By Phil Santos – Overhandright.com – In an interesting match-up that had the potential to shake things up in the Cruiserweight division, Darnell “Ding a Ling Man” Wilson, 22-5-3 (19), took on the undefeated B.J. Flores, 20-0-1 (13). Wilson the current USBA Cruiserweight champion and the #9 rated Cruiser by The Ring Magazine was looking to continue his assent up the rankings by dominating the untested Flores. For Flores this bout means everything. This was the up and comers crack at national exposure, a marquee victory and in summation to take his career to another level.
The beginnings of their careers could not be more diverse. B.J. Flores story is one of an accomplished amateur who has fought his way to an impressive, and a little misleading, 20-0 record. Flores hadn’t yet experienced a professional loss. Darnell Wilson began his career with a 1-1-1 record and before finding his groove. Over his next 19 fights he compiled a 17-0-2 record and looked to be a viable contender. Then thing unraveled. Wilson lost his next four fights and appeared all but finished as a serious contender. The “Ding a Ling Man” has again bounced back winning four straight, all by knockout. The stage was set, Flores hopes to make a name for himself and Wilson looks to add Flores name to his list of victims.
Live from The Dover Downs Race Track and Casino and televised on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights Wilson and Flores would go to work. It was evident from the start that Flores possessed the faster hands. The unbeaten prospect jumped out to an early lead, taking rounds 1 and 2, utilizing his quickness and avoiding Wilson’s looping haymakers. Wilson rebounded in the 4th and 5th by timing Flores and began landing in spurts.
As the middle rounds approached Flores continued to frustrate Wilson with his quick hands and even more so his constant movement. Wilson continued to launch bombs, with the worst of intentions, but experienced little success. They traded rounds on my card from the 5th thru the 8th. It was the 8th round however that seemed to turn the tide in favor of the “Ding a Ling Man”. A tired Flores set out to circle the ring and avoid Wilson. The crowd voiced their displeasure by booing Flores for much of rounds 8-10.
Flores showed heart, finding enough left in his tank to out box Wilson and, in my eyes, steal round 10. Surprisingly he wasn’t finished. Flores found enough opportunity between Wilson’s big swings to land flush jabs and evade serious damage. Flores appeared to do enough to take the 11th and hung in despite a late surge by Wilson to last the 12th. My scorecard read 114-114 in a see-saw match in which neither fighter could maintain control for a prolonged period of time. The judges saw it 115-113, 116-112, 118-110 in favor of B.J. Flores.