Brunson stops Woods, Douglas & Hanks win

By John DiSanto at ringside
Photo: Darryl Cobb Jr. – dcobbjr.com

In the scheduled 10-round junior middleweight main event, Philly power puncher Tyrone Brunson, 26-6-2, 24 KOs, pounded away at Floridian Manny Woods, 16-7-1, 6 KOs, and finally stopped him at the end of round eight (3:00) of Friday night at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brunson fought in workmanlike fashion for six rounds before turning up the heat in rounds seven and eight. Near the end of the eighth, Brunson staggered Woods badly in the visitor’s own corner. He survived the round, but the bout was stopped before the ninth bell sounded.

In a scheduled 4-round junior welterweight walkout bout, Philadelphian Sham Justice, 2-0, 2 KOs, halted Buffalo’s Jack Grady, 0-7, at 2:07 of the first round.

The sold out show was promoted by Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotions.

In a 4-round welterweight fight, Rasheed Johnson, Willow Grove, PA, 3-1, 1 KO, topped Reading southpaw Kashon Hutchinson, 3-4-1, 1 KO, by unanimous decision. The scores were 40-36 twice an 39-37.

Wilmington junior featherweight Omar Douglas, 18-2, 13 KOs, bounced back from two consecutive losses and made short work of Tucson’s Martin Gonzalez, 22-10, 14 KOs. Douglas dropped his opponent twice in round one, the second time for the full ten count. Referee Benji Esteves ended the bout after 1:52.

In a scrappy, all-Philly super middleweight contest, Brandon Robinson, 8-1, 6 KOs, won an 8-round unanimous decision over Christopher Brooker, 12-5, 5 KOs. The action was constant throughout, with Robinson much sharper, busier and more accurate. After eight rounds, Robinson won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74.

Streaking Philly welterweight Jaron Ennis improved his record to 17-0, 15 KOs, with a second round KO of veteran George Sosa, Reading, PA, 15-11-1, 15 KOs. Sosa landed a few wild punches in the first, but Ennis stayed composed and finished his foe with a left uppercut-right cross combo. Sosa fell, and failed to beat the count of referee Blair Talmadge. The time was 1:09 of the second.

Wilmington middleweight Kyrone Davis, 13-1, 5 KOs, shutout Costa Rican Jaime Barboza, 19-13, 9 KOs, over eight rounds. All three scores were 80-70.

In a sloppy heavyweight fight, Newark, NJ’s Joe Hanks, 22-2, 14 KOs, beat stubborn Joel Caudle of Raleigh, NC, 7-1-1, by unanimous decision over six rounds. The scores were 58-56 and 60-54 twice, all for Hanks.

Baltimore heavyweight Colby Madison, 5-0-1, 4 KOs, rallied from a first round trip to the canvas to stop Randy Easton of Sunbury, PA, 4-10-2, 4 KOs, in round two with a body shot. After rising from the knockdown, an exhausted Easton could not continue, and Benji Esteves stopped it at 2:44 of the second.

Philly junior featherweight Romuel Cruz, 1-0, 1 KO, made a successful pro debut, stopping Rondarrius Hunter of Georgia, 1-2, 1 KO, with a series of shots to the body in round three. While holding Hunter in a clinch, Cruz land three lefts to the side that crumbled Hunter in the red corner. He got up, but referee Blair Talmadge stopped the fight at 2:35 of the third.

In a two-way, free-swinging lightweight bout, Gerardo Tiburcio Martinez, 2-0, 1 KO, Coatesville, PA, edged Philly’s Christopher Burgos, 0-2, by split decision. All three scores were 39-37, two of them for the winner.

In a 6-round junior featherweight bout that opened the show at the 2300 Arena in South Philly, DC’s Marcus Bates, 8-0-1, 7 KOs, knocked out Mexican Antonio Rodriguez, 11-20-1, 5 KOs, with a left to the body in round six. Referee Blair Talmadge reached the count of ten at 2:37 of the sixth and final round.