Undefeated NABF and USA Massachusetts junior welterweight champion Denzel “Double Impact” Whitley obtained a second-round technical knockout over Joe Wilson Jr. in the main event. Denzel knocked Wilson down in the second round from a left hook to the body, and referee Gene Del Bianco stopped the bout at thirty-one seconds as Wilson struggled to get up from the canvas. Denzel dropped Wilson from a right hook to the body towards the end of the first round. Denzel improved to 14-0, 8 KOs. Wilson, a late replacement, dropped to 3-7.
Photo: Denzel Whitley celebrates his 14th win (pictures by Emily Harney / Fightography)
“I think my performance was great. I got the stoppage and the knockout, so I could not have asked for anything better than that,” said Whitley, who was originally scheduled to defend his title against Kenny Larson in a rematch he won via a split decision last December. “I want to have at least two more fights this year and then take a step-up fight that is televised by the end of the year.”
“Pandemonium at the Palladium 3” was promoted by Granite Chin Promotions from the famed Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts. The main event and the six undercard bouts were streamed live on BXNGTV.com.
Steve “The Savage” Sumpter (9-0-1, 7 KOs) and Antonio Louis “Tony the Beast” Hernandez (7-18-3, 4 KOs) battled to a hard-fought eight-round majority draw (judge Joe Apice had it 77-75 for Hernandez but was overruled by judges Ken Volovick and Daniel Fitzgerald who both had it 76-76), in the co-feature.
Sumpter, the unbeaten IBA Americas super middleweight titleholder, controlled the first two rounds with his jab and great defense. Hernandez, who is much better than his record indicates, turned the fight around in the third. He outworked and out-landed Sumpter for the next three rounds. For whatever reason, Sumpter appeared hesitant to throw more than one punch at a time.
Sumpter, sensing that the fight was slipping away, came out with more of a sense of urgency in the sixth round and finally started to let his hands go more consistently. He got the better of the exchanges and connected on more combinations. Sumpter landed more power shots, especially in the eighth round. He staggered Hernandez twice from left hooks and appeared close to dropping him several times. To avoid the loss, Sumpter won the last three rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards and two of the last three rounds on the other scorecard.
Carlos “El Gallo” Gonzalez scored a first-round technical knockout over Aldimar Silva. Gonzalez knocked Silva down from a left-right hook to the head. Referee Del Bianco stopped the bout at two minutes and twenty-seven seconds, as Silva was not in any condition to continue fighting. The Massachusetts super featherweight champion kept his undefeated record intact (11-0, 10 KOs). This was Gonzalez’s fifth first-round knockout and third straight knockout win. He is scheduled to fight again on June 1st. Silva, the former Brazilian super bantamweight titleholder, fell to 22-26, 14 KOs.
Quinton Sumpter defeated Zackary “The Shark” Calmus en route to a four-round unanimous decision, winning every round on all three judges’ scorecards (40-36, 40-36, 40-36). Sumpter upped his record to 7-2, 4 KOs, and got back into the win column following an extremely controversial majority decision loss to undefeated Sean Bey in his last outing. This was the fourth time that his younger brother Steve and he fought on the same fight card. Calmus, in his first fight in almost four years, dropped to 1-1, 1 KO. Sumpter controlled this one-sided heavyweight bout, landing just about whatever he threw. He knocked Calmus down via a right hook to the head towards the end of the fourth round. After the knockdown, he landed several hard punches that came close to knocking him down again.
WBA Fedecentro super featherweight champion William “The Silent Assassin” Foster III knocked out Lucas “El Pibe” Mignoni in the first round. Foster used a right hook to the body to knock Mignoni down, and referee Del Bianco counted Migoni out at one minute and six seconds. Foster, ranked fourteenth by the WBA, improved to 17-1, 11 KOs. Mignoni fell to 14-7, 4 KOs.
Jonathan de Pina beat Michael “Titan” Taylor via a second-round technical knockout. The former 2018 New England Golden Gloves champion upped his record to 13-2, 6 KOs. Taylor dropped to 1-7. Referee Paul Casey stopped the lightweight bout at two minutes and thirty-nine seconds as de Pina landed about a dozen unanswered punches on Taylor, who was on the verge of being dropped for the second time. He knocked Taylor down earlier in the second with a right hook to the head.
Jetter Burgos won a six-round unanimous decision over Lenwood “Mr. Composure” Dozier, as he won every round on all three judges’ scorecards (60-53, 60-54, and 60-54). Burgos outworked and outlanded Dozier in this one-sided super welterweight bout. He also connected on more power shots. Burgos improved to 8-1, 6 KOs, and has won seven in a row. Dozier fell to 10-36-3, 5 KOs.