Dawejko crushes Banks

By John DiSanto – PhillyBoxingHistory.com
Photos: Darryl Cobb Jr. – dcobbjr.com

In the main event at the Sugar House Casino, heavyweight Joey Dawejko, Philadelphia, 18-4-4, 11 KOs, stalked and overpowered Detroit’s Demetrius Banks, 9-2, 4 KOs, in their scheduled eight rounder. Dawejko put Banks down twice in the second and then one more time in the third before referee Shawn Clark halted the bout with Banks trapped in a neutral corner. The time was 1:22 of the third round.

Teenage Philly lightweight Branden Pizarro, 8-0, 4 KOs, won by fourth round TKO over Tyrone Luckey, Neptune, NJ, 8-8-3, 6 KOs, in a scheduled six rounder.. Pizarro two scored knockdowns in the third round and then dropped Luckey again in the fourth. The moment Luckey fell this time, referee Ronald Bashir stopped the fight. The time was 26 seconds of the fourth.

Philadelphia welterweight Raymond Serrano, 23-4, 10 KOs, suffered a first round knockdown, but went on win a six round unanimous decision over Zack Ramsey of Springfield, MA, 8-2, 4 KOs. Serrano was in charge most of the way, even in round one – except for the knockdown- but Ramsey kept him honest by sprinkling in his own hard punches. Serrano nearly hit the canvas again in the final round, but the bell ended the bout. After six, Serrano won by scores of 59-55 and 57-56 twice.

In a light heavyweight slugfest, David Murray, 7-1-1, 6 KOs, came off the floor twice to score an unlikely knockout over Hungarian Attila Koros, 14-12-1, 10 KOs, at 2:53 of round five. Koros built a big lead but started to tire in round four. He repeatedly spit out his mouthpiece to stall the action, and in round five, referee Shawn Clark penalized Koros one point. Hopelessly behind on points, Murray hung in there and when Koros showed signs of fatigue, he blasted him with a right that put the visitor on the canvas. Koros stayed down, more from fatigue than anything else, and took the full ten count. It was a wild fight, scheduled six rounds, with an astounding end that had the crowd crazy.

In a free-swinging lightweight bout, Devin Haney, Las Vegas, remained undefeated, 17-0, 11 KOs, with a one-sided eight round points win over Mexican Enrique Tinoco, 16-5-3, 12 KOs. Tinoco landed plenty of shots, but Haney dominated in every round. The final scores were 80-71 and 80-72 twice, all for Haney.

Philly junior featherweight Angel Pizarro, 3-0, 2 KOs, dropped Joseph Cole of Louisiana, 1-3, 1 KO, once in round one and once in the second. After Cole returned to the action after the second knockdown, Pizarro nailed him with single right hand that prompted referee Ronald Bashir to stop it. The time was 1:54 of the second round.

In the opening bout at the Sugar House Casino in Philadelphia, local bantamweight Ernesto Almodovar, 2-0, 1 KO, stopped Cincinnati’s Trevor Ballinger, 0-2, at 1:28 of round one. After the two boxers traded rather evenly in the first two rounds, Almodovar began pinning his foe in the corners and landing heavy combinations. After one such combo in the final round, referee Shawn Clark stepped in and stopped it.