Dirrell Derails Hanshaw in 5
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 05.03.2008
Ringside report with Frank Igor.
Photo by Tom Casino / SHOWTIME
In the main event of the night, undefeated super middleweight, Olympic bronze medalist, Andre" The Matrix "Dirrell overcame a very slippery start and being down on the floor three times due to slips, twice in the first round and once in the second to stop Anthony Hanshaw at 1minute 13 seconds of the 5th stanza. Hanshaw started out very aggressively and used a small ring to his advantage , but by the middle of the third round Dirrell's speed and accuracy started to dictate the action in the ring. In the fourth it appeared to look like a mismatch; Dirrell knocked down Hanshaw at the end of the round, but was deducted a point for hitting an opponent when he was down. Dirrell finished the job in the fifth with barrage of pin point accurate unanswered punches that forced referee Pat Russell to stop the fight. Dirrell is a spectacular fighter and his skills and movement were on display and aggressive style of Hanshaw played right into his hands. Dirrell is a real deal and sure become a force in the super middleweight division. In words of boxing historian and Showtime commentator Steve Farhood with this one fight Dirrell came from virtual obscurity to a potential superstardom. Can't wait to see his next fight.
In the co- main event of the evening, televised by SHOBOX: The New Generation, light weight, fan favorite Antonio De Marco destroyed an undefeated Juan Castaneda from Mexico. The referee Ray Corona stopped the contest at forty two seconds of the 5th round after Castaneda went down for the fourth time due to a well placed body shot. Castaneda started out very aggressive and pressed the action and won the first round. He got caught with a good right left combination in the second round and went down, got up fought back and then was floored again at the end of the stanza. When Castaneda went down again in the third, I thought the fight should have been stopped, but he got up fought bravely and pressed the action till the very end. Fans were on their feet applauding in appreciation of great action.
In a war of attrition, Junior welter weight Antonio Ojeda from Santa Maria, California overcame a third round knock down to outfight once highly touted Nick Casal from Niagara Falls, New York in a six round battle. All three judges scored the bout the same: 57-56.
Bantam weight from San Diego, California, Chris Avalos out boxed his opponent Ernie Marquez from Colorado in route to a unanimous decision victory.
In a brutal see saw six round feather weight battle Jose Magallon from Las Vegas , Nevada( 8-5,3KO's) defeated Frankie Leale from Mexico by scores 59-55 on all three judges scorecards, which did not indicate how closely the bout was contested.
Said Harrak, welter weight from Santa Clarita California trained by famous Mustafa Mohamed overcame a bit of a rocky start and a huge reach advantage in his professional debut to decisively beat Trenton Titsworth from Omaha Nebraska.
Judges scored the fight as follows 39-37, 40-36, and 40-36 all in favor of Said.
In the first bout of the evening, featherweight Abraham Lopez improved his record to 2-0,2KO's by knocking out Thomas Gatica at 2minutes and 15 seconds of a very first round.
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Article written by Frank Igor, boxing writer for the Burbank Times and a regular contributor to 411mania.com.
