Collins, Yorgey, Kauffman claim victories in Reading, PA
With WBC heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman in attendance as a special guest, King’s Promotions put on an exciting seven bout boxing card at the Sovereign Center in Reading, PA on Friday May 12th, pitting local prospects in some tough ring battles.
In the main event, welterweight Keenan Collins (10-1-1, 8 KOs) of Reading won a close and controversial split decision over tough Yugoslavian Kemal Kolenovic (9-6-2, 4 KOs) in an eight round battle. In an exciting match-up, which saw both men hurt at times, Collins had his hands full with the aggressive Kolenovic. Though Collins dropped him in the sixth round, Kolenovic got off the canvas to continue to pressure and frustrate Collins. A dejected and disappointed Kolenovic dropped to his knees when the decision was announced, as many in the crowd also voiced their displeasure at the decision. The judges scored the bout 77-74 and 76-75 for Collins, 77-74 for Kolenovic.
In the co-feature, junior middleweight “Lightning” Harry Yorgey (14-0, 8 KOs) of Bridgeport, PA looked impressive in dismantling veteran George Klinesmith (22-12-3, 13 KOs) of Hopedale, OH in one of the night’s most exciting bouts. Yorgey took control early, dropping Klinesmith late in round one. With speed and precision, Yorgey continued his attack in round two, sending Klinesmith to the canvas once again. Although he again rose to his feet, Klinesmith had no answers for Yorgey. The referee halted the bout at 1:55 of round two. The fight was a big step up in Yorgey’s career, as Klinesmith had faced the likes of world champs Montell Griffin and Yory Boy Campas. Yorgey is scheduled to face Charles Howe June 9th on ESPN2.
In heavyweight action, Reading’s Travis Kauffman (5-0, 3 KOs) had a tough battle with ring veteran Davis Cleage (3-10, 1 KO) of Cleveland, OH en route to a six round unanimous decision. Though frustrated by Cleage’s awkward style and suffering a cut from a head butt, Kauffman’s speed and accuracy controlled the fight. Travis entered the fight perhaps not mentally one hundred percent, having spent much of the night before in the hospital for the birth of his first born son. Kauffman entered the ring with champ Rahman, who plans on bringing in Travis as a sparring partner as he prepares for his upcoming fight against Oleg Maskaev on August 12th in Las Vegas.
In undercard action, light heavyweights Jeremy Stauffer (5-1-1, 5 KOs) of Reading and Roosevelt Johnson (4-7-1, 1 KO) of Cleveland fought to a four round draw. In a scheduled eight round light heavyweight bout, John Vargas (17-1, 10 KOs) of Bronx, NY easily stopped Carlos Jones (5-10, 3 KOs) of Landover, MD at 2:04 of round one. In his pro debut, Reading junior welterweight Jason Cintron, brother of welterweight contender Kermit Cintron, looked impressive in scoring a unanimous four round decision over Filberto Neito (1-3) of New York City. In a four round heavyweight bout, Dave Brunelli (3-1, 2 KOs) of Philadelphia grabbed a unanimous decision over Jimmy Rivera (2-1-1, 1 KO) of Reading, who returned to the ring after a six-year layoff. With the enthusiastic response from over 1400 fight fans, King’s Promotions and the Sovereign Center are looking to bring future fight cards to the spacious and modern arena in Reading.
