PRESS RELEASE: Eddie Alvarez (12-1) of Kensington, Pa., sent the hometown fans home deliriously happy by knocking out Ross Ebanez (18-6-1) of Hilo, Hawaii, in the second round Friday on the 2008 premiere of ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series. In the co-feature, Paul "Semtex'' Daley (17-6-2) of England scored a first-round knockout over Sam “The Squeeze’’ Morgan (19-10) of St. Paul, Minn. Showtime aired the MMA event from Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City Hotel & Casino,
Other televised results: Bao Quach (12-8-1), of Huntington Beach, Calif., registered an upset three-round unanimous decision over Bobby McMaster (8-3), of Boston, “The Hawaiian Rocky Balboa,” Kala Kolohe Hose (5-1), of Honolulu, scored an impressive first-round knockout over Fred Belleton (5-2), of Stoughton, Mass., and Tonya Evinger (6-2), of Reno, Nev., by way of Oak Grove, upset Julie Kedzie (9-7), of Albuquerque, N.M., by way of Greenwood, Ind., with a shockingly easy first-round submission.
In non-televised undercard bouts, Wilson Reis (3-0), of Philadelphia, submitted Zach Makovsky (3-1), of Philadelphia, at 1:15 of the second round (side choke), James “Binky’’ Jones (5-5), of Baltimore, Md., submitted Mark Getto (1-4-1), of Philadelphia, at 1:12 of the first, Brett Linebarger (3-1), of New Jersey, knocked out Sergio Vinagre (2-2), of New Jersey, at 2:29 of the third round, Matt Makowski (2-0), of Philadelphia, submitted Joe Shilling (0-1), of Los Angeles, in the first (choke) and Charlie Brennemen (5-0), of Philadelphia, remained undefeated with a split three-round decision over Drew Puzon (1-2) of New Jersey.
With the crowd chanting “Ed-Dee, Ed-Dee’’ even before he made an appearance into the arena, Alvarez was clearly the evening’s most popular winner. After dropping Ebanez during an excellent, fast-paced opening round, he downed the Hawaiian again in the second.
Ebanez (rossebanez.proelite.com) quickly made it to his feet after going down the first time, but Alvarez pounced on him immediately after the second. He landed three big right hands before the referee stepped in and waved off the fight at 2:32. For Alvarez, it was his 11th victory inside the distance.
"I was a little hesitant in the first round after he caught me with a couple of good shots,’’ the exciting Alvarez said. “But I knew I won the round and that he would try and come out strongly in the second. So I stayed patient, continued to circle to my left and closed the show. Fighting and winning on Showtime was really a great thing.’’
Daley (pauldaley.proelite.com) overcame a fast start by Morgan to win his fifth in a row inside two rounds. Morgan may have been slightly ahead after the initial two minutes, but Daley delivered a right elbow that landed flush and that was that.
“There are a lot of good fighters in EliteXC, and Eddie Alvarez is one of them,’’ Daley said. “But I am the best. I came to the United States to become a world champion. I’ll fight anybody. Line ‘em up.
“He got me with a couple good left shoulders, but I was never hurt. I think the referee did a good job stopping it when he did.’’
In a minor surprise, the soft-spoken, streaking Quach (baoquach.proelite.com) dealt McMaster a second straight defeat by the scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28.
“I wasn’t worried when he had me down,’’ said Quach after winning for the seventh consecutive time. “I always felt stronger. My leg kicks were the difference.
“This was a great win for me, but all wins are great. What I really wanted was to knock him out.’’
Evinger (tonyaevinger.proelite.com) was perhaps the most impressive winner on the telecast, mostly dominating Kedzie from the outset before getting Kedzie (juliekedzie.proelite.com) to tap out (rear naked choke) after only 1:43 had elapsed.
“It was a hard fight, but I finally did what I had to do and planned to do and, for once, didn’t screw it up,’’ Evinger said. “Lots of people were picking Julie to win and saying bad things about me. I like Julie; she is one of the top-rated girls in the world and I really don’t care what they say about me.
“But I think now the fans have to take me seriously. I really wanted to win this. I guess it does make a big difference when I actually listen to my coach (Ken Shamrock).
“If Gina (Carano) is ready for a rematch, let’s do it. I really want to avenge my loss to her.’’
In the telecast’s opening bout, Hose (kalakolohehose.proelite.com) won a slugfest with Belleton (fredbelleton.proelite.com), stopping him with a perfect right hand to the chin at 4:32 of the first.
It was Hose’s fifth straight victory inside the distance since losing his pro debut (when he fought as a 250-pound heavyweight) and his fourth in a row that ended by KO or TKO in the first round.
This one went a little longer than usual, however. Hose’s last two fights ended in 20 seconds and 38 seconds, respectively.
“I knew I had to keep pressuring and get inside because he was so tall. I knew I had to close the distance,’’ said Hose, who was scheduled to face EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler in Hawaii in December ’07, but the match was postponed after Lawler suffered a torn bicep in training.
“If I fight Lawler next, that would be great. But I will fight anybody. I just like to fight.’’
The next EliteXC fight card on SHOWTIME is Saturday, Feb. 16, at the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami. In a long-awaited grudge fight, Kimbo Slice will take on David “Tank’’ Abbott of Huntington Beach, Calif., in the main event.
Tickets for a spectacular 10-bout event start at $35 and are available at all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the BankUnited Box Office at the University of Miami.
