The Crystal City Hilton in Arlington, Virginia was host to a quality prospects card put on by Marshall Kauffman and King’s Promotions. Headlined by the lanky blue-chipper Mykal “The Professor” Fox, the couple of hundred in attendance were whipped up by the fast-paced action, even if many of the fights were a forgone conclusion.
Among the notable four rounders, Maryland middleweight Patrick Rivera made a statement in his professional debut. His opponent was Dustin Caplinger, best known as the KO victim of Terrell Gausha’s pro debut. Rivera whaled away on Caplinger right from the start, never letting up.
Caplinger could only hold his gloves up round after round and try to survive. Unfortunately for him, Rivera wanted to make a statement in his pro debut. Rivera came like a bat out of hell in the fourth, dropping Caplinger hard to force referee to immediately call it a mere four seconds in.
In a “blink and you missed it” bout, super bantamweight Marcus “Dreamcatcher” Bates showed great speed and technique, dodging opponent Daniel Hernandez’s few wild swings and countering with a blistering set of combinations. The blitz effort earned Bates a KO in a merely forty-eight seconds of the first. There was the quick cruiserweight slugfest between crowd-favorite Sam “The Vanilla Gorilla” Crossed and Mike Estus. A large contingent cheered him wildly as he walked to the ring with Pantera’s “Cowboys from Hell” pumping on the speakers. Crossed charged at his opponent in hisusual rough-and-tumble style that included wild hooks and wilder taunts. Too bad it didn’t work out this time, as Estus knocked Crossed out two minutes into the first round.
Moving to the co-feature, undefeated heavyweights Luther “Lights Out” Smith and Mike “Silverback” Balogun went to war to see who could retain their undefeated record. The fight did take a little while to warm up, as much of the first round saw them pawing at each other. However, it came alive in the last minute as Balogun was able to get Smith to the ropes with a wicked combination and followed it up with a crushing right hook. Smith fought back valiantly, but most of what he threw missed the mark. Smith got his bearings by the end of the first bell, but that didn’t stop Balogun from charging right back by the start of the second. At times, it even looked like Smith was running away as clubbing overhand shots from Balogun sent him stumbling about. Finally, Balogun sent Smith flying back into the canvas with a sharp left.
In the main event, Mykal Fox gave an effect showing against Somner “Magic Man” Martin. For most of the first and second round, Fox merely seemed content to keep Martin at the end of his jab. However, by the end of the second, Fox managed a combination that rocked Martin, and the whole fight changed. From then on, Fox was on the hunt, culminating in a series of unanswered shots that forced the referee to call a halt to the fight midway into round three.
Overall, it proved a fine small venue card that Kauffman King’s Promotions should be commended for. More up-and-comers such solid showcases are what boxing needs, not less.
FULL RESULTS:
COLBY MADISON TKO1 BRYSON HAUBRICK
PATRICK RIVERA TKO4 DUSTIN CAPLINGER TKO4, 0:08
MARCUS BATES TKO1 DANIEL HERNANDEZ
PHILLIP HOOKER TKO1 DAVID ROHN
DEVAR FERHADI TKO3 CHRISTOPHER PETTY
MIKE ESTUS TKO1 SAM CROSSED
JORDAN WHITE RTD1 SERGIO AGUILAR
MIKE BALOGUN TKO2 LUTHER SMITH
MYKAL FOX TKO3 SOMNER SMITH