Ringside Fight report by Vicky Villa
Bethlehem, PA (March 5, 2016)
In the main event of Showtime Boxing’s Special Edition, Julian “J-Rock” Williams (22-0-1, 13KOS) proved why he is one of the hottest prospects in boxing when he stopped Marcello Matano (16-1, 5KOs) via TKO in the 7th round of the scheduled 12 round bout. Williams dictated the fight and used his superior technical skills to keep Matano at bay and dominate 95% of the fight.
Matano, who was only beaten once before, did manage to land a few hard shots but Williams used his defensive skills to avoid getting hit with more than one shot. William’s bread and butter was the jab which he used to set up the right and left hooks. The end came at 2:24 of the 7th round when Williams connected with a barrage of hooks and uppercuts to force the stoppage.
In the second fight of the triple header, Avtandil Khurtsidze (31-2-2, 20KOs) mugged Antoine Douglas (19-0-1, 13KOs) for 10 rounds and stopped the previously undefeated fighter with only 33 seconds left in the fight. Khurtsidze applied pressure from round one and didn’t give Douglas room to breathe. The veteran fighter would go on to use the same tactic throughout the fight, which first paid dividends in the 3rd round when he sent Douglas flying through the ropes, and in the 7th round when he dropped Douglas for the 2nd time. In the 10th round Douglas was hurt by combinations to the body and head, he was unable to defend himself which prompted referee Benjy Esteves to stop the fight.
In the first televised fight of the night, Middleweight Tony Harrison (22-1, 18KOs) had no trouble dominating Fernando Guerrero (28-3, 20KOs) and stopping the previous title challenger
in 6 rounds of a scheduled 10 round fight. After the fight Harrison called out Willie Nelson who is the only fighter to put a blemish on his record.
Undercard Results
Light Heavyweights
Amir Shabazz (2-0, 0Kos) vs Hakeem Atkinson (2-1,1Ko)
Amir Shabazz improves his record to 3-0 with 1 KO. Shabazz drops Atkinson twice forcing the referee to waive the bout at 2:01 in the 1st round.
Super Middleweights
Terrence Williams (4-0, 1KO) vs Anthony Miller (2-1, 2KOs)
Miller dominates Williams in round 1. At the end of Round 1, Williams didn’t answer the bell – Miller wins with a 1st round TKO
Heavyweights
Joey Dawejko (16-4-2, 9KOs) vs Ytalo Perea (6-2-1 4KOs)
Dawejko and Perea put on a good competitive fight and although Ringnews24 saw Perea pull out the win, the judges scored the fight a draw. Scores were 78-74-Dawejko, 77-75- Perea, 76-76.
Middleweights
Ievgen Khytrov (12-0, 11KOs) vs Kenneth McNeil (9-1, 6KOs)
In an all-action packed fight, Khytrov remains undefeated with a win via unanimous decision over McNeil. Judges’s scores were 99-90, 97-92 x 2. Khytrov suffered a cut over the left eye in the 3rd round and scored a 10-8 round in the 10th.
Junion Middleweights
Chordale Booker (Pro-debut) vs Antonio Allen (Pro-debut)
Ref stops the bout at 1:56 of the 2nd round – Booker wins his pro-debut with a TKO