By Matt Yanofsky: In his first fight since losing a close decision to Antonio Tarver, Elvir Muriqi 35-4 (22 KO’s) earned an impressive fourth round TKO over Jameel Wilson 13-12-3 (8 KO’s) of Philadelphia. Muriqi began the contest where he left off against Tarver, using all out aggression leaving Wilson little room to breathe. Muriqi continued his onslaught in the second round as Wilson began moving backwards while landing a few shots on the anxious Muriqi. Muriqi went right back to work in the third where he badly hurt the tough Philadelphian.
In the fourth, Muriqi once again badly hurt Wilson who was on wobbly legs. Toward the end of the round, Muriqi opened up a bad cut and appeared en route to a stoppage, but Wilson’s trainer James Shendrick threw in the towel. Time of stoppage was 2:58. “Jameel is a slow starter and I was hoping he would pick things up. Unfortunately, things did not go our way and I had to stop the fight because of the cut”, said Shendrick who also trains Philadelphia spoiler Dhafir Smith.
Former world champion Lou “Honey Boy” Del Valle 36-5-1 (22 KO’s) had all he could handle and eked out a split decision against Newton Kidd 6-7-1 (4 KO’s). Kidd began the bout quickly; putting pressure on Del Valle over the first three rounds while the former WBA Light Heavyweight king did threw mostly one punch at a time. Del Valle had success in rounds 4,5, and 6 where he was able to effectively box Kidd and land a few effective shots. Kidd went right back to work over the final two rounds and appeared to out hustle Del Valle but fell just short on the judges’ scorecards. Scores were 78-74, 77-75 Del Valle and 78-74 Kidd. I scored the contest 77-75 for Kidd.
Alicia “Slick” Ashley 14-7-1 (1 KO) lived up to her name with an impressive unanimous decision victory over Brooke Dierdorff 4-2-1 (3 KO’s). Ashley, who may have the most deceiving record in pro boxing, showed great boxing ability and slickness while easily out landing the aggressive Dierdorff. Ashley showed excellent defensive movement, a good jab, straight left hand, and at times made Dierdorff look amateurish. Scores were 80-72, 78-74, and 79-73 for Ashley who wins the vacant NABF Super Bantamweight belt with the win.
Cruiserweight Jon Schneider 7-1 (5 KO’s) needed just 46 seconds to stop Jerry Spiegel 3-3 (2 KO’s). Schneider immediately came out firing and quickly dropped Spiegel. As Spiegel arose, Schneider went right back to work as Spiegel attempted to cover up while turning sideways. Schneider dropped Spiegel again seconds later forcing the stoppage.
In an all out war, “Crazy” Eddie Irizarry won a unanimous decision over Joe Arroyo. In a match up of young Bronx fighters, Irizarry immediately went to work in the first round and nearly dropped Arroyo with a left hook. Irizarry went back to work in the second forcing Arroyo to lead to dirty tactics. Arroyo was penalized 1 point for hitting on the break and 1 for a headbutt. While continuing to struggle with Irizarry’s non stop attack, Arroyo again lost a point for excessive holding in the fourth. Scores were 40-33 and 39-34 twice.
Carlos Zambrano 1-0 made his pro debut a successful one as he earned a unanimous decision over Jose Guzman 1-3-1. Zambrano’s free swinging aggressiveness earned him the nod over Guzman. Interestingly, both men were penalized a point in the fourth for hitting on the break. Scores were 38-36 and 39-35 twice for Zambrano.
Former 3 time New York Golden Glove Winner Ronica Jeffery 1-0 earned a unanimous decision over Karen Dulin 0-1. Jeffery dominated all four rounds while landing many good shots on the chin of the game Dulin. Scores were 40-36 3x