A Pier 6 Brawl in Philly Enlivens a Soft Boxing Weekend

WEEKEND BOXING RECAPS — On an otherwise quiet weekend for boxing, there was a corker in South Philadelphia that would have undoubtedly commanded Fight of the Year discussion if witnessed by more eyeballs. The match at the 2300 Arena, billed for the Pennsylvania State 154-pound title, paired Philadelphia’s Tyrone “Young Gun” Brunson (25-6-2) against Reading’s Kermit Cintron (39-6-3). Knocked down twice in round four and saved by the bell, Brunson came back with a flourish in the very next stanza, decking Cintron three times to win by TKO.

Brunson is 4-0-1 in his last five and 6-6-2 since opening his career with 19 straight knockouts, all in the first round (!). The 37-year-old Cintron, a former IBF world welterweight champion, has been kicking around since the year 2000 and has seemingly developed stamina issues. He retired once before and one guesses that he will leave the sport again, but this time make it stick.

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A weekend appetizer of sorts was served up on Friday at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, where featherweight Rafael Rivera improved to 25-0-2 with a second round stoppage of the usually durable Ruben Tamayo (26-10-4) who had lost five straight heading in. Tamayo lasted longer than his older brother Miguel Tamayo who Rivera pounded out in the opening round in July of last year.

In another bout of note, Russian heavyweight Sergey Kuzmin advanced to 11-0 with a fourth round stoppage of Malcolm Tann who declined to 24-5.

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In Gdanz, Poland, former WBO cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Glowacki (27-1) rebounded from the first setback of his career with a fifth round stoppage of undefeated but obscure Hizni Altunkaya, a fighter of Turkish descent from Germany.

The loss that blemished Glowacki’s record was a 12-round setback to the ultra-talented Oleksandr Usyk. Altunkaya was 29-0 heading in, a record forged against low-level opposition.

Tomasz Adamek, generally recognized as the most accomplished fighter in Poland’s boxing history, was also on the card. The 40-year-old Adamek was pitted against 41-year-old Solomon Haumono (24-4-2), a former rugby star imported from Sydney, Australia.

The bout had no indelible moments. Adamek, a former world champion in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions, advanced to 51-5 with a lopsided 10-round decision.

In Juarez, Mexico, Juarez native Miguel “Micky” Roman (57-12) scored the 44^th knockout of his career, stopping Guadalajara’s Nery Saguilan (38-9-1) in the final round of a 12-round contest. The battle-tested Roman previously challenged for world titles in the featherweight and lightweight divisions.

In the co-feature, scheduled for 10 rounds, super featherweight Eduardo Hernandez (23-0-3) scored his 16^th straight knockout, blasting out Filipino import Rolando Magbanua (26-6) in the opening round. The 19-year-old Hernandez is a fighter who bears watching.

In the first boxing show at Louisville’s Freedom Hall in 13 years, Carlos Negron, who represented Puerto Rico in the 2008 Olympics, improved to 20-1 (16) with a fourth round stoppage of New York journeyman Derric Rossy (31-13). The match, televised on the CBS Sports network, was the headliner on Evander Holyfield’s inaugural show in his new role as a promoter.

Negron came in at 238 pounds, 51 pounds more than he carried for his pro debut in 2009. At six-foot-six, he had room to fill out. The 36-year-old Rossy, a former Syracuse University football player, brought little to the table. He has lost four of his last five.

In an undercard bout of note, Liberia-born featherweight Toka Kahn Clary, who fights out of Rhode Island, advanced to 22-1 with an 8-round unanimous decision over Angel Luna of the Dominican Republic. Clary, who won all eight rounds on two of the scorecards, has won three straight since suffering a shocking first round knockout at the hands of lightly-regarded Jhon Gemino in September of last year.

Photo credit: Mony Hin

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