By Matt Yanofsky: In front of a packed house at the Roseland Ballroom, IBF super flyweight champion Dimitri Kirilov 29-3-1 (9 KO’s) was surprisingly held to a draw by unheralded Mexican contender Cecilio Santos 22-8-3 (12 KO’s). The aggressive Santos landed most of the telling blows during the first five rounds. Kirilov, who has a striking resemblance to former super middleweight champion Sven Ottke, had an excellent sixth round where he was able to land many quick punches to the head of Santos.
After a close 7th and 8th round, Kirilov opened up a cut over Santos left eye with a straight right hand which made the challenger temporarily retreat from his attack. Kirilov went back to work in the tenth, reopening the cut while Santos threw many wild punches in attempt to keep the champion away. In the 11th, Kirilov had his best round of the fight where he landed almost at will and had excellent head movement to avoid the severely bloodied Santos’ shots. The twelfth and final round turned out to be the best of the fight as both men ended the contest by trading shots. Judge Robert Gibson scored the bout 116-112 Kirilov, but was overruled by judges Kevin Morgan, and John Epstein who both scored the bout 114-114. I also also scored the contest a draw.
“I wasn’t pleased with Dimitri tonight. I’ve never seen him get hit so much before and I honestly can’t argue the fight being ruled a draw”, said his world class trainer Freddie Roach who also trains superstars Bernard Hopkins and Manny Pacquiao.
In his first bout in almost a year, Dmitriy “Star Of David” Salita improved to 28-0-1 (16 KO’s) with a fifth round destruction of Mexican Fabian Luque 21-7-4 (12 KO’s). Salita went to work quickly and sent Luque to the canvas in the first round with a straight right hand just seconds before the bell rang. Salita then used an excellent jab in the second and third rounds, while making his opponent look foolish by missing wild shots. Salita dropped Luque with a jab in the fourth round although Luque appeared to slip. Salita was penalized one point later in the round for a low blow. The Brooklyn native closed the show in the fifth by dropping the smiling Luque then landing a few more shots as he rose from the knockdown forcing referee Benji Esteves to stop the contest 45 seconds into the round.
Bronx lightweight Jorge Teron 20-0-1 (13 KO’s) once again proved to be one of New York’s most improved fighters by scoring an impressive 5th round stoppage of Sandro Marcos 27-17-2 (23 KO’s). Teron easily outboxed the aggressive Marcos over the first three rounds, using his long jab to keep him at bay. Teron dropped Marcos in the fourth round with a perfectly timed left hook. In the fifth, Teron proved why his nickname is “The Truth”, dropping Marcos for the second time in the fight with a right hand. Shortly after the game Marcos arose from the knockdown, Teron jumped on him and landed a combination which forced the stoppage. Time was 2:45 and with the win, Teron wins the vacant NABO Lightweight Title.
Former New York Knicks City Dancer Eileen Olszewski 5-0-1 earned the biggest victory of her career by dethroning WIBA flyweight champion Elena “Baby Doll” Reid 19-4-5 (5 KO’s) by majority decision. Olszewski was able to outbox Reid during most of the fight, and landed numerous clean blows to the head of Reid. Reid showed the heart of a champion by never backing up and landing a few decent shots mostly to the body in what turned out to be an excellent fight. Scores were 98-92 twice and a surprising 95-95 for the tough but beautiful Reid.
Cruiserweight Jon “The Fighting Marine” Schneider 7-1-1 (5 KO’s) became a rare victim of getting robbed in his hometown when his contest with Boston police officer Tyrone Smith 5-5-2 (2 KO’s) was ruled a draw. After a lackluster first round where Schneider outboxed Smith, the former Marine began using his usual aggression to push back Smith in controlling the second and third round. Smith was able to land a few decent shots in the fourth while opening up a cut on what appeared to be the back of Schneider’s ear.
Schneider wiped off the blood and momentarily had Smith out on his feet before the twelve fight veteran was able to clinch and make it out of the fifth. Smith outworked a tired Schneider, who was fighting past the fourth round for the first time in his career. Scores were 58-56 and 57-57 twice although Schneider appeared to have a clear victory in the fight. After the fight, Lou Delvalle nearly had to be restrained as he was furious with one of the judges and began shouting at him.
“I am very upset with the scorecards and feel its personal”, said Schneider’s new trainer, Former WBA light heavyweight champion Lou Delvalle. “One of the judges tonight (Luis Rivera who scored the contest a draw) has a past history with me. Rivera screwed me in my title fight against Virgil Hill in 1996 and Schneider was robbed tonight”.
In the opening bout, Osvaldo Rivera 0-0-1 drew with Garri Bagdasarov 0-0-1. Both fighters had their brief moments as the aggressor but neither did enough to convince the judges. Scores were 40-36 Rivera, 39-37 Bagdasarov, and 38-38.