By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.
Date: Thursday, September 15, 2016
Venue: 2300 Arena – Philadelphia, PA
Promoters: Peltz Boxing, Final Forum & GH3 Promotions
Coverage: CBS Sports Network
Ring Announcer: Mike Fratto
Referee: Shawn Clark, Eric Dali & Gary Rosato
Photos: www.christoneyphotography.com
I sat in press-row as undefeated Dusty Hernandez Harrison (29 wins – 0 losses – 1 draw – 16 kos) of Washington, DC and Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna (21 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws –9 kos) of Millville, New Jersey rumbled for ten glorious—action-packed rounds for the USBA welterweight title. The action was fast and furious—the ring scorched—burned up with the building’s sprinkler system on the brink of going off— the Philadelphia Fire Department minutes away! The March 18th barnburner between Jesse “Hard Work” Hart and Dashon Johnson in which Hart came off the deck to capture a unanimous decision now has competition for Fight of the Year.
It was a career defining fight for both combatants. In his last fight on May 13th – Harrison was given an early Christmas present in the form of a 10-round split-draw—a hometown decision—against rough and ready Mike Dallas. Somehow, one judge scored the fight for Harrison, one had it a draw and the third appeared to be the only rational and reasonable arbiter scoring the fight for Dallas. Nevertheless, Harrison’s performance raised more questions than it provided answers with many questioning his boxing acumen and ability to rise to the next level of the boxing hierarchy.
LaManna—on the other hand— suffered his first loss on March 13th last year when he jumped up one weight class to face then undefeated hot middleweight prospect Antoine Douglas on ShoBox The New Generation—Showtime’s boxing series for upcoming stars. The bigger Douglas dominated the contest and won by technical knockout in the sixth round of the scheduled ten-rounder. Since that setback LaManna went back to the junior-middleweight division and rolled off five consecutive wins—two by knockout.
The opening round was close as the 6 feet 2 inch LaManna pressed the action behind his long jab as Harrison—two inches shorter—used lateral movement while countering. The second stanza followed the same script with LaManna landed the only punch of consequence – a straight right – that gave him the round on my scorecard. Then a fight broke out in the third round as they traded toe-to-toe attempting to end the fight early. Harrison landed a hellacious overhand right that bounced of LaManna’s chin. Cornflake is no ordinary cereal and ate the punch and returned the favor with a blistering right that smacked Harrison right in the face much to the delight of the screaming crowd witnessing a good ole fashion Philly rumble. They traded punches to the head and body with Harrison having a slight edge. .
The action continued in the fourth round with both fighters throwing combinations making it another close round. Early in the fifth round, LaManna landed a vicious uppercut that wobbled Harrison for a split-second. LaManna was unable to capitalize on that moment as Harrison quickly regained his composure capturing the round. LaManna’s left eye was swelling rapidly.
Harrison started backing up LaManna in the sixth round landing some hard shots. But, LaManna wasn’t about to let him get the upper hand and fought back with every ounce of energy in his tall, lanky frame getting down deep and dirty willing to leave it all in the ring. He struck pay dirt early in the seventh round with a straight right and celebrated prematurely by shaking his head going after Harrison. But the man from Washington, DC turned the tide and hurt LaManna on the rope forcing him to trade. The crowd reveled in the action.
The action continued in the remaining three rounds with Harrison gaining the edge landing the harder shots with LaManna unwilling to let him dominate. Back and forth they fought with Harrison’s fans yelling “Dusty, Dusty!” throughout the tenth and final round. When it was over Harrison was declared the winner by unanimous decision 98-92 and 97-93 twice—capturing the USBA welterweight title. It was an exciting; memorably fight that we will be talking about forever – now in the running for “2016 Fight of the Year!”
With Hail Mary—the final single by the late iconic rapper Tupac Shakur—blasting over the house speakers—“Luscious” Leroy Davila (2 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) of New Brunswick, New Jersey made his way to the ring like a Maasai warrior returning from a lion hunt as his opponent Edgar Cortes (3 wins – 3 losses – 0 draws –0 kos) of Vineland, New Jersey waited patiently for their rematch somewhat swept up in the pageantry of his adversary’s ring walk. On July 22nd Davila bested Cortes – winning a four-round unanimous decision at Foxwoods Resorts in Connecticut. Cortes is coming off a four-round unanimous decision victory over Philadelphia’s Alex “Macho” Barbosa – August 26th at the Sugar House Casino.
