Tony “the Tiger” Thompson scored an impressive fourth round stoppage of Bandon “the Beast” Cabell last night to claim the vacant Maryland State Heavyweight Championship.  In the first Ballroom Boxing card of the year, Thompson (26-1, 16 KOs), of Ft. Washington, Maryland, used a sharp jab and accurate combinations to keep Cabell (8-2-1, 2 KOs), of Baltimore, off balance all night.  After absorbing punishment for three and a half rounds, Cabell was dropped by Thompson in the fourth.  Cabell beat the count, but then refused to step toward referee Makil Waleed, who was forced to stop the contest.

In a disappointing professional debut, number one ranked U.S. amateur super heavyweight Travis Kauffman narrowly avoided disaster with a second round TKO victory over unheralded Jerome Boyers (0-2) of Sharon, Pennsylvania.  A noticeably out of shape Kauffman (1-0, 1 KO) was rocked in the first round when a hard Boyers right hand sent him crashing into the ropes.  Referee John Gradowski correctly ruled that the ropes were the only thing keeping Kauffman from landing in the front row, and scored a knockdown.  The Reading, Pennsylvania native then survived furious combinations from Boyers to escape the round without getting stopped.  Kauffman began the second round, on somewhat unsteady legs, and trapped Boyers in a corner midway through the round.  Boyers appeared to block many of Kauffman’s shots, but Gradowski prematurely called a halt to the action, which was received by a loud chorus of boos from the sold out crowd.  Kauffman seemed to be extremely under prepared for his first professional debut.  He entered the ring weighing 242 pounds, with a very flabby midsection, which elicited taunts of “Butterbean” from the crowd throughout the fight.

In other action, Philadelphia junior middleweight Derek Ennis floored Martinus Clay, of Winston, North Carolina, in the first round.  Clay (9-12-1, 3 KOs) appeared to be able to continue, but wanted no part of the undefeated Ennis (8-0, 5 KOs) and stayed on his knee as referee Bill Holmes counted him out.

In one of the night’s most impressive performances, Baltimore featherweight prospect Tyrell Samual added to his undefeated professional record with a fourth round TKO of Raul Rivera of Philadelphia.  Samual (5-0, 3 KOs) dropped Rivera (0-2) twice in round three, before a series of unanswered power shots in round four prompted referee Kenny Chevalier to call a halt to the action.

Junior Middleweight Taurus “Mushin” Corbbrey, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, dropped Philadelphia’s Anthony Abrams in round one en route to a comfortable four round unanimous decision.  With the win, Corbbrey improves to 2-1-1, 0 KOs, while Abrams falls to 1-4, 0 KOs.

The evening began with a very entertaining scrap between two aging cruiserweight journeymen.  Thirty-nine year old Lamont Cooper, fighting out of Philadelphia, came charging out of his corner in round one, throwing massive power shots, looking to end the fight early.  However, Carlos Jones of Temple Hills, Maryland, employed impressive defensive skills to survive the onslaught, and used his jab and movement to win a four round unanimous decision as Cooper faded down the stretch.  Jones upped his record to 5-7, 3 KOs, while Cooper, who may wish to call it a career, dropped to 6-12-1, 0 KOs.

During an intermission, the United States and Belarus Olympic boxing teams were introduced to the crowd.  The teams will square off in exhibition bouts this Tuesday at Michael’s Eight Avenue in Glen Burnie, Maryland.  For more information on this amateur card visit www.ballroomboxing.com

Ballroom Boxing is promoted by Scott and Michael Wagner.  The matchmaker was Chris Middendorf.

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