TONY PENECALE’S PHILADELPHIA BOXING REPORT: Hernandez Wins USBA Featherweight Title

Posted on | April 20, 2008 | No Comments

Philadephia Boxing Results from the National Guard Armory – April 18, 2008

Rasheem Brown won a unanimous decision by a wide margin against Jameel Wilson in the April 18th Co-Feature at the National Guard Armory in Philadelphia. Brown captured the Tri-State Middleweight title with the win.

Jose Hernandez Pounds Local Favorite Rashiem Jefferson for USBA Featherweight Title

By Tony Penecale (Ringside)

In a bout for the vacant USBA featherweight title, Jose Hernandez came to Philadelphia and punished local favorite, Rashiem Jefferson, flooring him three times for an emphatic 12th round stoppage.

The difference in styles was evident early on as the southpaw Hernandez, 126, Atlanta Georgia via Mexico, is a relentless punching machine, immediately putting pressure on the quick and stylish Jefferson, 125, Philadelphia. Hernandez also came in with a major advantage in experience as his last nine opponents had a combined record of 92-3-1.

Jefferson controlled the first three rounds, using angles, and countering Hernandez’s aggression with slick counterpunches. Jefferson found more confidence in the 3rd round, staying in front of Hernandez, and sitting down with hard body shots and uppercuts.

Jefferson’s success in the 3rd round ultimately became his downfall as he willingly engaged the brawling Hernandez in close in the 4th. Although he won the round with the sharper punches, the momentum had shifted as Hernandez was now finding success landing his own punches.

A cut caused by an unintentional headbutt did not deter Hernandez and a combination early in the 6th round sent Jefferson to the canvas. Jefferson regained his feet and tried to regain the momentum by trading punches with Hernandez. A series of Hernandez bombs had Jefferson again reeling at the bell.

Hernandez kept applying constant pressure and his buzzsaw attack was paying serious dividends as Jefferson found himself on the ropes more often. Jefferson tried in vain to fight off the ropes but he did not have the offensive firepower to discourage Hernandez.

Jefferson seemed completely spent by the 10th round and he hit the canvas again under a constant barrage of punches and rough-house tactics, which drew the ire of the pro-Jefferson crowd and several reacted by hurling full cans of soda and beer into the ring. As Jefferson was trying in vain to duck and dodge his on-rushing opponent, one of the can-throwing perpetrators was also trying in vain to duck and dodge the on-rushing members of security who caught him on the bleachers and forcefully escorted him out.

Jefferson was forcefully escorted out of the bout in the 12th round as Hernandez put an exclamation point on the bout. With his opponent on rubbery legs, Hernandez stepped in with a devastating right hook, crashing Jefferson face-first to the canvas. He was able to rise but referee Eddie Cotton made a wise choice in halting the bout.

Hernandez improves to 11-6-1 (5). Jefferson, who was taken on a stretcher to a local hospital for observation, falls to 15-1-1 (6).

In the co-feature, Rasheem “The Untouchable” Brown had to endure some rocky moments in winning a unanimous decision to win the Tri-State Middleweight title over veteran Jameel “Black Gold” Wilson.

Brown 167, Philaelphia, who came back from a two-year retirement in January, immediately pounced on Wilson, 168, Philadelphia, a one-time prospect who has gone 0-8-1 in his last nine outings.

At the opening bell, Brown was on the offense, backing Wilson on his heels with a variety of power punches, one of which caused Wilson’s knees to dip. Brown kept the pressure in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, walking Wilson down and throwing overhand rights and left hooks at a torrid pace.

Wilson, fighting with a rapidly swelling left eye, slipped to the canvas late in the 3rd round and again early in the 4th, seemingly injuring his ankle. Instead of quitting, Wilson found new life as he started punching back against the quickly fatiguing Brown, including a big right that had Brown stumbling at the bell.

Brown moved into boxing mode in the 5th round and Wilson took over the role as aggressor. Brown controlled the pace with his jab while Wilson threw too few punches to seriously pressure Brown. The pattern continued through the 6th and 7th rounds, with Brown boxing and firing combinations in spurts, while Wilson, increasingly gaining confidence, still did not take advantage of his opponent’s fatigue.

The final rounds saw Brown trying to keep Wilson at bay, even tackling him in the 10th to burn several seconds off of the clock. As the final round ticked down, Brown closed strong, landing several big punches late to punctuate his performance.

Brown was victorious with all three judges awarding him the decision by a curiously wide 99-91 decision. This reporter scored the bout much closer at 97-94. Brown, who vows to drop to as low as junior middleweight after this bout, raises his record to 19-3 (15). Wilson, who was seen hobbling with a sprained ankle, falls to 13-13-3 (8).

In other bouts:

Tyric “Too Sweet” Robinson and Lenny “The Hitman” DeVictoria engaged in a thrilling matchup with Robinson rallying to win a unanimous decision for the vacant USBA Northern Region Light Welterweight.

Robinson controlled the first two rounds over the normally slow-starting DeVictoria, moving laterally and landed several crisp right hands, which DeVictoria kept a tight defense but was unable to pull the trigger on his punches.

DeVictoria started finding his range in the 3rd round, landing the harder punches, against the volume punches of Robinson. DeVictoria landed a monster right hand at the end of the 5th round which sent Robinson reeling. Robinson was able to regain the advantage in a thrilling 6th round where DeVictoria was able to land some big punches early but Robinson landed several hard punches late.

After a 7th round which saw Robinson employ a successful hit-and-move strategy, DeVictoria again found his range in the 8th round, pinning Robinson to the ropes and landing some good uppercuts, buzzing him at the end of the round.

With the bout up for grabs, Robinson rallied over the final two rounds, landing a heavier volume of punches, including several sharp uppercuts, which caused heavy bleeding from DeVictoria’s nose.

Robinson was awarded the decision by scores of 96-94, 97-93, and an absurdly wide 98-92. This reporter had Robinson winning by the score of 96-94 after rallying the last two rounds. With the victory, Robinson, who was coming off an upset decision loss in January, improves to 9-2-1 (3) while DeVictoria drops to a deceiving 11-11 (3).

Tony “Boom Boom” Ferrante lowered the boom on Ray Ruiz with a scary one-punch knockout in the 2nd round.

After an uneventful 1st round, Ferrante, 177, Philadelphia, started to pressure the more passive Ruiz, 181, Passaic New Jersey. Ruiz tried to stand his ground and trade with Ferrante. Ferrante took advantage of the opening and landed a brutal right hand which crumpled Ruiz in a heap, his head hitting the canvas.

Referee Shawn Clark immediately halted the bout without a count and called for medical attention. After several anxious moments, Ruiz was able to leave the ring under his own power but was transported to the hospital for observation.

The opening bout of the card saw Ray Robinson score three early knockdowns en route to scoring a second decision victory over the long-armed and rubbery Jason Jordan.

Similar to their first bout six months prior, Robinson was able to find a home for his looping southpaw left early, and floored Robinson three times in the 1st round. Upon rising, Jordan went into strictly defensive mode as Robinson became overly aggressive looking for the knockout.

Robinson landed several more left hands over the final three rounds. Jordan finally landed a few right hands in the 4th round but it was much too late. Robinson was victorious by scores of 39-34 and 40-33.

Robinson improves to 8-0 (3) while Jordan dips to 5-20-3.

The card was promoted by Greg Robinson’s Power Productions and had a sell-out crowd in attendance.