Sandman Stops Easley In Six; Balletto Wins

Ron DiMichele @ Ringside

22.03 - Super-Middleweights Scott "The Sandman" Pemberton and Leavan Easley didnt waste much time getting reacquainted last night at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, CT. They said hello then got down to business in their scheduled 12-round bout for the IBU super middleweight crown. The results mirrored those of their previous meeting. In a sixth-round stoppage, Scott Pemberton (25-2-1, 21 KOs) of New Bedford, MA duplicated his 2000 knockout of Easley (15-8-2, 7 KOs) of Brooklyn, NY.

It wasnt easy. As in their first bout, both fighters appeared dazed by hard punches several times during the fight. But it was Scott Pemberton who better withstood the rigors of battle.

"As the fight goes on, I dont wear down as much as the other guy," said Pemberton shortly after the bout. "My conditioning comes through for me."

Easley fought from a near peek-a-boo stance for much of the fight, picking his moments to spring out and attack. Pemberton sought to open up Easleys tight defense with his long left jab, then follow up with hard rights to the head and hooks to the body.

Pemberton worked the jab well in the first, but caught a hard left from Easley midway though the round. Both men fought cautiously in the second, but in the third round, the big guns opened up. Easley worked his jab early in the round, and followed it up with several hard overhand rights and left hooks to the head of Pemberton. Pemberton fought back off the ropes landing hard to Easleys body and penetrating Easleys defense with stinging combinations. As the round ended, Easley landed a hard right and Pemberton answered with a right hand shot to the body.

Leavan Easley spent much of the fourth on the ropes, waving Pemberton in. Pemberton obliged his opponent, winging hard shots at Easley's head and body. Easley smiled as some shots bounced off of his gloves, while others found their mark.

Pemberton stalked Easley in the fifth, who seemed to be slowing down and throwing fewer punches. A stiff Easley jab at the close of the round bloodied Pembertons nose.

The sixth round began cautiously for both fighters and then exploded into action. Easley landed a hard overhand right, which knocked a stunned Pemberton into the ropes. Pemberton lurched forward to wrap up Easley, buying time to regain his senses. The referee separated the combatants and it was now Easleys turn to stalk. He caught up with Pemberton and in toe-to-toe action landed two hard lefts. Pemberton came back with a hard uppercut. Pemberton stunned Easley with a short series of left and rights, finally dropping him with a right-hand heat-seeking missile to the jaw. Easley rose to one knee and was counted out by the referee at 2:59 of the sixth round.

"I admit, he rocked me a couple of times," said a victorious Scott Pemberton. "But I knocked him out before, so I was confident I could do it again. I dont care what kind of trouble Im in," said Pemberton. "I can take a guy out."

In the evenings co-feature, lightweight Gary "Tiger" Balletto (27-1, 24 KOs) of Providence, RI made short work of Johnny Walker (18-7, 12 KOs) of Ft Lauderdale, FL, dispatching him at the 2:49 mark of the first round. Walker had leveled the Aaron Pryor glove-pointing death stare at Balletto during ring introductions, but aside from landing one hard left hook, he was no match for Tigers two-fisted attack.

Balletto wobbled Walker with a left hook towards the end of the round, then pinned him against the ropes and unloaded several hard rights and lefts to the doubled-over Walker. Ballettos fury of punches knocked Walker through the ropes and onto the ring apron. The referee waved off the fight without the necessity of a count.

Undefeated "Bad" Chad Dawson (11-0, 7 KOs) of New Haven, CT survived a first round knockdown to come back and stop Willie Lee (10-2, 7 KOs) of Gulfport, MI in the third round of a scheduled six round junior middleweight contest. At least for Lee, this one was bombs away from the start. The southpaw Lee came out throwing and dropped Dawson with a straight left hand moments into the fight. Chad Dawson, also a lefty, survived the first round scare and regained the momentum in the second, working right hooks and combinations between Lees wide, arcing bombs. In the third, Dawson wobbled Lee with a right-left combination, then caught him against the ropes and pummeled him with a hard series of rights and lefts. A right hook from Dawson finally dropped Lee for a ten-count.

Chad Dawson is a tall, rangy, hard-punching fighter with good ring skills. He appears to be well-trained and is worth keeping an eye on.

In an eight-round featherweight bout, four-time Puerto Rican amateur champion Angel Torres of Manchester, CT put on a deft boxing performance and earned aunanimous decision over Greg Piper of Portland, OR. Torres, who wobbled Piper twice with hard left uppercuts, fought more confidently with each passing round. Angel Torres record climbs to 11-2 with 4 KOs while Pipers record drops to 6-2 with 2 KOs.

In four round heavyweight action, Jevon Langford, a 330 lb former defensive end for the Cinncinnatti Bengals, earned a first-round TKO victory over 6 11", 273 lb Celeb Patrick of Oklahoma City, OK. The tall, gangly Patrick was no match for the heavily muscled Langford. Langford, of Las Vegas, NV sees his record rise to 5-0 with 5 straight knockouts. Patick may want to consider a basketball career as he drops his pro debut in less-than-scintillating fashion.

In the evenings opening bout, Jamar "Silk" Carter (15-6, 3 KOs) of Newark, NJ utilized speed and reach advantages to decision Shakha Moore (9-6-2, 1 KO) of Norwalk, CT in a four round lightweight match-up.

Jimmy Burchfields Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc promoted this exciting fight card.

Ron DiMicheles email address is: rondimi@yahoo.com