I’m Just Getting Started – Lord Pretty Calvo KO Rocky! – Albright Stops Rodriguez
By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.
Date: January 17, 2025
Venue: LIVE! Casino Hotel Philadelphia.
Promoters: Marshall Kauffman—King’s Promotions
Ring Announcers: Eric Dali & Charlie Fitch
Ring Card: The Queens of King’s – Kendra Danelle & Kiana Kareema
Coverage: BXNG TV
Photos: Darryl Cobb Jr.
Following the path of last year – the first article of 2025 begins with an action-packed card by Marhsall Kauffman’s King’s Promotion at the same venue as I begin contention for a sixteenth consecutive “Philadelphia Writer of the Year” award. As has been protocol, I arrived in the United States from a long vacation in Jamaica on Tuesday and called Kauffman early Wednesday morning. There is no way I was going to miss “The Baddest Light-heavyweight on the Planet” – “The Iconoclast of Iconoclasts” – the future unified and undisputed World Light-heavyweight Champion – twenty-six-year-old Atif “Lord Pretty Calvo” Oberlton (11 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 9 kos) of Philadelphia in his first main event – a scheduled eight-rounder for the WBA Continental Americas Light-heavyweight title. Standing 6 ft 3 inches – I am confident that it is only a matter of time before the supremely gifted and talented southpaw with a penchant for fashion – has one if not all the four major world title belts around his waist.
Showing his sartorial splendor, decked out in an exquisitely tailored brown leather trunks with “Pretty” emblazoned on the front waistband and “Calvo” similarly situated on the back – Lord Pretty Calvo (“LPC”) danced all the way from the dressing room to the center of the ring much to the delight of the hometown fans! Awaiting his arrival across the ring in the red corner was the 6 ft I inch, twenty-nine-year-old Joaquin “Rocky” Berroa Lugo (6 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 4 kos) Dominican Republic, who appeared calm and confident – ready for combat.
Referee Dali brought both combatants and their handlers to the center of the ring- gave the requisite instructions before the opening bell. LPC began working behind his hard and fast right jab. And he didn’t waste much time – sending Berroa to the canvas early in the first round with an electrifying right hook! Somehow the fallen fighter, surprised and shaken – made it to his feet as Referee Dali tolled three – dusted his gloves and the action resumed.
Over the course of the next four rounds – LPC displayed his wares – appearing as though he was genetically engineered from the DNA of the great champions: Bob Foster, Tommy Hearns and Pernell Whitaker – boxing brilliantly with speed, power and precision while being untouchable. To his credit, Lugo attempted to match Oberlton’s pugilistic prowess by working his jab and returning fire. However, LPC was simply too elusive with an uncanny ability to anticipate his opponent’s next move – appearing to read his mind – countering while avoiding getting hit.
It was a masterful performance by the Philadelphian who decided that we had seen enough – closing the show with a straight left followed by an incredible right hook – sending Berroa to the canvas as though he had been shot in the legs on the Serengeti Plains with an elephant gun! The courageous Berroa attempted to rise on three occasions but failed each time as though he was on ice with Crisco on the sole of his shoes! LPC was declared the winner by knockout at 2:28 of round five -stating in his post-fight interview “I’m just getting started! Congratulations LPC – you are on your way!
With his mother/cut woman Trish and his friend Jaron “Boots” Ennis, IBF World Welterweight Champion in his corner as the head trainer – Philadelphia’s Quadir “Savage C4” Albright (11 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 11 kos) faced Damian Rodriguez (13 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 7 kos) of Havana Cuba in the scheduled eight-round co-main event. A rising welterweight with power in both hands – Albright has never heard the final bell of any of his twelve bouts. With eleven knockouts, the sole setback on his record is a fifth- round knockout loss to Roberto Gomez on October 1, 2022, in his 7th fight – a scheduled six-rounder. I was in press-row as the thirty-one-year-old Gomez overpowered the twenty-three-year-old Albright who was fighting in the junior-welterweight division at that time and appeared to have not fully-matured possessing as we would say in colloquial terms “his man strength.” Twenty-seven month and five knockouts later – Albright has developed tremendously as a boxer – more skillful, more power, more stamina – knowing how to control the tempo and pace of his fights – able to better orchestrate his opponent’s demise.
Early in the opening stanza Albright wobbled the Cuban with a well-timed left hook that had him swaying like he was doing a line dance with rapper V.I.C bellowing over the house speakers “Wobble baby, wobble baby….” Somehow, Rodriguez was able to stay upright, regain his composure and stay competitive throughout the round as Albright landed the sharper shots to the body and head capturing the round on my scorecard.