In the battle of southpaws, the diminutive Davila listed at 5 feet 2 inches probed with his jab in the opening moments of the scheduled six-round bantamweight bout. There wasn’t much action as the bout resembled a gloved fencing match. With approximately thirty seconds remaining in the round, Davila drilled Cortes with a well-timed straight left that deposited him on the seat of his pants – a knockdown. Somewhat surprised, Cortes was up before referee Rosato reached the count of three. The action resumed and shortly thereafter Cortes made his second trip to the canvas after walking into another straight left. He made it to his feet quickly and the bell sounded ending the round.
Cortes made two more trips to the canvas. Somehow, Davila’s straight left was a heat-seeking missile that couldn’t miss Cortes’ chin and found its target early in the second round putting him down for the third time. Cortes got to his feet before the referee could toll three and continued on good footing. The action resumed and they were boxing on even terms for most of the round when Davila caught Cortes with a crushing right hook followed by a straight left that sent him to the canvas flat on his back – his head hitting and bouncing off the canvas like a basketball – forcing referee Rosato to calling a halt at 2:03 declaring Davila the winner by knockout.
For the first time in his nascent career, nineteen year-old Philly sensation Jaron “Boots” Ennis (5 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 5 kos) suffered the inevitable indignity of having to go the distance in a scheduled four-round welterweight contest against Eddie “El Diablo” Diaz (2 wins – 4 losses – 2 draws – 0 kos) of Compton, California.
Ennis who immediately joined the professional ranks after being hoodwinked and bamboozled at the US Olympic trials has been nothing short of spectacular displaying his wares, blazing through the competition with relative ease. Thus, it was refreshing to see him stand in the pocket and out-think an opponent who didn’t hit the canvas after being drilled with a barrage of punches. Diaz didn’t show up solely for a paycheck—he came to Philly to upset the hometown hero.
Ennis switched intermittently from orthodox to southpaw throughout the bout working on the inside punching to Diaz’s head and body. But, Diaz was simply indestructible coming forward like a Sherman tank returning fire not allowing his nemesis to blitz him and force the referee to stop the contest. Diaz fought valiantly and had his best round in the third stanza when he landed a few good shots. However, Ennis just kept firing like a gloved Gatlin gun and when it was over he was awarded a unanimous decision 40-36 twice and 39-37. It is only a matter time before Ennis brings a world title to Philadelphia.
Seventeen year-old Devin “The Dream” Haney (9 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws –5 kos) – two months shy of his eighteenth birthday – and in his tenth fight since joining the punch-for-pay ranks last December 11th in Tijuana, Mexico—was impressive. Haney is following the same path traveled by another teenage phenom—Michael Gerard Tyson—who had eighteen fights in his first year as a professional pugilist. However, both fell short of the great Wilfredo Benitez- a professional fighter at the tender age of fifteen and the youngest world champion in the history of professional pugilism at the ripe old age of seventeen—a record that I doubt will ever be broken!
Tonight, Haney with the words “New Money” emblazoned on the back of the waistband of his trunks, dominated “Money” Mike Fowler (5 wins – 2 losses – 2 draws –2 kos) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin cashing him out at 1:19 of the fifth round of the scheduled six-rounder. It was a masterful performance from the opening bell with Haney attacking working the body and head unloading from his arsenal with power and precision sedulous in his pursuit of separating Fowler from his senses.
The southpaw Fowler attempted to ward off his adversary but Haney was just too good—too focused—showering Fowler with punches like a rich rapper with a duffel bag of $100 bills “making it rain” bombarding his favorite stripper. Haney beat his opponent all over the ring and Fowler should be commended for remaining upright for the duration of this one-side contest. With the retirement of best fighter in the galaxy— Floyd “Money” Mayweather—it is safe to say that it is only a matter of time before Haney’s moniker is officially changed from “The Dream” to “New Money.” The kid is that good!
Twenty-two year-old Chicago welterweight Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. (7 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 2 kos)—a dead-ringer for four-division world champion Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker— pitched a shut-out winning a unanimous six-round decision 60-54 on all three scorecard over rugged thirty-nine year-old Gilbert “El Gordo” Venegas (14 wins – 24 losses – 5 draws – 8 kos) of East Moline, Illinois.
