Russian lightweight Ivan Redkach (18-0, 14 Kos) found Yakubu Amidu (19-6-2, 17 Kos) may not have the flashy name of other contenders, but he was a stiff challenge.

Redkach has a knack for finding the mark for his southpaw punches and hit Amidu early in the fight.

Redkach was busier and more accurate than Amidu in the first three rounds. Then the African boxer who fights out of L.A. found the range. Amidu began targeting the body and found success as it began opening up more options. Redkach continued firing back and was hit low twice in the fifth round. Referee Ray Corona deducted a point from Amidu for the repeat infraction.

Amidu came out firing in the sixth round and ran into a left cross that delivered him to the deck. He got up and was met with an onslaught of blows from the lefty Redkach, who caught Amidu with a right cross. Down went Amidu, hard. A very slow count by the referee allowed the African to beat the count. Slowly he got up and survived the rest of the round. While sitting in his stool the fight was stopped at the end of round six.

In a heavyweight collision it was gargantuan Charles Martin (19-0-1, 17 Kos) stepping over the ropes and into the boxing ring to face the diminutive Damon McCreary (15-4, 11 Kos) in a match set for six rounds. After two minutes of McCreary running clockwise around the ring against the left-handed bombster, the pounderous Martin cornered him and delivered a one-two, with the left cross sending the smaller heavyweight crashing to the canvas. He got up but the referee decided he wasn’t clear-headed enough to face the destructive forces of Martin. The fight ended at 2:21 of the first round with McCreary demanding the fight continue. Too late.

Can Martin, a St. Louis native now living and training in Carson, Calif. be the next heavyweight prospect to crash the rankings?

Other bouts

Alantez Fox (14-0-1, 4 Kos) used his long reach and height to storm out of the gate fast against fellow undefeated junior middleweight Patrick Day (9-1, 5 Kos). It was a good thing. By the third round Day found the distance and began pounding the body and head and soon the fight turned competitive. Day kept pounding the chest and head as Fox neglected to use his jab for a few rounds. That shrunk his reach and allowed Day to get into the fight. Fox then found the jab useful again and fired combinations with Day willing to turn it into a firefight. One judge scored it 76-76, another 78-74 and a third judge 80-72 for a majority decision win for Fox.

A showdown between unbeaten middleweights Ievgen Khytrov (8-0, 8 Kos) and Maurice Louishomme (8-1-1, 4 Kos) quickly became a mismatch in the first round. The first punch the Ukrainian landed sent the mouthpiece flying out of the taller Louishomme’s mouth. The referee stopped the fight after Louishomme’s gum shield came flying out a third time. It was a good stoppage.

“He’s a beast,” said Lou DiBella, who promotes Khytrov, living and training in Brooklyn, NY. “He trains with Danny Jacobs and Marcus Browne and those guys. He’s an animal.”

Tevin Farmer (18-4-1) proved too elusive for Viktor Chermous (15-2-1) in their eight round junior lightweight showdown. All three judges gave the fight to Philadelphia’s southpaw speedster, who jumped out to an early lead in the first three rounds. Then L.A.-based Chermous began to find the range but couldn’t close out the last two rounds. The scores were 79-72 twice and 77-74 for Farmer.

Houston’s Regis Prograis (13-0, 11 Kos) unloaded a right cross that knocked out Mexican veteran Hector Velazquez (56-25-3, 38 Kos) at 2:59 of round five of a junior welterweight clash. Prograis was finding it difficult to land crisp shots against the clever Velazquez, but after an exchange of blows the Texan caught the veteran walking into his power and ended the night for the Tijuana prizefighter.

Canada’s Francy Ntetu (14-0, 3 Kos) won a unanimous decision over L.A’s Tyrell Hendrix (11-6-2, 4 Kos) in a battle of super middleweights. The eight round affair saw a lot of rough inside fighting with Hendrix doing some good body work but Ntetu landing counter shots, especially the right uppercut. The scores were 78-74 and 79-73 twice for Ntetu.

Derrick “Whup Dat Ass” Murray (10-0-1, 5 Kos) returned to Southern California from his St. Louis stomping grounds and handed Ray Chacon (5-13) a one-sided beating. Chacon has good defense but seldom punched. Meanwhile Murray kept the punches flowing and took the decision unanimously. Murray said he will be training in Southern California.

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