November 5, 2024

Caferro knocks out Zeigler in Three

Story and Photos by Ricardo Ibarra

By Fightnews.com

Helena, Montana’s Duran Caferro (16-1, 12 KOs) turned in a dominant performance on Saturday night at the Shrine Auditorium in Billings, Montana, knocking out Cheyenne Zeigler (3-13, 2 KOs), of Lower Brule, South Dakota in the super middleweight main event of Silver Wolf Fight Promotions’ “Magic City Fight Night.” Caferro used his superior skills to out-box Zeigler for two rounds before ending matters in the third with a vicious uppercut.

Using his longer reach and lateral movement, Caferro quickly set the range of the fight in the first round, jabbing at a distance and following up with quick straight rights. Caferro maintained a steady work-rate throughout the first round, keeping Zeigler on the outside and unable to cut the distance, instead catching hard counter shots as he made the effort to get in close. Late in the round a crisp jab rocked Zeigler back and slightly buckled his knees.
Caferro continued to work at a steady pace in the second, snapping his jab in his opponent’s face and mixing in solid hooks to the head and body. Zeigler did find some success in the round, connecting with a flush right hand as Caferro opened up, but that one shot was not enough to stifle the steady stream of offense from Caferro.

In the third Caferro ramped up his output, moving in close and letting his hands go, smashing his opponent with precise combinations. After switching to a southpaw stance, Caferro let loose with a series of right hooks as Zeigler came up from a crouch, hurting the South Dakotan. Moments later a perfectly timed left uppercut caught Zeigler square on the chin, sending him crashing to the canvas. Referee Russ Hansen hit the count of ten at 1:01 of the third.
With the win the Montana prospect adds his fourteenth consecutive victory since suffering his lone defeat almost five years ago, his sixteenth overall as a pro.

Zeigler, meanwhile, takes the thirteenth notch on his loss column in his first fight back in nearly three years.

Six other bouts showcasing Montana talent made up the undercard. In a heavyweight fight, unbeaten Erick Hempstead (6-0, 6 KOs) scored his second consecutive win over Fort Belknap, Montana’s Warren Brockie (0-3), knocking him out in the first round. The two had previously fought last October, with Hempstead taking a second round stoppage win in that bout.

Hempstead patiently stalked behind his jab early in the first round of their return bout, slowly stepping up his output as he closed the distance. A minute into the fight a big overhand right followed by a body shot forced Brockie to take a knee. Shortly after, Hempstead followed up with another right, dropping Brockie for a final time. Referee Russ Hansen counted him out at 1:35 of the first round.

With the local crowd’s support firmly behind him, forty-two year old former national amateur champion Melvin Weaselboy (1-0, 1 KO) made his pro debut in exciting fashion, stopping Ruben Roundstone (0-1) in the first round of thier heavyweight bout. Weaselboy, who at one time was a promising amateur stand-out before taking a forced hiatus from the sport, had a large contingent of supporters on hand to witness his first fight as a paid prize fighter and he did not disappoint, rushing his opponent at the sound of the first bell, quickly cornering him and unloading with volley of power shots. After a sustained assault, an overhand right did major damage, hurting Roundstone badly and sending him down for a count. Referee Russ Hansen, seeing Roundstone visibly hurt, made the call to stop it at :24 of the first, giving Weaselboy the first round TKO win.

In a women’s super featherweight match-up, Ft. Belknap, Montana’s Wamnee Ereaux (1-0-1) took a four round split decision over Billing’s Shawna Anderson (0-1). Anderson used her longer arms to her advantage in the first round, landing from range and keeping her opponent on the outside, unable to close the gap. In the second, though, Ereaux adjusted, avoiding Anderson’s one-twos and working her way into the pocket where she was able to land with hard right hands and left hooks. She continued to land her right with regularity in the third and fourth rounds, maneuvering into the pocket, unloading, and moving out before Anderson could retaliate, controlling the majority of the action. With two seconds left to go in the last round, Ereaux dropped a right to the chin of Anderson, sending her to the mat just as the final bell rang. The final tallies read 39-37 and 39-37 for Ereaux, with the final judge seeing it for Anderson at 39-37, giving Ereaux her first win as a pro.

Promising super welterweight Steve Villalobos (3-0, 3 KOs) continued his knockout streak, stopping Chris Two Moons (0-1) in the first round of a scheduled four. Villalobos, of Burlington, Washington, confidently pressed from the start, working his way into the pocket and unloading with heavy combinations. A minute into the fight a jarring over hand right did damage, catching Busby, Montana’s Two Moons on the jaw. Villalobos pressed the issue and again caught Two Moons, this time with a debilitating straight right, sending him to his knees. Referee Russ Hansen made the call to stop it before hitting ten as Two Moons shook his head while the count went on, ending the fight at 2:09.

Jon Jay Mount (4-1, 3 KOs), the head of Silver Wolf Fight Promotions, pulled double duty fighting in a light heavyweight bout and stopping Kalispell’s Andrew Howk (0-5) in the third round. Mount patiently stalked as the action got underway, working behind his jab and unloading with thudding hooks as soon as he got close enough to land. Mount dominated the first round with the more accurate and heavier punching, and in the second picked up his aggression, drawing large amounts of blood from Howk’s nose and dropping him twice, once with a series of body shots and again later in the round with a right to the mid-section. Mount continued to step up his output in the third and two thirds of the way into the round he dug into his opponent’s side with a left hook, leaving him doubled over in pain, prompting referee Russ Hansen to step in and call it at 2:08 of the third.

The evening’s opener featured the third bout of what has been an exciting Montana trilogy, with Kalispell’s Jesse Uhde (8-4, 3 KOs) defeating local fighter Daniel Gonzalez (12-40-2, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision for the third time in another solid scrap. Uhde used his legs well in the first two rounds, working off his jab and out-landing the oncoming Gonzalez, connecting with hard one-twos and hooks to the mid-section. The always aggressive Gonzalez kept up his pressure, though, and in the third it began to pay off as he closed in and found his target more often with an unrelenting assault, forcing Uhde to abandon his movement and stand and trade. The two closed out the third trading viciously, unloading on each other to the sounds of an appreciative crowd. Uhde went back to using his movement more in the fourth and regained control of the fight, countering effectively as the visibly tiring Gonzalez pressed. As the fight neared the end, Gonzalez had lost a lot of the steam on his punches and even as he cornered Uhde he was unable to land anything solid, instead taking a lot of precise counter shots. Uhde, on the other hand, adjusted to the tempo, fighting off the ropes well in the last minute of the fight, leaning back and firing as Gonzalez stepped in. All three judges scored the fight for Uhde by scores of 39-37 twice, and 40-36.

This was the second show for the newly formed Silver Wolf Fight Promotions, who in a very short period time is showing vast improvements in their program. Their next show is planned for some time in June in the Havre, Montana area.

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