Derick Gramling’s Savage Life Promotions put on the “Boxing Extravaganza” show in Rochester, NY, Friday night at the Blue Cross Arena. Headlining the show was US WBC Silver super lightweight champion Bryce Mills of nearby Syracuse, NY, defending against Puerto Rican/Floridian Julio Rosa.
Mills started fast, nailing Rosa with a sharp counter that buckled him against the ropes just 15 seconds into the fight. Rosa did well to survive the round, even landing a couple of good shots of his own. In round three, Rosa went down from a punch but injured his shoulder in the process. He managed to last the round but retired on his stool in excruciating pain. Result: Mills wins via opponent retirement at the end of round three. He moves to 22-1 with 9 KOs, while Rosa falls to 11-7 with 6 KOs.
In the co-feature, female KO artist Amber Summers took on Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez for the vacant WBA Fedelatin bantamweight title. Summers scored a dubious knockdown that appeared to be more of a push, but referee Tim Evans ruled otherwise, administering the mandatory eight-count to the unfazed Ramirez. Ramirez came in crouching against the taller Summers and landed a telling left hook in the second. Summers controlled the action with her jab and movement throughout, perhaps realizing Ramirez hadn’t read the “KO bio” and wasn’t going to fold. Ramirez caught Summers off guard again in the seventh, snapping her head back with a three-punch combination. Summers finished behind the jab to win via scores of 77-74 and 78-73 twice. She is now the WBA Fedelatin bantamweight champion at 9-0 with 8 KOs, while Ramirez falls to 15-15-4 with 3 KOs.
Geneva, NY heavyweight Aleem “Hammer” Whitfield labored against Mexico’s Francisco Gomez for six unforgiving rounds. There were a few telling blows landed, but neither man was ever seriously hurt. Whitfield returned to winning ways, taking a unanimous 60-54 decision on all three judges’ cards to improve to 10-1 with 6 KOs. Gomez falls to 7-5 with 2 KOs.
In a hastily made match after their original opponents fell out during the medicals and weigh-ins, New York-based Dominican Ronny Reyes battled Illinois-based Venezuelan Denny Landaeta in a catchweight bout maxed at 145 lbs. The match was evenly contested, with Reyes the more elusive counterpuncher of the two. Final scores read 38-38 and 39-37 twice for Reyes, who won by majority decision. He improves to 6-2 with 1 KO, while Landaeta falls to 1-3 with 1 KO.
Rochester’s Brandon “Eyes Wide” Williams took on Newark, NJ’s Rashad “Tank” Bogar in a welterweight clash scheduled for six rounds. When he kept the fight at a distance, Williams used his southpaw stance to control the action nicely. When the distance closed, Bogar turned it into phone booth warfare, mauling Williams on the ropes, much like his moniker, “Tank.” After the second and third rounds, Bogar was visited in his corner by ringside physicians, complaining of shoulder pain, but he opted to continue. At the end of the fourth, Bogar was cut outside his right eye. Still, the fight went on—part tidy boxing by Williams, part bull rushes by Bogar. Williams toyed with Bogar in the sixth and final round, pot-shotting and avoiding all of Bogar’s lunges. The final tally read 59-55 and 58-56 twice for Williams, now 12-1-1 with 1 KO. Bogar falls to 5-12 with 2 KOs.
Junior middleweight Messiah “The Menace” Miles took on Juarez, Mexico’s David “Young King” Gutierrez Garcia in a scheduled four-rounder. Unlike some of the earlier bouts, this was a tactical, if somewhat tentative, match. Both fighters worked from a distance, looking for points-scoring shots. After two close rounds, Garcia appeared to take the third with a beautiful counter and lead right to Miles’ head. The biggest moment of the fourth was a tackle that saw both men on the canvas. The final scores were 39-37 for Garcia and 39-37 twice for Miles, who won by split decision. He moves to 4-0 with 2 KOs, while Garcia drops a close one to fall to 4-2 with 2 KOs.
Junior lightweight “G.I.” Joe Elzey (Bronx, NY) and Rochester’s Edwin Viera played rock ’em, sock ’em robots for as long as it lasted—2:31 of round two—when referee Charlie Fitch stopped the bout with Viera taking a pounding on the ropes. Elzey improves to 5-1 with 3 KOs, while Viera remains winless at 0-2.
Opening the night, Harlem’s Kidane Bennett took on Rochester’s Christopher Williams in a scheduled four-round welterweight bout. Bennett started and finished with body work, dropping Williams with a right to the gut for the count at 2:30 of the opening round. Bennett begins his career at 1-0 with 1 KO, while Williams drops to 0-3.
The post Bryce Mills Retains US WBC Silver Title appeared first on FightNews.
