, causing McPherson to overact. Referee Tony Krebs was not buying it, and counted McPherson out, dropping the Cleveland fighters record to 2-10-1-1KO.
It was also a semi-bizarre ending for Sacramento's Larry Ward. Amateur standout Paul Parker of Toledo, OH made his Cruiserweight pro debut a successful one with a 1st round KO over Ward, yet after catching Ward with a temple shot, things got a bit off-script. Ward grabbed on, and was wrestled to the canvas. Although it was correctly ruled no knockdown by Tony Krebs, ward was dizzy from the previous shot, stumbling and confusing Krebs. Although the referee allowed the fight to continue, Ward was down again from another straight right, and the bout was waved off. Krebs seemed a bit confused, and seemingly thought ward might have been made dizzy by the takedown, but thew bout was still awarded to Parker, who moves to 1-0-1KO, while Ward drops to 1-3
In the only mild upset of the night, Oxnard's Oscar Diaz had to settle for a draw, as he was outworked by Maywood's Carlos Morales in a bantamweight bout. Southpaw Diaz showed good counters early, but Morales seemed the more effective of the two. One judge had Morales ahead 39-37, while the others had it 38-38. The crowd seemed to think Morales had the advantage, but he moves to 0-1-1draw, while Diaz is now 3-1-1.
Oxnard would stir up more controversy as Erik Ruiz improved to 5-0 2 KO's with a controversial verdict over Raymond Chacon. Ruiz won the first round, but Chacon seemed to outbox him the rest of the way, prompting trainer Roberto Garcia to become quite vocal in urging his fighter on. Scores were 39-37 twice, while the third judge had it a 38-38 draw. Chacon, of Los Angeles, drops to 4-3.
Liverpool, England's Liam Vaughan improved to 5-1 in his U.S. debut. Santa Rosa's Jovanni Rubio stayed in Vaughan's chest, but could not land many effective blows, as the British fighters combinations carried more weight. Scores were 40-36 in the middleweight contests, as Rubio drops to 7-15-2.
North Hollywood's Javier Albonica improved to 3-1-2KO's with a 2nd round stoppage of Tatsuro Rocks Irie of Japan. Both men mixed it up well, both Albonica began to hurt Rocks in the second and caused an ugly swelling over the left eye of the Japanese fighter. The welterweight bout was stopped between rounds. Irie drops to 0-4
In the only female fight of the night, welterweight Holly "Lil Bear" Lawson scored her first stoppage win, with a 2nd round TKO over Victoria, TX's Judy Garcia Tate. White Garcia jumped into Lawson's chest early, by the end of round one all of the effective scoring was being done by the transplanted Canadian. Garcia had no defense to speak of, so even though her chin was holding up well, after being tagged by several flush, unanswered shots, referee Tony Krebs stopped the bout. Garcia drops to 3-2-1KO, while Lawson improves to 4-2-1KO.
In the night's opener, Burbank's Mike Carracela moved to 2-0 with a unanimous 4 round decision over Alonzo Loeza of Gilroy, CA... now 1-5-1 draw. Southpaw Carracela was sloppy at times, and lunged in repeatedly... resulting in a cut over his own right eye, but landed the sharper shots, and used a good body attack to maintain control of the welterweight contest. Scores were 40-36.
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com
