Amateur standout Marco “El Tiburon” Romero, 165, improved to 10-0, 9 KOs in front of a sold out home-town crowd at the Embassy Suites Convention Center last night. In a scheduled 8 round bout, Romero took a step up in competition facing the well-regarded Javier Aragon, 7-2-1, 3 Kos, of Denver. The tall, rangy Aragon, 163, was prepared and focused, starting the first round firing hard jabs but failing to get through the solid defense of Romero. Trading body shots through the round, all signs indicated a good, long, competitive fight.
As the second round started, Romero found his range, throwing sharp counter punches in combination. A well-timed left hook dropped Aragon on the ropes. Beating the count, the determined Aragon tried fighting his way out of trouble, but a viscous double hook to the body, left hook to the chin combination stretched Aragon for the count at 1:55. Romero continues to improve and impress, and hopes to finish 2025 with at least one more fight.
In the 8 round co-feature, hugely popular John “The Iron Man” Cantrell of Topeka made short work of Lexington, Kentucky’s Portland Pringle in an entertaining heavyweight scrap. A pleasure to see two heavyweights in such good condition, the first round was a feeling-out process with both fighters looking for space and timing. Cantrell, however, turned up the action in the second, landing punishing body punches, carefully picking accurate shots up top, rocking Pringle repeatedly. By the third stanza, Cantrell had found his range and rhythm, finishing his opponent at 2:02. Cantrell, now 15-0, 14 Kos is looking to step up to a regional title later in the year.
3 time National Amateur Champ Ben Turla, 195, of Kansas City, MO was successful in his first bout as a professional. Facing 1-0 Randy Martina, 195 of Fort Riley, KS in a battle of the southpaws, Turla found his range quickly, working off a long right jab to land a picture perfect straight left, putting Martina down hard, prompting referee Jacob Villa to call a halt to the action.
Christmas came early for Kansas City’s Marcell Davidson gaining a hard-fought , controversial 4 round decision over Dallas’s Ociel Vasquez in a welterweight bout. The shorter Texan came out from the opening bell hard and furious, pressing the action and pounding away on the former amateur standout. The second round was the best round for the tall, quick handed Davidson, bloodying Vasquez with sharp uppercuts and a good jab, but the third was a swing back to Vazquez as he continually bulled Davidson to the ropes, pounding away head and body. Both fighters had their moments in the 4 th , with Vasquez the busier, Davidson the better mover. Judges Mike Muniz and Greg Divilbiss both saw it 39-37 for Davidson while Kevin Champion, apparently in need of glasses or possibly a refresher course in judging pro boxing, inexplicable gave the bout to Davidson 40-36. Fightnews, as well as most observers at ringside, saw the bout 39-37 in favor of Vasquez, at the very least a draw. Davidson improves to 7-0, 4 KOs while Vasquez drops to 2-2, 2 Kos and certainly deserves a rematch, perhaps over 6 rounds and back in Dallas.
Kansas City’s Anthony Adams, Jr picked up his 5 th win, 5 th KO against only 1 disputed loss in a 4 round welterweight bout to open the pro portion of the show. In against wily, 34 bout veteran Marquis Hawthorne of Waco, TX, Adams started off feeling out his opponent, establishing range while Hawthorne showed tight defense keeping his hands up throughout. In the second round, Adams began letting his hands go, firing a fast, arrow-straight jab, more frequently splitting the guard of the tough Texan, impressively following the advice of his cornerman Craig Cummings. A strong start to the third, featuring crisp, lightning combination, Adams landed a clean right hook lead, buckling Hawthorne’s knees and sending him onto the ropes. Referee Jacob Villa immediately stepped in, waving off the fight, saving Hawthorne from what likely would have been more punishment.
The event was promoted by John Brown’s Turner Boxing Academy in conjunction with McCarthy Auto Group.
