NCASVILLE, Conn. (Nov. 5th, 2011) � On a night when undefeated records fell by the wayside, Mariusz Wach made sure at least one fighter escaped with his perfect record intact.
Defending his World Boxing Council (WBC) International heavyweight title for the first time, Wach stopped pesky veteran Jason Gavern (21-9-4) at the 1:03 mark of the sixth round Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena to retain the belt and improve to 26-0 with 14 knockouts. Ranked No. 8 in the WBC, Wach knocked down Gavern in each of the first two rounds, but the Chicago native � ranked 29th in the WBC � fought back in the third and fourth and brought the raucous to its feet before Wach forced the stoppage in the closing minutes of the sixth.
The Wach-Gavern heavyweight showdown, schedule for 12 rounds, was the main event of �November Reign,� promoted by Jimmy Burchfield�s Classic Entertainment & Sports in association with Global Boxing and Joe DeGuardia�s Star Boxing. The show featured two upsets with Rick Dawson of New Haven, Conn., and former North American Boxing Organization (NABO) middleweight champion Patrick Majewski each receiving their first career loss before �The Viking� restored order in the main event.
Gavern, a last-minute replacement for former world champion Oliver McCall, who was originally scheduled to face Wach, promised to put on a show for the fans and he delivered, unloading on the 6-foot-7 champion with reckless abandon in the third and fourth rounds and even taunting his opponent along the way. Wach, as always, remained calm and regained control of the fight in the sixth. He stunned Gavern with a flurry along the ropes early in the round and unloaded again with an overhand right that pushed Gavern back several feet and forced the referee to mercifully stop the bout.
Veteran Jose Miguel Torres (23-5, 20 KOs) of Miami scored the first upset of the night, knocking out the previously-unbeaten Majewski of Atlantic City at the 1:16 mark of the sixth round to capture the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) and NABO titles. Majewski (17-1) dominated the first five rounds and had control in the sixth until Torres landed a short right hook to the chin that sent Majewski to the canvas for good.
Torres escaped with his second consecutive knockout victory and his first win in a title fight; he lost to then-unbeaten Joe Greene in 2008 with the North American Boxing Association (NABA) light middleweight title on the line.
Another upset occurred in the first swing bout of the evening as Borngod Washington (3-9, 1 KO) of Queens recorded his third victory in his last four fights and first career knockout by stopping Dawson at the 58-second mark of the fourth round.
Dawson dominated the first two rounds, but Washington fought back midway through the third to gain control of the fight. Early in the fourth round, Washington caught Dawson with his back to the ropes and unleashed a flurry that caused the referee to stop the bout.
The show began with a back-and-forth battle between New Haven junior featherweights Nate Green and Josh Crespo with Green earning a unanimous-decision victory (40-36, 40-36, 39-37) in his professional debut. Crespo dropped to 0-1-1. Springfield cruiserweight Jose Torres rebounded from a loss in his pro debut in July with a dominant performance, stopping newcomer Francwa Russell (0-1) of Chicago at the 1:17 mark of the third round.
Lightning-fast super featherweight prospect Kamil Laszczyk of North Bergen, N.J., remained unbeaten with a first-round knockout win over Chris Montoya (2-5) of Salt Lake City, Utah. Laszczyk (5-0, 4 KOs) overpowered Montoya from the opening bell, dropping within the first 18 seconds courtesy of a hard right hook. Montoya made it to his feet, but didn�t last much longer; Laszczyk ended the fight with another overpowering right hand at the 36-second mark.
Heavyweight Artur Szpilka of Wieliczka, Poland also kept his perfect record intact, rebounding from a surprise knockdown in the opening round and stopping David Saulsberry (7-4) of Greenville, Ky., one minute into the second round.
VASSELL’S TESTING TIME
RICKY HATTON has warned stable star Denton Vassell that he faces the hardest fight of his career this weekend.
The undefeated Mancunian makes the second defence of his Commonwealth welterweight crown against Australian Samuel Colomban at Oldham Sports Centre on Saturday (12th Nov).
And Vassell’s promoter has warned his fighter’s ‘0’ will go unless he’s on top form in the 12 rounder being televised live by Sky Sports.
Hatton warned: “This is the biggest fight of Denton’s career – one I expect him to win.â€
Vassell, 27, has won all 18 fights and a return against Lee Purdy, who he defeated to become Commonwealth champion in April 2010, has been mooted.
Hatton added: “There are several big matches to be made domestically which adds extra importance for Denton to not only win but win in style, but make a claim as Britain’s next welterweight star on the world stage.â€
Cameroon born Colomban has won 20 of his 23 fights, but is on a hot streak having won his last ten contests and picked up the WBO Oriental and Africa titles.
Also added to the bill is Middlesbrough’s former Commonwealth featherweight champion Paul Truscott who meets Dezzie Higginson over eight rounds.
Other fights: Matty Askin v Roman Kracic, Kieran Farrell v Youssef Al Hamidi, Jazza Dickens v TBA, Adam Little v Billy Smith and Kieran Maher v TBA
Boxing starts at 6.15pm and tickets priced at £35, £55 and £75 VIP ringside. You can buy by calling 01925 755 222, Ticketmaster 0844 847 2500, Ticketline 0844 888 9991 or online www.hattonboxing.com
Williams Throws His Weight Behind Lynes To Win British Title On Wednesday
British Cruiserweight Champion Leon ‘Solid’ Williams threw his weight behind TRAD TKO Boxing Gym mate Colin Lynes to succeed in his challenge for Lee ‘Lights Out’ Purdy’s Lonsdale belt, at the Matchroom Sport promoted ‘Battle of Essex’ event at York Hall in Bethnal Green this coming Wednesday.
Following a training session at the Canning Town fight factory Williams, who just over two weeks ago beat long time champ Rob Norton to bring home the Cruiserweight version of the coveted Lonsdale Belt, was adamant that Lynes would capture the British Welterweight title, “Colin’s totally focused so we’re going to have two British Champions in the gym.
This is going to happen, Colin’s been training hard and he’s in good shape.â€
Williams then went on to expand on this by saying, “I’ve only seen him training a few times for this fight, it’s very rare for us to be training at the same time. We have different training times, but sometimes I’m late and on those times I catch him.
I’ve seen him training, pads work, sparring. He’s very dedicated, he trains very hard.
He’s got this fight, easy.â€
After the Champ had finished speaking Lynes said, “That’s right, two Lonsdale belts in one gym in the space of a few weeks.
I’m really pleased for Leon and Leon is egging me on, yeah we’re bouncing off each other.
It’s going to be great stuff, can’t wait.â€
Chief support for the Purdy-Lynes British Welterweight title clash on the 9th November sees Ashley Sexton defend his English Flyweight title, against a yet to be named opponent.
Supporting the two Championship bouts is an undercard chock a block with the most exciting young talents in the country today, including the sensational Light Middleweight prospect Erick ‘The Eagle’ Ochieng, the supremely talented Light Welter Chris Evangelou, the formidable Middleweight John Ryder, rising welterweight star Tyler Goodjohn and making his second pro appearance Upminster Lightweight Ryan Taylor.
Lee ‘Lights Out’ Purdy versus Colin Lynes for the British Welterweight title tops the bill for the Matchroom Sport promoted ‘Battle of Essex’ event at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on Wednesday 9th November 2011, as well as live on Skysports.
Tickets, priced £35 (Unreserved) and £60 (Ringside) are available on-line now at www.tkoboxoffice.com or in person from the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA. For information call 07960 850645.