The well-traveled veteran was all over Sims like a cheap seer-sucker suit in the middle of summer never taking a backwards step forcing the youngster to fight every minute of every round. The slick boxing Sims found his inner Pernell Whitaker and boxed skillfully using his jab and Venegas for target practice unleashing combinations while switching stance throughout the bout. Venegas has a cast iron chin because Sims landed at will but the veteran was never in serious trouble or off his feet. No surprise that the appreciative audience gave Venegas a round of applause as he took a bow at the conclusion of the bout.
In the opening bout of the night, Darryl “The Red Nose Pitbull” Gause (1 win – 0 losses – 0 draws – 0 kos) of Vineland, New Jersey made a spectacular return to the ring after an almost two-year hiatus in a scheduled four-round super-middleweight bout against Darryl Bunting (2 wins – 0 losses – 2 draws – 1 ko) of Ashbury Park, New Jersey. The gong sounded and the two fighters met in the center of the ring and started dropping bombs like two B-24 Liberator Heavy Bombers over Germany during World War II. As they engaged in gloved combat my imagination got the best of me and I could hear rapper DMX barking on the track Get At Me Dog. There was no way this fight was going to go the distance as Gause and Bunting exchanged power punches for most of the round. With approximately ten seconds remaining, Gause connected with an overhand right. The punch sent Bunting sideways into the ropes—referee Dali followed the rules and called a knockdown—administering the eight-count as the bell rang concluding the first stanza.
The second round was no different as both combatants stood toe-to-toe unloading the heavy artillery. It was a war of attrition as they both connected with heavy blows. Towards the end of the round Gause found pay dirt and smashed a vicious left hook off the right side of Bunting’s head and immediately unleashed a straight right that landed in the middle of his face sending him into the ropes forcing the referee to call a halt at 2:14 rescuing him from further punishment. Gause was declared the winner by technical knockout in an action-packed fight.
In a scheduled six-round welterweight bout Atlantic City, New Jersey’s Anthony “Juice” Young (13 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 5 kos) dominated Malik “The Freak” Jackson (3 wins – 9 losses – 4 draws – 2 kos) of Newark, New Jersey forcing him to retire on his stool unable to answer the bell for the sixth and final round—winning by technical knockout 3:00 of the fifth round.
Young came out attacking at the opening bell working the head and body of the tall and awkward Jackson. Midway through the round referee Clark erroneously called a knockdown after Young accidentally pushed Jackson to the canvas. The action resumed and Young continued his attack supremely confident doling out punishment as Jackson attempted holding on for survival. The second and third stanzas were identical as Young continued his bombardment of Jackson who threw the occasional jab unable to ward off his attacker. With a huge blister under his left eye Jackson took a knee in the fourth round after a well-placed left hook to the head discombobulated his equilibrium requiring a respite as he was able to rise as referee Clark tolled nine. Young attacked mercilessly blanketing Jackson with combinations until the bell ended the round. The ringside doctor made his way to Jackson corner during the one-minute rest period and decided it was in Jackson’s best interest to terminate this one-side fiasco and declare Young the victor.
Thirty-one year-old former Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons defensive end Ray “The Cincinnati Kid” Edwards (11 wins – 0 losses – 1 draw – 7 kos) squared off against southpaw Dan Pasciolla (8 wins – 1 loss – 1 draw – 0 kos) of Brick, New Jersey in a battle of behemoths. Edwards stands 6 feet 5 inches and tipped the scale at two hundred and fifty-six pounds with his opponent on inch shorter and eleven pounds lighter. We were all expecting fireworks from the big guys. But it is reasonable to conclude that there was more action between two newly-wed octogenarians in a Las Vegas honeymoon suite than we witnessed over the course of this six-rounder. Edwards jabbed and threw the occasional right as the feather-fisted Pasciolla parried and countered. Edwards was the aggressor pressing the action round after round. Thus, I had to score the rounds in his favor. When it was over Edwards garnered a unanimous decision by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56.
It was another fantastic night of fisticuffs in the City of Brotherly Love—The Capital of Boxing—Philadelphia. The main event exceeded expectations as Harrison and LaManna set the ring on fire for ten glorious rounds. Harrison won the decision and LaManna proved what I have been saying it for years— “Cornflake ain’t your ordinary cereal.”
Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!
ghanson3@hotmail.com
