The Mouthpiece: Give It To Me Baby—Carto Decisions Sosa Lord Pretty Calvo Stops Thomas
By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.
Date: October 1, 2022
Venue: 2300 Arena – Philadelphia, PA
Promoters: Marshall Kauffman—King’s Promotions
Ring Announcers: Mark Fratto & Jimmy Jamm
Referees: Eric Dali. & Shawn Clark
Timekeeper: Alice “The G.O.A.T” Grady
Ring Card: The Queens of King’s – Kendra Danelle & Kiana Kareema
Coverage: Facebook FightNightLive & FloCombat
Editor: Kahlil Small Photos: Darryl Cobb Jr
I made my way into the parking lot at the back of the venue at 7:10 PM – five minutes before the scheduled start time of 7:15 PM – only to be told by the backdoor attendant that I had to venture around the front of the arena to garner my media credential. Decked out in a brown pinstripe Hickey-Freeman suit with a green Fedora – given to me by my good friend and former Super-middleweight title challenger – Marvin Mack – gracing my head – I sauntered through the front door and was immediately met by Catherine Fuego Lebron who placed an orange band around my wrist.
(L-R) Williams, Hanson & Martin.I grabbed a seat in the second row – close to the walkway – able to touch the boxers as they made their way to the ring. Immediately, I locked eyes with “Biggie Smalls” – also bearing the sobriquet “The Diminutive Despot” – Gregory Paul Sirb – Executive Director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission. It was the great Frederick Douglas who said, “the limits of tyrants are prescribed by the patience of those whom they oppress.” I cannot affirm or deny the veracity of the rumor that Sirb’s thirty-two-year tenure was approaching the finish line. However, I took notice of how much he had aged over the past two years. Sunken and shrunken he seemed so short in stature that I am confident that we would be able to see his feet on his driver’s license. Father Time was clearly ahead on the scorecards. I took my seat as the combatants for the opening bout made their way into the squared circle. It was fortuitous that Julian “J-Rock” Williams, former WBA, IBF & IBO Junior Middleweight Champion and the world greatest chiropractor – Dr. Victory Anyiam took the adjoining seats, and we would analyze the fights.
I guess you thought I was going to start with the opening bout. But, as has been tradition and protocol – I must begin with the main event. And tonight’s main event featured the supremely gifted and talented Philadelphia bantamweight Christian Carto (19 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 13 kos) – the boxer who sells the most tickets in the city. The last time I saw Carto fight was when he suffered his sole setback on February 8, 2019 – a second round knockout loss to Victor Ruiz – a shocker that had the building so quiet that you could hear a mouse pissing on cotton and crickets fornicating in the parking lot. After a 32-month hiatus Carto is on a two-fight win streak – both knockouts – under the watchful eyes of new trainer – Derek “Bozy” Ennis.
Carto made his way to the ring flanked by Jaron “Boots” Ennis – #1 IBF Welterweight contender, Bozy and assistant Lawrence Smalls. Awaiting him for their scheduled eight rounder was Hector Andres Sosa (14 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 8 kos) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Referee Dali conducted the formalities – trainers exited the ring and the gong sounded for the opening stanza as Sosa came forward as Carto boxed efficiently working behind his jab, using lateral movement – stopping on a dime to left hook to the head immediately going downstairs to the body with the same hand. It was truly a game of cat and mouse as Carto demonstrated his pugilistic prowess with Sosa pressing the action, making it clear that he didn’t come to Philadelphia for the cheesesteaks – he was hell-bent on separating the hometown fighter from his senses. Carto won the opening round.
The fight continued at a frenetic pace and tempo with the Argentinian attempting to bully the Philadelphia fighter into the ropes. As the great Roy Jones Jr. once sang, “Y’all Musta Forgot!” Ruiz must have overlooked that he was in the ring with Christian Carto – 2014 USA National Golden Gloves champion who has been fighting since he was knee-high to a grasshopper! Despite his choirboy looks – Carto is adept at boxing or simply breaking his opponent’s will by body punching. And he expertly hooked Ruiz to the head with his left immediately going downstairs with a shot to his right kidney then pivoting out of the way. Yes, Carto boxing brilliantly round after round, occasionally staying on the ropes too long, demonstrating his defensive skills – shoulder-rolling and ducking.
It was a high-paced eight rounds of action with Carto being the matador and Ruiz attempting to gouge him with some murderous left hooks and overhand rights. But it was exactly what the doctor ordered to get the Philly fighter back on the road to a world title. Carto captured a unanimous decision by scores of 79-73,78-74 and 77-75. “Y’all Musta Forgot!”