The action resumed in the second round. However, there was a noticeable difference in Rodriguez’s technique. It appeared that he was unable to produce maximum power with his shot because he wasn’t bending his legs – unable to get his weight and power in his punches. He threw combinations but there wasn’t much power behind them. On the contrary, Albright’s threw punches not only with bad intentions but with maximum force because he was bending his legs and stepping with his shots. Thus, he was doing more damage than his adversary in the heated exchanges. It was an exciting fight round after round with the Philadelphian pressing the action – digging to the body and the Cuban countering with quick flurries. Rodriguez brought a .22 revolver to a gun fight against Albright who was packing a 12 Gauge shotgun! It was an irrebuttable presumption that this fire-fight wasn’t going to end well for Team Cuba.
It was action-packed fight round after round with Albright in control. Nevertheless, Rodriguez didn’t come to Philadelphia to “lay down” – he came to “get down” and gave his best effort refusing to be decimated by Savage C-4! In the sixth round an uppercut counter by Albright sent Rodriguez’s mouthpiece flying outside the ring. It took approximately ten seconds before Referee Fitch heard the ringside official and halted the action for the Cuban’s corner to replace the lost gum shield. The action resumed and Albright kept the pressure on his adversary. At the end of the round – Rodriguez’s corner made the decision to stop the fight and not send him out for the next round. They felt that he was getting hit often – taking too much punishment. Albright was declared the winner by technical knockout – 3:00 of the sixth round.
In the opening fight of the night – a four-round featherweight bout featuring debuting Philadelphians– southpaw Shannel “The Sniper” Butler squared off against Ella Duckworth. It didn’t last long as Butler – who has one fight as a professional MMA fighter – didn’t waste much time – stalking her opponent from the opening bell like a mini-version of the late, great world middleweight champion – Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Going downstairs to the body, she anchored Duckworth to the canvas with a left uppercut to the kidney – leaving her writhing in pain on the canvas forcing Referee Fitch to disregard the count and declare Butler the winner by knockout at 48 seconds of the first round. It was an impressive performance by Butler.
Hopefully, we will witness her rise rapidly up the ranks all the way to a world title over the next twenty-four months. I haven’t seen any female fighter since the great Anne Wolfe with this type of one-punch incapacitating power!
The second bout of the night, a scheduled six-rounder featured super-middleweights Jorge “The Wolf” Sotolongo (4 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 4 kos) Miami, Florida against Philadelphian Tyriq “Showtime” Green (5 wins – 2 losses – 2 draws – 3 kos). The southpaw Sotolongo made his ring-walk to MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This” blasting over the house speakers with Green already in his corner warming up. And he lived up to his entrance music – boxing judiciously – jabbing to the head and body keeping Green at a distance. It was a tactical opening stanza with Sotolongo garnering the round on my scorecard.
The fight continued at the same pace in the second stanza with The Wolf sending Showtime to the canvas with a quick, short right hook connecting to the side of his head. Showing amazing recuperative powers, Green was up immediately before Referee Fitch could reach the count of three. Fitch checked his vitals, dusted his gloves and the action resumed. Sotolongo stalked Green for the remainder of the round.
It appeared that Green was withering in the third round as Sotolongo connected with shots to his body. I was convinced that the end was near. However, Green was rejuvenated for the fourth round and out-boxed his opponent. I also gave him the fifth round which was extremely intriguing as they both countered – each attempting to gain an upper hand. The sixth and final round was close – a chess match that could have been scored either way depending on where you were seated watching the fight. Two judges scored 58-55 and the third had it 59-55 all for Sotolongo who won by unanimous decision in an extremely entertaining fight.
The third bout featured heavyweights 6 ft 3 inches 250lbs “King” Colby Madison (11 wins – 7 losses – 2 draws – 7 kos) of Baltimore, Maryland against the 5 ft 10 inches 220lbs Ali “The Cosmetologist” Ellis (6 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 3 kos) of Philadelphia for the vacant NBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. The height and weight disparity evoked fond memories of the memorably fight – March 19,1988 between “Big” George Foreman and the 5 ft 6 inches former World Light-heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Quawi. It was an exciting bout featuring two knockdowns – one by each fighter that was scored 56-56 – a draw on all scorecards – which has me being an advocate for mandatory eye examination for judges at least twice per year. I had Madison winning 57-55 – four rounds to two.
Madison captured the opening round on my scorecard using his jab – landing combinations while stalking his shorter opponent who stayed on the outside bouncing while jabbing. The second round was fought at the same pace and tempo with Madison out-landing Ellis – who chose to box from a distance instead of fighting on the inside. Ellis found paydirt early in the third round as he sent Madison to the canvas after he connected with an overhand right after jabbing to the body. Somewhat shaken, Madison was upright as Referee Dali reached the count of five. Demonstrating tremendous recuperative powers, Madison was able to evade further punishment by using his jab, avoiding getting hit with power punches as Ellis attempted to repeat his success.
