August 28th, 2015. Washington, DC, USA: Light: Jonathan Maicelo (22-2,1ND) W PTS 10 Brandon Bennett (19-2) . Super Middle: Phillip Jackson Benson (16-2) W TKO 3 Jinner Guerrero (8-6). Light: Jamel Herring (13-0) W TKO 3 Ariel Vasquez (12-9-2,1ND). Light: Robert Easter (15-0) W TKO 6 Osumanu Akaba (32-9-1). Welter: David Grayton (12-0) W TKO 6 Jose M Valderrama (4-11). Light: Raynell Williams (8-0) W TKO 2 Jose Miguel Castro (5-6).
Jonathan Maicelo vs Brandon Bennett
Maicelo returns with a win as he takes unanimous decision over Bennett. Maicelo easily took the early rounds. Showing plenty of quick movement and scoring with fast, accurate combinations he effectively shut southpaw Bennett out of the fight. Bennett came into it over the middle rounds as Maicelo’s work rate dropped. The local fighter was now the one throwing combinations and he looked to be on his way to victory. Maicelo found another gear over the ninth and tenth and swung the fight his way to get a fairly comfortable victory in the end. Scores 97-93 twice and 99-91 with the first two score being a better reflection of Bennett’s efforts in the middle rounds. Maicelo, 32, a North Bergen-based Peruvian, was floored and lost by a wide margin against Darley’s Perez for the interim WBA title in January so a good first step as he builds towards another title match. Bennett, 27, gets blown off course in his rehabilitation plan. After 16 wins on the bounce he was well beaten by Mexican Francisco Vargas in 2013. Since his return he had scored three wins.
Phillip Jackson Benson vs Jinner Guerrero
Benson yet another boxer on a rebuilding course. He got off to a good start with a win over very modest Guerrero. Benson bossed to fight from the early action scoring two knockdowns in the first two rounds. In the third he was hammering Guerrero against the ropes when Guerrero’s corner threw in the towel. The 30-year-old from New York had a run of 13 wins with 12 of those victories by way of KO/TKO then he ran into the totally unpredictable Darnell Boone in April and was stopped in six rounds. Boone has a stoppage win over Adonis Stevenson, a split decision loss against Sergey Kovalev and a win over Willie Monroe Jr as well as his victory over Benson. Ecuadorian Guerrero now has 5 losses by KO/TKO.
Jamel Herring vs. Ariel Vasquez
Olympian Herring keeps his winning streak going. This was as one-sided as a fight can get. The talented Herring was too quick, too accurate and too powerful for southpaw Vasquez. A body punch put Vasquez down in the first and Herring had him on the deck again in the second. A desperate Vasquez lost two points in the third for holding and was taking a beating when the referee stopped the fight. The lanky 29-year-old “Semper Fi” Herring a former national and armed forces champion represented the USA at both the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics. He has 8 wins by KO/TKO. Nicaraguan Vasquez, 28, was having his first fight in the USA. He is now 1-5-2 in his last 8 fights.
Robert Easter vs Osumanu Akaba
Easter overcomes some problems set by Akaba to force the finish in the sixth round. Easter had height and reach over Akaba and made good use of his jab to give himself punching room so that he could slowly pick Akaba apart. However it was not all one way with Akaba, an awkward southpaw showing good movement and scoring enough to be competitive over the five completed rounds. By the fifth Easter’s tactics were proving successful with Akaba fading fast and when Akaba went down from a series of punches his corner signalled that they wanted the fight stopped. The unbeaten 24-year-old from Toledo has been matched with some experienced if fading pros. Unlike Herring Easter did not win his way to the 2012 Olympics but was an alternate (reserve) in case someone fell out. He has 12 wins by KO/TKO. Ghanaian Akaba ,35, lost to Paul Truscott and Ricky Burns in CBC title fights and has now lost 4 of his last 5 fights against some tough opposition.
David Grayton vs Jose M Valderrama
Another former top amateur, another unbeaten fighter, and another win. Grayton almost finished this in the first round when he floored Valderrama with a body punch but the Puerto Rican got up and fought on. Grayton was winning the rounds but Valderrama some good skills but his lack of power meant that Grayton could let his punches go freely. By the sixth Valderrama was tiring and Grayton put him down twice with the referee stopping the fight after the second knockdown. “Day Day”, 28, is a former NGG champion and scored a win over Errol Spence in the amateurs. He has 9 wins by KO/TKO. His father, also David, was a pro who ran up a 17-5 record in the 1980’s. Valderrama, 27, has now lost 11 of his last 12 fights.
Raynell Williams vs Jose Miguel Castro
Williams completes the quartet of former top amateur winning on this show. The Cleveland fighter had a slight edge in the first round but exploded in the second. He put Castro down early in the round with a left to the body only for Castro to beat the count and try to survive the remaining time. He was unsuccessful as a head shot from Williams put Castro down again with the fight being stopped. Now 5 wins by KO/TKO for Williams. As an amateur he was US Champion and represented the US at the World Championships and 2008 Olympics but lost out to Juan Carlos Ramirez at the US Trials for the 2012 Olympics. He scored a win over Carl Frampton in a USA vs. Ireland match. Puerto Rican Castro is 1-5 in his last 6 fights with all of the losses being against unbeaten fighters.