As a professional pugilist Atif “Lord Pretty Calvo” Oberlton fully understands that he is in the entertainment business. It is no surprise that Rick James is atop his list of favorite singers/entertainers. The mercurial James was a master showman who marched to the beat of his own drum. Even though Oberlton was in a six-round co-main event, I was confident that he was going to do something memorable to “steal” the show from headliner – bantamweight Christian Carto who was in a scheduled eight-rounder with the rough and rugged Hector Andres Sosa who came all the way from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
There was so much electricity in the building as Atif “Lord Pretty Calvo” Oberlton (7 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 6 kos) – “The Best Light-heavyweight In the Galaxy” made his way out of the dressing room – decked out in a black mesh, waist-length – see through robe – dancing – with the late, great Rick James blasting over the house speakers – “Give It To Me Baby.” I made sure I wasn’t standing in a puddle – getting electrocuted- the first Jamaican barbecued at the fights!
Lord Pretty Calvo stopped midway to the ring and shared a dance with his mother who was more than willing to partake in this festive moment. The ring-walk was worth the price of admission, and I contemplated packing up and going home because as we would say in colloquial terms – “I had seen it all, and nothing was going to top that performance!”
Nevertheless, I stayed to watch Christian “Liger” Thomas (11 wins -0 losses – 0 draws – 9 kos) of Las Vegas meet his inevitable demise. Thomas stood in the ring, watching the pageantry of arguably the greatest ring walk in the history of professional boxing and not once did he try to exit and make it out of the venue and back to his hotel!
Referee Clark went through the formalities, the gong sounded for the opening round and immediately Thomas got on his electric bicycle with Lord Pretty Calvo (“LPC”) – working behind his long southpaw jab – stalking patiently like a lion on the Serengeti Plains – confident that he would bring down his prey. Liger made it out of the opening stanza, and I was confident that LPC wanted his fans to at least watch him for three minutes before closing the show. The fight wasn’t going the distance the day the contract was signed.
In the second round – LPC – from the southpaw stance – caught Thomas with a vicious left uppercut to right side of his body – discombobulated his internal circuitry – setting him up for a combination- introducing him to the canvas – forcing referee Shawn Clark to call a halt at 2:24!
I heard Rick James from the world beyond bellowing “When I was high as the sky- Out all night just dancing”
In a scheduled six-round heavyweight contest, two-time world cruiserweight title challenger Junior “Hurricane” Wright (18 wins – 4 losses – 1 draws – 15 kos) of Evanston, Illinois almost decapitated “King” Colby Madison (10 wins – 3 losses – 2 draws – 6 kos) of Baltimore, Maryland in the third round with a vicious overhand right that crashed off the side of his head – sending him sideways to the canvas – counting sheep – forcing referee Dali to call a halt at 27 seconds. Madison was out cold, and a ten-count would be merely adding insult to injury.
The bout began with the shorter, compact Wright getting out of the starting blocks quickly – pouncing on his taller opponent – going to the body. The thirty-nine-year-old Madison kept his distance – jabbing from long range as his opponent evoked fond memories of “Iron” Mike Tyson, bobbing, and weaving while attacking the body. It was a spirited opening round and the fight resumed at the same pace in the next stanza. I wrote in my notebook that Wright was “looking for the overhand right” as it was evident that he was hell-bent on leaving Madison comatose on the canvas.
In the third stanza, Wright pressed the action and forced Madison to the ropes where he went downstairs to the body – immediately coming upstairs with the overhand right that turned out the lights. Fortunately, Madison was able to clear the cobwebs, get to his feet and leave the ring unassisted.
I don’t know whether matchmaking is an art or a science. But we all can agree that matchmaking is essential to the ascension of every fighter from prospect to contender all the way to a world champion. I have witnessed too many fine prospects that were matched too hard early in their careers – were obliterated and disappeared into early retirement. On the flip side there have been exceptional amateur champions who were softly matched – fighting tomato cans, moonlighting cab drivers and security guards – being left hapless and helpless on the canvas after facing their first adversary with a pulse and the temerity to fight back.
Tonight, the matchmaker and or the manager of undefeated Philadelphia junior-welterweight prospect Quadir “Savage C4” Albright (5 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 5 kos) must have overestimated the quality of his victories or underestimated the fighting skills of thirty-one-year-old Roberto Gomez (4 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 4 kos) of Mexico City, Mexico. Yes, the twenty-three-year-old Albright is talented and has good boxing abilities. However, despite the 100% knockout ratio – he has yet to develop his “man strength” and should not have been matched with an undefeated grown man with dynamite in both mitts, an iron chin and an indefatigable will to win.
Albright made his way to the ring in fantastic fashion, decked out in an exquisite outfit – designed and made by his mother – his eyes covered with designer glasses – dancing much to the delight of his fans – flanked by his cut woman (his mother Trish) and trainer Rashiem Jefferson. If the ring walk was a determining factor in the outcome – the young pugilist was already up on the scorecards and the fight would be a mere formality. But no points are awarded for pageantry and showmanship.
The bell rang and as expected Albright working from a distance had his way – boxing judiciously from a distance – dishing out combinations – displaying his wares. Gomez marched forward taking more than he was giving – landing to the body of his younger adversary – forcing him to exchange in brief firefights. Albright captured the first two rounds but by the end of the third stanza, it was evident that he was fatigued after being forced to fight toe-to-toe.