Ellis continued bouncing on his toes in the fourth round as Madison came forward. There wasn’t much action besides the occasional jab from each fighter. I gave Madison the fifth round simply because he was somewhat busier than Ellis. And he garnered the sixth and final round – connecting with a right uppercut to Ellis’ right eye socket that forced him to genuflect on the canvas – Dali scoring a knockdown reaching the count of six before Ellis rose and was able to continue – making it to the final bell. Hopefully, there will be a rematch because Madison should have walked out of the casino with the NBA Intercontinental Heavyweight belt around his waist.
It appears that featherweight Ayesha Green (0 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws) of Philadelphia is always getting the short end of the stick – consistently experiencing unfortunate circumstances. The talented, forty-one-year-old southpaw who appears to be in her mid-twenties was stopped in the third round of her debut on September 14, 2024, by Shera Mae Patricio. Two months later – November 22nd she was on the losing end of a close four-round decision to Jaclyne McTamney. And tonight, she suffered her third defeat by majority decision 39-37 twice and 38-38 to debuting Kayla “Kay Rock” Hracho of Reading, Pennsylvania – a bout that I had her winning 39-37!
There were no knockdowns or either fighter being in dire straits. However, Green landed the crisper shots and more frequently. It was evident that Hracho was the fan-favorite – the bigger ticket seller. Because every time she threw a punch – the audience cheered. Despite Green out-boxing Hracho it wasn’t reflected in the scorecards. I have no qualms with the judge who scored it 38-38 because the third round could have been awarded to either combatant. However, giving Hracho three rounds is a miscarriage of justice once again placing me on my soapbox advocating for mandatory eye examinations for judges.
If there was a “Fighter of the Night” award – heavyweight Devon “The Destroyer” Young (5 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 3 kos) of Augustus, Georgia would have taken it home. The 214 lbs. twenty-six-year-old was explosive in his scheduled six-rounder against 270 lbs. southpaw Calvin “Big Savage” Barnett (5 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 2 kos) of Tulsa, Oklahoma not allowing him to make it out of the opening stanza – living up to this moniker. Both boxers attacked at the opening bell with the size disparity raising questions regarding the smaller boxer. Young stood his ground as Barnett barely missed him with several bombs that were laced with nitroglycerin. Nevertheless, Young countered showing no sign of trepidation – staying calm, returning fire with bad intentions.
Somehow, I sensed that this bout – #5 of the night – wasn’t going to go to the scorecards. With less than a minute remaining in the round, Young finally found paydirt, connecting with a bone-crunching straight right on Barnett’s cranium – a shot that could have leveled a small building – sending the Oklahoman face-first to the canvas. Amazingly, Barnett attempted to make it upright – but like a newly born calf – he was unable to control his legs and fell three times. Referee Dali had no choice but to call and end to the bout –declaring Young the winner by knockout – 2:01 of the opening round. Thank God, Barnett was able to recover, regain control of his legs and walk out of the ring unassisted.
Happy belated birthday to Marshall Kauffman who celebrated his 62nd anniversary on Saturday, January 11th. Continue along your incredible journey.
Kudos to King’s Promotions for beginning the 2025 boxing season with a great card featuring future world champions and the most beautiful ring-card ladies in the galaxy! I only hope that LPC will fight at least six times this year putting him in contention for his first world title in 2026. His new trainer Tommy Yankello – in his fourth fight with Oberlton,- is truly holding the winning ticket to the light-heavyweight jackpot – worth a fortune!
In attendance, enjoying the action were some of Philadelphia’s boxing dignitaries including Hall of Fame Promoter/Author J. Russell Peltz aka “Uncle Russell,” hard hitting heavyweight and master of the shoulder roll – Joey “The Tank” Dawejko, former heavyweight contender – the promoter’s son – Travis “My Time” Kauffman, two-time world title challenger, light-heavyweight contender – Jesse “Hollywood” Hart, and Jamil Ali, President USA Boxing Mid-Atlantic Region Local Boxing Committee.
Thanks to all of you who voted, garnering me another “Philadelphia Boxing Writer of the Year” award. Philadelphia is truly “The Capital of Boxing.”
Lastly, thank you Chris Williams, Founder and CEO www.cboxinginfo.com. It is an honor and pleasure to have “The Mouthpiece” on your site.
Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!
ghanson18@icloud.com
