By Brad Snyder, The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder

fightnews.com

Demetrius Banks (9-0, 4 KOs) defeated Craig Lewis (13-1-1, 7 KO’s) by split decision (77-75 Banks, 78-74 Lewis, 77-75 Banks) in the main event Friday night in Detroit. The decision seemed to be in line with the crowd’s opinion. Some had Lewis winning in their heads because of activity and his jab. Other fans had Banks winning due to his counter left hooks and his accuracy. The fight, which lived up to the hype of the fans and media, entertained the near capacity crowd Friday, February 24 at the Sound Board, located inside the MotorCity Casino-Hotel.

Early in the fight, Craig Lewis was able to fire a jab to keep the much smaller Banks from doing any damage. In the 2nd Round, Banks was shooting his left from orthodox position. These accurate and powerful left hooks were well timed against Lewis’ movement. The middle rounds were highly competitive and saw both fighters sticking their tongues out at each other. The cat and mouse game of Banks trying to land shots, while Lewis was trying to throw punches, proved to Judges Chambers and Stewart that Banks was leading in the fight, as Judge McKalpain saw these rounds going to Lewis because of activity. A wild 8th Round had Banks chasing Lewis, but ended with both fighters having a solid case for a victory.

The win puts Banks in a unique category. This win, the biggest of his career, is at a weight class the fighter probably will not continue to fight in. Banks, having only weighed 208 lbs. for the contest, gave up a ton of size to Lewis.

In what was perhaps the greatest one punch knockout in the Night of Knockout series the Motor City produces, John “The Florida Keys Kid” Chalbeck (6-0, 5 KOs) ended Kelly True’s pro debut at the 30 second mark of the 1st. Chalbeck caught True with an overhand right, leaving True unconscious for a good three minutes on the canvas. True (0-1) luckily appears to be okay after the brutal knockout.

Manuel Alfaro (2-0, 1 KO) picked up his second win over a tough chinned Darroyl Humphrey (3-8, 1 KO). The fight had Alfaro knocking Humphrey to the canvas in the 2nd Round. The decision was easy for the judges, as all three scored the bout (40-35) for Alfaro.

Darryl Cunningham (35-9, 14 KOs) won a bloody decision over a tough Taronze Washington (17-23, 9 KO’s). Both fighters had cuts to their eyes as Cunningham won by a UD (59-55, 59-55, 58-56).

Isiah Jones (3-0, 3 KOs) defeated Eric Moon (3-11, 0 KO’s) by TKO 2:58 of the 1st Round. The six round middleweight fight was not to see the distance, as Moon was knocked down early and later stopped, as Jones threw unanswered punches.

Heavyweight Marcus Carter (3-0, 3 KOs) continued his pro career with a 33-second TKO win over Ryan Pokryfky (0-4). Carter, who has big expectations, was too much early for Pokryfky.

Anthony Sims (14-0, 13 KOs) continues to prove that he deserves to be on everyone’s radar. Sims defeated Miguel Cubos (9-13, 6 KO’s) easily by scoring three knockdowns in the first to win by 2:58 1st Round TKO.

Ahmed Al-Zayadi (1-0, 1 KO) had a good start to his pro career with a 1:45 knockout win in the 1st Round over Marcus Wheeler (0-5).

The show was promoted by Greg Ahrens. The matchmaker was Carlos Llinas. KP Boxing, also, deserved credit for helping put together the main event of the two undefeated fighters.

Brad Snyder hosts The Undercard on PodcastDetroit.com on Tuesdays at 7pm EST. This show keeps Detroit boxing in the news and on people’s minds.