Temecula, California- CBS Sports Network invaded the beautiful Pechanga Resort and Casino on Friday night. Veteran broadcaster Alan Massengale was on the call with Steve Kim and Patrick Ortiz by his side.
In the main event, young Middleweight prospect, Rob Brant from St. Paul, Minnesota was looking to continue his winning ways against “The Ghost”, Chris Fitzpatrick from Columbia, South Carolina.
Referee, Edward Hernandez, Sr. gave the instructions at center ring, gave the go ahead to the timekeeper and it was now time for the marquee matchup of the night.
After the bell sounded for round one, it quickly became apparent that Brant was the more polished of the two fighters. His jab was in top form, he was boxing gracefully and was clearly in control after one stanza.
Round two began with more of the same as Brant looked quite comfortable in the ring. Then, like a bolt of lightning, Brant struck with a hard left hook the staggered the surprised challenger and followed that up with a perfectly timed straight right hand that put Fitzpatrick down on the seat of his pants for the first time in the bout.
“The Ghost” made it to his feet, but Brant jumped on him and finished the second round with a nice flurry of punches that kept Fitzpatrick in serious trouble. As the ringside Doctor checked on the wounded Fitzpatrick between rounds two and three, the end seemed near.
As round three began, Fitzpatrick was trying to compose himself when Brant landed a surprise uppercut, followed by a devastating left hook that sent Fitzpatrick crashing to the canvas yet again. He valiantly made it to his feet, but Hernandez quickly waved off the action and at 1:18 of round three, Rob Brant was the winner by knockout.
Rob Brant appears to be a very nice prospect in the Middleweight division. It will be interesting to see his progress as he steps up the level of his competition.
Brant improves to 21-0, 13KO and Chris Fitzpatrick dropped to 15-5, 6KO
In the Co-featured bout of the evening, Super Welterweights were on tap. Power punching Skender “No Surrender” Halili from the Bronx, New York squared off against veteran and Azumah Nelson look alike, “The Miracle” Ben Odamattey from Silver Springs Maryland.
The opening round began and with Halili’s eleven year age advantage and five inch height advantage, this bout didn’t seem as it would end well for the veteran, Odamattey. Sure enough, Halili landed a right hand in the opening frame that stunned Odamattey and put him down. “The Miracle” got to his feet, but it wouldn’t take long for “No Surrender” to close the show.
Another right hand crashed hard on Odamattey’s jaw. He shuffled backwards and was hurt badly enough that referee Ray Corona called a halt to the action before Ben Odamattey was able to take a seat. The end was officially 1:17 of round one of the scheduled four round tilt..
Skender Halili improves his record to 11-1, 11KO and Ben Odamattey falls to 16-15-3, 9KO
Television Undercard:
-Cem Killic, out of Sherman Oaks, Ca. by way of Germany squared off against Jerhad “God’s Gift” Fenderson of Las Vegas, who was making his professional debut.
Killic found a home for his overhand right early and finally after a very effective series of punches, a big left hook followed that sent Fenderson crashing to the canvas. He was able to make it to his feet, but referee, Edward Hernandez, Sr. immediately stopped the contest 1:50 of round two of the scheduled four round contest
Cem Killic jumps to 6-0, 3KO and Jerhad Fenderson begins his professional career at 0-1
-In Welterweight action scheduled for four rounds, Malik “Iceman” Hawkins of Baltimore, Maryland took on Sean “Beast of War” Gee, who hails from Portland, Oregon in a very spirited four round matchup. Gee was game and tried everything from low blows to a tackling drill, but in the end, the more polished Hawkins was able to come away with a hard fought unanimous decision.
Malik Hawkins jumps to 9-0, 7KO and Sean Gee looks to fight another day at 3-5, 0KO
Non-Televised undercard
-Super Flyweight, Danny Adujo out of Temecula, Ca. made his professional debut and thrilled his hometown fans by making quick work of Israel Hernandez of San Leandro, Ca. The end came swiftly at :55 of round number one after a combination of solid punches sent the overmatched and uninterested Hernandez down and out in the scheduled 4 round fight.
Danny Adujo starts his career with a bang at 1-0, 1KO and Israel Hernandez record drops to 1-3-1, 1KO
-Much to the crowds delight, another hometown fighter was on tap, as Featherweight, Roberto “The Ram” Meza of Temecula took on Jose Fabian Naranjo of Baja California, Mexico in a scheduled four rounder. The awkward Naranjo was game enough, but the very smooth and talented young Meza proved to be too much and he came away with the unanimous four round decision.
Roberto Mesa record improves to 3-0, 1KO as Jose Fabian Naranjo goes back to the drawing board at 3-2-1, 1KO
-Two southpaw lightweights were making their professional debuts when Will Davis of Sacramento, Ca. squared off against “Fearless” Erik Fowler of Las Vegas, NV. The end came towards the end of round four when Davis came on with a succession of straight left hands that dropped Fowler to his knees. Tony Crebs did not want to see Fowler take anymore punishment and halted it at :39 of round four. Yes, you guessed it, the fight was scheduled for four rounds.
-In the final bout of the evening, Bantamweights were showcased. Bonus points for those who can guess how many rounds this one was scheduled for. Time’s up, that’s right, this one was a scheduled found round fight. (Who knew?)
Jarico O’Quinn from The Motor City of Detroit Michigan squared off against Jonathon Quiroz out of Oceanside, CA. After four rounds, O’Quinn was declared the winner by unanimous decision and improved his record to 3-0, 2KO, while Quiroz fell to 6-4, 1KO
That’s another fight night in the books. Some nights are better than other nights, but there is no such thing as a bad night at the fights!
Enjoy this weekend’s bouts and as always, Keep Punching.
