In a fight that was practically a mirror image of their first encounter 3 months ago, Kaye Scott and Olivia Curry went at it tooth and nail for the vacant WBA and WBC female middleweight titles. Back in September, Scott won the scorecard of one judge while the other two had the bout even for a majority draw, hence the rematch. There was indeed little to separate the two, but that little bit was what Scott seemed to come up with. Scott physically imposed her will, pressing Curry to the ropes and giving the impression of the aggressor, despite the fact that Curry fought very well off the ropes. There were no knockdowns although Curry was once again cut on the forehead.
This time out, the scores were as follows: 98-92, 95-95 (the same first two scores of their first match!) and 97-93 for Scott, winner by majority decision and now WBA/WBC middleweight champion. Scott improves to 5-1-1, while Curry falls to 7-3-2, 2 KOs. For her part, Scott expressed an interest in collecting the IBF/WBO titles, both of which are held by Desley Robinson, with whom Scott is presently 1-1. A rubber match seems like a no-brainer for all the marbles in the female middleweight division.
In the co-main event, former WBC super welterweight champion Tony Harrison, battled Argentina’s Brian Chavez in a thrilling middleweight contest. Chaves was having an excellent first round, teeing off on Harrison until he was caught with a counter left from Harrison, which froze him in his tracks. A follow-up flurry dropped Chaves to his knees. He beat the count and the bell rang, giving him a chance to recover. While the second round was largely uneventful, neither man showed signs of the hard blows they took in the first. The third round appeared reminiscent of the first as both men took turns taking charge and landing good shots on each other. And just like round number one, after a nice offensive spurt of his own, Chaves again, went down at the bell from a hard Harrison combination. True to form, the fourth round followed suit with Chaves giving it his all and at the end of the round, the script was followed as a left to the belly dug in deep and Chaves took the full 10 count seated on the canvas in a neutral corner. The time was 2:59 of the fourth. “Super Bad” Harrison improves to 31-4-1, 22 KOs, while Chaves drops to 15-8, 4 KOs.
Heavyweights Pryce Taylor and Michael Coffie poldded through eight mostly monotonous rounds. It wasn’t until the 7th that Taylor decided to fight with any sort of urgency, throwing combinations and showing a moderate work rate over Coffie, who was stepping into the ring for the first time in 2 years. The judges saw it: 79-73, 80-72 twice, all for Taylor, who improves to 10-0, 6 KOs. Coffie falls to 13-6, 10 KOs.
Opening the DAZN broadcast portion of the show, heavyweight Sardius “The Stone” Simmons made extra short work of Colby Madison, who took this fight only 2 weeks after his last bout. Simmons landed an awkward left to the neck of Madison, sending him crashing down onto his back, where he took referee Mark Nelson’s full count of 10. The affair was over at 1:00 of the opening round. Simmons continues unbeaten at 5-0, 3 KOs. Madison evens out at 11-11-3, 7 KOs.
Flint standout Garrett “Baby Gee” Rice (1-0, 1 KO), fighting out of the legendary Berston Field House and trained by veteran coach Ed Kendall, delivered a flawless professional debut. Rice overwhelmed his opponent with speed, pressure, and sharp body work, closing the show with a swift first-round knockout.
“It was a quick one, I executed the game plan my team put together and it worked,” said Rice. “I’m excited to get back in the ring soon, keep sharpening my tools, and put on a show. Thank you to my promoter Dmitriy Salita and all the fans who came out tonight.”
The undercard delivered its share of fireworks as local favorites and rising talent set the tone early. Pontiac’s own Cameron Pankley (13-1, 4 KO’s) earned a hard-fought unanimous decision, while Flint native Jaquan McElroy (4-0, 2 KO’s) brought the crowd to life with a thunderous second-round knockout. Husain Al Mashhadi (14-1, 12 KO’s) made a statement of his own, needing just one round to deliver a masterful knockout performance. Kahmel Makled (5-0, 3 KO’s) showcased discipline and composure in a unanimous decision victory, while Davante Shumate (12-2, 5 KO’s) came up short after a grueling, hard-fought battle. Opening the night, Antwan Jones (19-0, 10 KO’s) set the pace with a sharp TKO win, ensuring the Fox Theatre crowd was on its feet from the opening bell.
