Chris Pearson opened the Showtime telecast with a big KO of Acacio Ferreira
In 2013, Professional Boxing in the Pacific Northwest got a boost in the arm as the Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton WA brought in the ESPN2 Friday Night Fights series twice and Roy Englebrecht's Fight Club twice. The casino topped off the year on December 6th with a very special 9-bout all-pro card presented by Mayweather Promotions that saw 4 fights aired live on Showtime for ShoBox: The New Generation series.
Save for Floyd Mayweather himself, nearly the entire stable of the Las Vegas-based Mayweather Promotions' fighters was matched up on the card against a slew of national and international boxers. Mayweather's "Money Team" went 8-1 on the night, including 6 wins by way of knockout. Afterwards Mayweather had this to say: "I'm proud of my team. We have a talented group of fighters and they proved that tonight. It was a nice crowd of boxing fans and I enjoyed myself. The city of Shelton, Wash., welcomed us with open arms and the hospitality was great! I'm looking forward putting on more exciting shows like the one Mayweather Promotions put on tonight."
Floyd Mayweather reacts to the action in the ring
The televised main event featured a 10 round Super Middleweight matchup between Mayweather Promotions' top prospect J'Leon Love and two-time world title challenger LaJuan Simon, fighting out of Philadelphia. The 26 year old Love was making his return to the ring for the first time since his six month suspension earlier this year due to a positive test of a banned diuretic, while the veteran Simon at 34 years old had not fought since his 1st round knockout loss in December 2011 to Gennady Golovkin in the WBA Middleweight Championship. In the opening rounds, Love used all of the ring making Simon miss with his punches while Love's hand speed scored him points. As the fight progressed, Love moved in closer, making Simon pay with some big shots to the body. In the sixth round, the end came at 2:48 with Love connecting with a couple short shots that hurt Simon and then a big right hand that dropped Simon to the canvas. With the win, Love moves to 16-0 as pro, 9 by way of knockout.
The penultimate televised fight saw Mayweather Promotion's Badou Jack "The Ripper" take on Mexican fighter Rogelio "Porky" Medina in a 10 round Super Middleweight fight. The opening three rounds saw a busy and confident Medina work Jack's body, while Jack was patient in countering with jabs and the occasional power right hand. The tide turned in the fourth round as Jack started to find his range, snapping Medina's head back with some big shots. Medina smiled with the punishment and the crowd got on its feet. In the fifth round, Medina's pace slowed as Jack continued to score with crisp punches. In the sixth. Jack dropped Medina a minute in with a short right and while Medina was able to get to his feet, Jack smelled blood and went for the kill, putting Medina down twice more and forcing the referee stoppage at 2:30 of the round. With the win, Jack remains undefeated at 16-0-1 with 11 knockouts.
In the night's 2nd televised fight, Mayweather Promotions' Mickey Bey looked to put a 10th round TKO loss in July to John Molina and a 3 month suspension to elevated testosterone early this year well behind him. He did just that by stopping Venezuelan born Carlos Cardenas in the third round of their lightweight contest. The opening two rounds saw Bey patiently keeping distance, making Cardenas miss while accurately countering. Round three started with Bey briefly staggering Cardenas early and then at the 2:22 mark he connected squarely with a big left hook that sent Cardenas crashing to the mat. Cardenas stood up to try and beat the 10 count but was on wobbly legs and referee Paul Field immediately called a stop to the bout.
Opening the Showtime broadcast were two undefeated fighters in Mayweather Promotions' Chris "Sweet" Pearson taking on Brazilian Acacio Ferreira. This was a quick one that was punctuated by a huge knockout from Pearson that put Ferreira out cold in the ropes at just 1:44 of the first round. Pearson moves to 10-0 as a pro with the win.
The final non-televised undercard bout was a welterweight affair between London-born Ashley Theophane and Nigerian boxer Robert Osiobe. This was an entertaining back and forth battle that showcased both fighters excellent boxing skills. After 8 rounds, Mayweather Promotions' Theophane came out the split decision winner on the judges scorecards 79-73, 78-74, 75-77.
Justin Davis, MMA fighter turned boxer out of Olympia WA with Victory Athletics, was looking for his first pro win in a cruiserweight bout against Omotunde Tabiti. Unfortunately for Davis, Tabiti's long reach and accurate jab were too much for him. Tabiti got the referee stoppage after a flurry against the ropes at 2:30 of the first round, moving Tabiti to 3 and 0 as a pro. Davis falls to 0-2.
Mayweather fighter Luis "Cuba" Arias notched the night's first knockout against Cameron Allen in a 6 round Super Middlweight contest. A series of hard body shots dropped Allen twice before the finish finally came at 2:37 of the 2nd round, giving the undefeated Arias his 8th professional win.
Seattle's own Eddie Hunter got a win over previously unbeaten Lanell Bellows in a six-round brawling Super Middleweight bout. Bellows and Hunter had a heated weigh-in and it continued into the ring. Hunter stunned Bellows in the fourth round with a big shot but Bellows stayed upright. In the end, the judges had it 59-55, 59-55, 57-57 giving Hunter the majority decision.
Mickey Bey's younger brother Cortez opened the night with a split decision win over John Grimaldo in a six round welterweight battle. An entertaining fight, Bey survived being knocked down in the first to come back and take the fight 57-56 on two judges scorecards, while the third scored it 58-55 for Grimaldo.
Learn more about Mayweather Promotions at mayweatherpromotions.com, twitter.com/MayweatherPromo, and facebook.com/MayweatherPromo. Showtime Boxing is online at sports.sho.com, twitter.com/SHOsports, and facebook.com/ShoBoxing.
The next boxing event at the Little Creek Casino is on Friday January 24th as ESPN2's Friday Night FIghts returns with 2008 U.S. Olympian Javier Molina (14-1, 6 KOs) taking on former WBO Light Welterweight Champion Kendall Holt (28-6, 16 KOs) in the main event. FInd out more at www.little-creek.com.
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