Story by John DiSanto – PhillyBoxingHistory.com
Photos by Darryl Cobb Jr. – dcobbjr.com

By Fightnews.com

South Philly super middleweight Taneal Goyco, 9-9-1, 4 KOs, scored a stunning upset over Maryland’s Jerry Odom, 14-3-1, 13 KOs, at the 2300 Arena in South Philly Friday night. The scheduled 8-rounder was not the main event, co-feature, or one of the many showcase bouts that comprised this 10-bout card, but make no mistake, the fight was the evening’s highlight.

The win evened out Goyco’s modest pro record, which is actually one of his most potent career weapons. Often underestimated on paper due to his unassuming resume, “Spider” Goyco has become a spoiler for rising prospects and a force to be reckoned with in the ring. Friday night, he performed his magic once again.

Odom started the fight well, hurting Goyco with a left hook in round one. His early attack bolstered his confidence and tested Taneal’s gut. It would have been easy for Goyco to fold, as many, including Odom, expected he might. But those thinking that were people who were unfamiliar with Goyco’s typical M.O. Upsets are Spider’s business, and he started his latest miracle in round two.

The second round was a slugfest with both boxers landing throughout the period. Odom stayed in control, but Goyco began fighting back hard. He landed his left upper cut and followed it with a left hook and the flurry changed the momentum of the fight.

The third was another trench war, but suddenly it was Goyco who was winning the toe-to-toe struggle. Odom was still in the lead and probably still confident of victory, but the tide was quickly turning.

Goyco stepped on the gas in the third and popped Odom with a potent right. The favorite was losing steam as the fight intensified. Odom’s punches began to stray low as Goyco surged. Once, twice and three times Odom nailed Goyco below the belt. The frequency of the fouls hinted that Odom was trying to slow Goyco down, and referee Gary Rosato warned Jerry about the low blows.

By round five, Goyco was getting the best of Odom and the scent of upset was in the air. Taneal slammed Odom with a left hook and hard right and Odom looked desperate. Jerry slowed to a crawl and Goyco didn’t let him of the hook.

Just before the end of the round, Odom went to the canvas, but Referee Rosato ruled it a slip. However, Odom appeared more than comfortable resting, hands and knees, on the canvas. It wasn’t a knockdown, but Odom didn’t want to get up. Rosato got him to his feet and the bell ending the fifth sounded before Goyco could capitalize on his weary foe.

Odom returned to his corner and plopped on his stool. He clearly had had enough as his corner men worked to revive his spirit. The ringside physician studied the desperate fighter and before the bell rang to start the sixth, a consensus was reached that the fight was over.

Goyco had done it again. His last five victories, including this one, were all fights he was expected to lose. However when motivated by an assignment resembling mission impossible, Goyco is at his best. Mixed in with all those upsets are plenty of defeats that may keep Taneal from moving up the ranks. But he remains one of the most entertaining – and surprising – fighters on the local scene.

In the scheduled 8-round main event at the 2300 Arena, junior featherweight Adam Lopez, 16-0-1, 8 KOs, knocked out Carlos Valcarcel, 14-9-4, 5 KOs, with a left to the body in the final round. Most of the crowd had hit the streets by the time this fight began, and for most of the eight rounds, it seemed the fleeing fans hadn’t missed much.

Lopez piled up rounds and methodically worked toward winning this fight which seemed guaranteed to go the distance. It was the wrong bout to come at the end of a long night of fights.

However in the eighth and final round, Lopez clubbed with Valcarcel and the Miami-based fighter crumbled to the canvas for a full ten count. It was a spectacular end to a one-sided snoozer. Gary Rosato reached the count of ten at 1:47 of round eight.

In the co-feature bout, welterweight Ed Brown, 20-0, 16 KOs, easily defeated Albert Mensah, 29-5-1, 13 KOs, by 8-round unanimous decision. This was another showcase bout with Brown running the tables all night long. Brown swept every round on my card. The official scorers had it 80-72 (Justin Rubenstein & Adam Friscia) and 79-73 (George Hill).

Streaking welterweight rookie, Jaron Ennis improved to 7-0, 6 KOs with a TKO of Chris Alexander, 4-3, 3 KOs. Ennis won every round and dropped his opponent in round four. Ennis again looked quick, sharp, and powerful and had the air of a true prospect.

Alexander survived the left hand that dropped him in round four, but the moment he made it back to his corner after the bell had saved him, his team wisely stopped the fight. The time was 3:00 of the fourth round of a scheduled 6-rounder.

Ennis has fought every month since his April debut and already has a December 10th fight on the calendar. This first year of his career has been exciting to watch.

Chicago southpaw Kenneth Sims Jr, 10-0, 3 KOs, pitched a 6-round shutout over Jonathan Dinong, 5-2, 4 KOs, in a junior welterweight bout. Dinong fought hard and the fight was an honest battle between two young and talented pros, but Sims was operating on a completely different skill level. So the fight was one-sided. All three judges, Justin Rubenstein, Adam Friscia and Lynn Carter all scored the fight 60-54.

Kensington junior featherweight Manny Folly raised his perfect record to 8-0, 6 KOs, with a first round KO of Tibor Nadori, 9-7-1, 4 KOs. Folly jumped out quickly and took control with his fast and heavy fists. Midway through the opening round, Manny whacked Nadori with a right to the body that crumbled the Hungarian boxer into a ball.

Nadori bravely got to his feet, but the end was near. Folly zoomed in and resumed the pressure. Finally another shot downstairs, a left jab to the stomach, put Nadori down again and he took the full count from referee Blair Talmadge. The time was 2:02 of the first round.

Folly is truly one of the very best prospects in Philly. However, his scheduled has been slow-moving while he balances his ring career with his full-time job as a Philadelphia police officer. Not signed with Victory Promotions and Cameron Dunkin, hopefully Folly will become more active and keep a steady stream of fights coming.

Lightweight Joshua Jones, 3-0-1, 2 KOs, won his 4-rounder with Corey Edwards, 2-2, 1 KO, by unanimous decision. Jones, a stablemate of Jaron Ennis, fought for the first time since July and made his hometown debut against Edwards.

Super middleweight Derrick Webster, 21-1, 11 KOs, overwhelmed Zoltan Sera, 26-11, 17 KOs, in their scheduled 6-rounder. Webster took the first three rounds before scoring a knockdown in round four. Sera managed to fight on, but Webster stayed on him.

As Webster pounded away on Sera in round five, The Hungarian held on so tight that referee Blair Talmadge took a point away. However, the score was never going to factor into this one. Webster continued to dish out punishment until Talmadge finally stepped in to stop the bout. There was no final knockdown, but Sera had nothing left when the fight was halted at 1:28 of the fifth.

Junior middleweight Hurshiddek Nomatov, 3-0, 1 KO, beat Lenwood Dozier, 10-14-2, 5 KOs, by shutout unanimous 6-round decision.

Leroy Davila, 4-0, 2 KOs, opened the show with a 4-round unanimous decision over Damon Simon, 0-5-1, in their bantamweight bout.

The show was promoted by GH3 Promotions and Victory Promotions, and attracted about 700 fans.

To read more about the Philly fight scene – past and present – visit www.phillyboxinghistory.com.