Philadelphia Boxing Results from The Arena, April 9, 2010

Posted on | April 12, 2010 | No Comments

Evans Destroys Chule in Main Event
By Tony Penecale (Ringside)

In a performance bound to open some eyes, Coy “Pretty Boy” Evans impressively dismantled game Morris Chule in the main event of Greg Robinson’s Power Productions boxing card held at The Arena in South Philadelphia.

Evans, 124, Philadelphia, not known as a knockout artist, opened the bout by using his speed advantage to land at will against the mechanical Chule, 125, Pahokee FL by way of Kenya. Evans found a home for his counter right hand, landing it flush both to the body and head.

Things only got worse for Chule in the 2nd round. A sizzling Pretty Boy combination had Chule stunned and when he tried to retaliate, Evans landed a hard counter right hand over the top, dropping Chule to the canvas. Chule arose but quickly found himself back on the canvas courtesy of another Evans right hand, and the bell was a welcome respite to the punishment he was taking.

Chule has the look of a desperate man in the 3rd round, and he came out firing everything he had but Evans deftly blocked each shot before dropping his hands and rolling his shoulders, inviting Chule to try and hit him. Evans landed another combination that had Chule reeling before landing a thunderbolt of a right hand that left Chule laid out on the canvas where he remained for several minutes.

Evans improves his record to 8-0-1 (2) while Chule falls to 11-11-1 (8).

In a battle of southpaws, pro-debuting Keenan Smith overcame some early jitters to pound out a unanimous decision over Luis Esqulin.

Smith, 130, Philadelphia, was tentative in the opening round, trying to find the range on his straight left hand, while Esquilin, 127, Philadelphia, was content to move around the ring and try to keep Smith off balance.

The bout started to pick up the pace in the 2nd round, as Esqulin became more willing to stand and engage while Smith started to relax and started to let his punches fly more freely. After completing his first two professional rounds, Smith started to pick up the pace in the 3rd round and landed several hard combinations including a laser-like right hand that sent the tape holding Esquilin long braids flying, giving him a bad-hair event similar to the one Paulie Malinaggi suffered a few years ago.

With his hair taped back in place for the 4th and final round, Esquilin tried to rally a comeback but Smith was just too smooth and effective, landing counterpunches and controlling the action throughout the remainder of the round.

The unanimous decision went to Smith by the score of 40-36 by all three judges. Smith is successful in his debut and is now 1-0 while Esquilin drops to 1-4-1.

Maurice Amaro was winless coming in to his bout against pro-debuting Joe McKenzie but you couldn’t tell by the way he effectively boxed and spoiled the McKenzie’s first foray into the professional ranks.

Amaro, 171, Philadelphia, opened by using a stiff double jab to force McKenzie, 170, Philadelphia, back on his heels and control the pace of the bout. McKenzie tried to counter with wild right hands with no success.

Amaro, wearing zebra trunks, should have worn a pattern more like a tiger as he was the predator and not the prey on this night. His success continued in the 2nd round as he aggressively pursued McKenzie, who was flowing blood from his nose, compliments of Amaro’s hard jabs.

Amaro controlled the action throughout the 3rd and 4th rounds, as the pace started to slow and the weary fighters started clinching whenever they got inside, resembling the previous weekend’s fight between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. The only moment of drama in the final round was when a right hand by Amaro had the weary McKenzie stumbling into the ropes but McKenzie was able to hold on to the final bell.

Amaro was rewarded by the judges winning by the score of 40-36 by all three judges and is now 1-2, while McKenzie loses his pro debut and is now 0-1.

In the evening’s opening bout, Puro Pairol upset the local favorite Kareem Cooley winning a decision over four rounds.

Pairol, 130, Cuba, drew Cooley, 133, Philadelphia, into a slugfest at the opening bell, and used wild right hands and left hooks from odd angles to continually beat the favored fighter to the punch.

Cooley had trouble getting his offense untracked early and Pairol made him pay for keeping his hands low but landing unorthodox punches and outworking him on the inside. Cooley had some success near the end of the 2nd round, finally finding range for several uppercuts.

Pairol continued to come forward and slug throughout the 3 rd round but as the round progressed, the tide ebbed slightly towards Cooley who landed several good jabs and right hands but continued to fight the wrong fight, which benefited his awkward opponent.

Sensing he was behind on the scorecards, Cooley tried to ramp up the pressure in the final round, and landing hard, crisp shots together and the Cuban fighter was happy to engage the hometown fighter in an old-fashioned Philadelphia slugfest.

The decision was close but all three judges benefited Pairol by identical scores of 39-37, Pairol gets his first win and is now 1-0-1 while Cooley suffers his first loss and is now 1-1 (1).

Several Philadelphia boxing personalities were in attendance including NABA welterweight champion Mike Jones, cruiserweight Garret Wilson, up-and-coming heavyweight Joey Dawejko, female sensation Olivia Fonseca, the always loquacious Simon “One Punch” Carr who was there promoting his Punchline clothing apparel, and former IBF junior middleweight champion Robert “Bam Bam” Hines.

TONY’S PHOTO SLIDESHOW: