Friday night fights at the World Gym in Northeast Philadelphia backed up the claim of its promoters, Joey Eye Boxing and NIT Management. When Joey informed Boxingtalk of the fight card he said “I want to bring back the old-school Philadelphia fights” and he delivered with 6-bouts that started with a punchfest and ended with a knockout. The Junior Middleweight main event featured Archak Termeliksetian, who accepted the bout on 5 days notice, facing Clarence “Sonny Bono” Taylor over eight rounds.
Termeliksetian took the first round with a smart body attack and rested when Taylor got on the inside and offered no offense. Taylor (156¾ lbs) had a good attack starting the 2nd round, but Termeliksetian blocked the punches and rallied well at the end of the round. Taylor just didn’t do effective work on the inside against his taller foe and Archak had a sound game plan.
Action in the 4th in this scheduled 8-rounder heated up after Termeliksetian was cut by an accidental butt. He retreated briefly, but as the 10-second warning pound was noticed Taylor began to launch a right, but a well timed, giant left hook caught Taylor’s jaw. Clarence went face first into the canvas and the round would have ended as ref Sean Clark’s count would have reached 10, but one cannot be saved by the bell and it was clear that Taylor wasn’t going to rise. The knockout victory for Termeliksetian was his 10th in 12 wins against one loss. Taylor falls to 8-6, but boxed with improved stamina and more concise movement.
The explosive knockout followed a decision win for Chucky Cavallo (3-0) over Dhafir Smith (14-7) in a 6 round light heavyweight co-feature. Cavallo needs to step around and give his long arms room to punch, however he won this bout on stamina and persistence. In a nutshell, Cavallo kept trying,while Smith was more focused on holding.
If an award were given for ‘fight card of the year’, this night would be a favorite. The undercard welcomed Julio DeJesus and Josean Escalera to the pros. They opened the night in a Welterweight bout that was back and forth until the stocky DeJesus wore down Escalera and stopped him at 2:19 of the 3rd stanza.
Rami Ibraham went down twice in the first round and had a point deducted for low blows against Dasine “the Dream” Asberry. The four round lightweight bout went the distance with Ibraham pinning Asberry on the ropes for almost all of the 2nd round and exciting exchanges filling the ring with action. The split decision went Asberry’s (3-2)way with two 37-36 counts against a 37-36 tally for Ibraham (1-3). The four-rounder held so much action the promoters are already talking rematch in July.
Pat Shelton made a successful pro debut against formerly 1-0 Baby Jack
Burris. Shelton had to keep throwing to win over Burris in a 4-round light heavyweight bout.
Southpaw Juan Carlos Sanchez worked well on the inside despite being taller than Damon Antione. Antione is a very tough fighter but he’s not loaded with skill He’s now a 1-4 welterweight. Sanchez gets the majority decision nod and is improves to 2-0-1.
NIT and Joey Eye Boxing are penciling a July 22 date for a return to the World Gym with more old-school Philadelphia fights. This was Joey Eye Boxing’s first promotion. As everyone left with smiles, it’s safe to say they’ve alerted this fighting town that they’re not giving away wins, they’re giving the fans the battles for which Philadelphia is known and for which the paying fans want for their money.
This fight card begins a busy month for Philadelphia and sets the bar for the others. The Blue Horizon Boxing Promotions brings ESPN2 back to the building with Kevin Kelley vs. Jose Reyes and undefeated heavyweight Eddie Chambers vs. Ross Purrity on May 17th. Also on the 17th, 5 For Life Entertainment is featuring Anthony Thompson in front of his hometown fans at the Lagoon nightclub in Essington, ennsylvania, which is 5 minutes from the Philadelphia airport.
Philadelphia area promotions include a return to downtown Allentown on May 7th as Olando Rivera headlines a Four Corner Promotions card at the Crown Plaza Hotel and former Welterweight title challenger, Larry Marks continues his Junior Middleweight campaign at Kahunaville in Wilmington, Delaware on the 20th.
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