The war of attrition continued in the fourth round as Gomez appeared to have more gas in the tank for the duration as Albright was fighting on fumes with two rounds remaining to the finish line. Albright was shaken with a left hook at the end of the round – leaving me convinced that the end was near unless the Philly fighter got his proverbial “second wind” – a burst of energy.
The fifth round opened with Albright on tired legs as Gomez pressed the action. To his credit Albright fought back valiantly but was clearly in a place that he had never encountered in his short professional career. Gomez, like a vulture navigating the landscape of the wild – realized that it was time to feed – and landed an overhand right followed immediately by a left hook that put the prospect on his back as referee Clark called a halt at 1:59 seconds. The fight – a pedagogical moment – was over. Hopefully, Albright will be back, confident, and unscathed with the lessons learned from this slight setback. Afterall, the late, great three division world champion Alexis Arguello was knocked out in his third fight and lost his fourth by decision. The future is bright for Albright. As my trainer, Charles “Cornbread” Ramey used to tell me after I suffered a loss, “This was a misdemeanor – you missed this one – now you are meaner!’
As fate would have it in the sixth bout of the night, junior-welterweight Jerome “The Conqueror” Conquest (11 wins – 7 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) of Philadelphia tore his left Achilles tendon at the end of the third round of the scheduled six-rounder against Kenny Robles (9 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 3 kos) of Staten Island, New York – a fight that he was winning. The bout opened with the southpaw Conquest boxing from a distance, keeping Robles on the end of his jab. There were a few exchanges with the Philadelphian landing the sharper blows.
With approximately five seconds remaining in the third stanza, after an exchange – Conquest stepped backwards and got on one knee writhing in pain. I thought that maybe Robles had stepped on this foot, but the bell rang, and Conquest gingerly made it back to his corner. I thought his corner would have kept him on the stool and concede due to an injury. However, Conquest came out for the fourth stanza and did his best to motor around the ring on one wheel as Robles capitalized on circumstances and was able to land more frequently on his impaired nemesis. Midway through the round, Wade Hinnant – Conquest’s trainer made it up on the ring apron and signaled referee Dali to stop the fight.
An award-winning filmmaker and full-time college student, the thirty-six-year-old Conquest is contemplating retirement. Multi-talented, boxing is simply one of his many professional endeavors and his future is bright. “Hail to The Conqueror!”
I was somewhat surprised when Philadelphia welterweight Rasheed “Sugar Sheed” Johnson (8 wins –4 losses – 0 draws – 3 kos) made his way to the ring without Coach Shar’ron Baker and Lando Rosa to face Kashon Huchinson (9 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 2 kos) of Reading, Pennsylvania. For some inexplicable reason he was no longer a member of the Pivott Boxing Academy where he trained under the great Coach Baker and Rosa, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pivott Boxing Academy – home of Atif “Lord Pretty Calvo” Oberlton.
Fighting from the southpaw stance, Huchinson decked out in the colors of his father’s homeland of Jamaica, forced the action at the opening bell with the taller Johnson appearing somewhat tentative – keeping his distance, unable to control the pace and tempo with his jab. Huchinson landed an overhand early – a punch that he would rely on over the course of the fight. The rounds were close with Huchinson as the aggressor round after round. In the fifth round Johnson dislodged Huchinson’s mouthpiece with a jab forcing the referee Clark to stop the action and have it replaced. When it was over all three judges scored the fight identical 59-56 for Huchinson.
In the opening bout, Philadelphia junior-middleweight James “No Games” Martin (8 wins – 3 losses – 0 draws – 0 kos) – the son of the late, great light-heavyweight contender Jerry “The Bull” Martin – won a unanimous six-round decision 60-54 on all three scorecards against Alejandro Munera (6 wins – 6 losses – 4 draws – 5 kos) of Medellin, Colombia. Showing his sartorial splendor – decked out in a blue and neon yellow trunks and matching robe – with his hair dyed in similar colors, Martin stalked his opponent – grunting as he went to the body and head. He applied the pressure round after round, landing more than his opponent in all stanzas. There were no knockdowns in this spirited contest. However, Martin rocked Munera in the final twenty seconds of the fight with referee Dali nearby to jump in and stop the action. The final bell saved the man from Medellin who remained upright to the end.
In the third bout of the night, Cuban flyweight Erisnelsy Torres Castillo fighting out of Las Vegas squared off against the #2 USA ranked amateur featherweight Jaclynne McTamney of Philadelphia in a three-round exhibition. Castillo was scheduled to make her professional debut against Jackie Ray of Philadelphia in a four-rounder. However, no reason was given for Ray’s absence. Thus, McTamney and Castillo donned the headgears and 16oz gloves and displayed their boxing abilities over the course of three entertaining rounds. No question that both will be excellent professionals.
Kudos to promoter Marshall Kauffman – “The King of King’s Promotions” for another delicious slice of the pugilistic pie – an excellent card – filled with twists and turns like a well-written novel. Christian Carto is back and Lord Pretty Calvo gave it to us baby! Nasir Albright’s future is still bright. “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Sirb bumboclaat!
Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!
