By: Brad Snyder
Photos: Bob Ryder
Promoter Carlos Llinas continued his wildly successful combat series, Night of Knockouts XXXV installment at Motor City Casino Sound Board in Detroit on Friday night. This capacity crowd was treated to both boxing, then kickboxing later in the evening for the price of one ticket.
Fight of the Night goes to the Welterweight battle of Justin Lacey-Pierce (12-0, 7 KOs) vs. Omar Ulises Gutierrez Munguia (8-2-1, 6 KOs). This marked a big step up for Lacey-Pierce, who has been fighting in Team Boxing and working on his skills. We heard the record of Munguia was strong, it was not until the first bell that we witnessed how strong his record was. During the bout in Round 2, Lacey-Pierce landed multiple rights to the head of Munguia. This action picked up even more in the third round, as Munguia began to lean in on his opponent. Trying to disrupt Lacey-Pierce’s attack. Lacey-Pierce, also known as J.L.P., leaned in on his jab throughout the fight. He looked incredible at times trading blows with Munguia. After letting his guard down to try to entice more action. The bout turned into a bar fight, as both the fighters gave it their all. In the end, it was Lacey-Pierce’s constant pressure that gave him the UD victory (80-72, 80-72, 79-73). I asked Lacey-Pierce when both fighters give that good of a performance, how does a fight develop like that in a fighter’s head or in the moment. J.L.P. said, “I feel the moment. And I always try to give everyone an exciting fight. The last few times with Carlos, I won “Fight of the Night”. I always try to keep that streak going. Make sure the people always get their money’s worth.”
Lightweight Chann Thonson (18-1, 15 KOs) scored a 5th Round TKO victory at the 2:12 mark over Frankie Sanchez (7-3-2, 6 KOs). Sanchez looked smaller compared to the body of Thonson. Although the fight was scheduled for 10-rounds, Thonson was able to eventually get Sanchez to succumb to the punches midway through the scheduled bout.
Light Heavyweight William Caneles (3-0, 2 KOs) and Derrick Vann (4-13) entertained the crowd over 4-rounds. Canales, who has a strong fan base, was able to take home the UD win (40-36, 40-36, 39-37).
Welterweight Wesley Rivers (10-6, 4 KOs) scored a 2nd Round TKO victory over Job Hamilton (1-6, 1 KO) at the 2:07 mark of the 2nd Round.
Middleweight Samantha Marinelli (2-0, 1 KO) went all four rounds with Breona Vaughn (0-1). Both fighters had strong reaches and height. Marinelli was able to outpoint Vaughn for the UD (40-36, 39-37, 40-36).
Middleweight Josiah Shackleford (7-2, 4 KOs) won by UD (59-55, 59-55, 59-55) over Andre Byrd (10-17-3, 1 KO).
Heavyweight David McPherson (2-0, 2 KOs) looked better in this fight compared to his debut by defeating Marcus Maulding (3-9, 3 KOs) by TKO at the 30-second mark of the 2nd Round. McPherson looked more patient and more comfortable in the bout. Was great to see the improvement from Fight 1 to Fight 2.
Scorpion Fighting System’s Tristan Canada (1-0, 1 KO) won his pro debut by TKO at the 1:38 mark of Round 1 over Tevin Allen (0-1). This debut by Canada has been a long time coming, as he has served as a coach in boxing as of recently.
The main event of the evening had Cruiserweight Benjamin Phillips (1-0, 1 KO) making a fierce victorious pro debut with a TKO at the 2:28 mark of the 1st Round over opponent Martinez Stevenson (0-1).
The bouts were matched by Brian Dillon and CLIP Productions. The promoter on record is Carlos Llinas.
