By Ricardo Ibarra
Photos by Mike Blair

By Fightnews.com

Dashon “Fly Boy” Johnson (22-20-3, 7 KOs) punctuated an entertaining middleweight fight, stopping San Francisco’s Ricardo Pinell (14-3-1, 8 KOs) in the tenth and final round of what up to that point had been a closely contested battle on Friday night at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington. A right uppercut midway through the last round left Pinell wobbly, prompting his corner to step up onto the ring apron, calling an end to the contest. The bout served as the main event of Brian Halquist Productions’ 109th installment of the long-running “Battle at the Boat” Series.

Johnson, of Escondido, California, went to work early, going right at Pinell in the first round with an aggressive assault and stunning the southpaw fighter repeatedly before dropping him with an overhand right-left hook combo. Pinell was up at four and did a good job of weathering much of Johnson’s attack as the action continued, but with ten seconds left in the round, Johnson rocked him once again with an overhand right.

In the second round, Pinell began to mount a comeback, using his lateral movement and consistent one-twos to stifle Johnson’s attack. Pinell maintained this pace for the next three rounds and effectively stayed away from Johnson’s right hand, which had done the most damage early in the fight.

Johnson was able to do damage again in the fifth round, stepping in with an assertive attack and catching Pinell with a series of hooks along the ropes. A flush right hand in the middle of an exchange put Pinell on the canvas once again. After the count, Johnson pounced, but Pinell retaliated in kind, giving the crowd a violent spurt of action with both fighters unloading with wild flurries. Johnson was getting the better of the exchanges, though, and at the end of the round he managed to hurt Pinell once again.

The sixth round was close, with Pinell boxing while Johnson closed in with occasional rights. In the seventh, Johnson appeared to take over with effective hooks to the head and body, while Pinell appeared to tire. The pace slowed considerably in the eighth and ninth rounds, but Johnson had a slight edge with his more accurate punching.

In the tenth Johnson came on, pushing Pinell back and finding his mark with thudding shots in close. A debilitating right uppercut buckled Pinell half-way through the round, leaving him wobbly in the corner. His corner immediately stepped up onto the ring and threw in the towel. Time of the stoppage was 1:56.

Johnson, who had spent the last two years campaigning at super middleweight, adds his first win since losing via sixth round stoppage to J’Leon Love last September, and does so in a division he hadn’t fought in in some time. “I feel good, honestly. I was getting a little too comfortable at super middleweight,” said Johnson after the fight. “I felt good coming back down and losing that weight. Now I’m looking to get down to my weight. Get down to 154. You can never count me out. This was the first step back.”

Pinell, meanwhile, suffers only his third career loss and his first in over two years.

Seattle native Giovani Cabrera-Mioletti (5-0), now fighting out of Chicago, Illinois, outboxed the tough Marcos Cardenas (6-6-1, 2 KOs), of Salem, Oregon, in a five round lightweight bout. In the first round, Mioletti-Cabrera had a tough time stifling Cardenas’ aggression. The Oregon fighter pressed hard, keeping the fight in close and forcing his taller opponent into exchanges, but in the second, Mioletti-Cabrera began to box more, using his lateral movement to stay on the outside and counter as Cardenas moved in. Late in the second round a well-placed right uppercut smashed Cardenas as he came in and sent a stream of blood flowing from his nose. Cardenas continued to press as the fight wore on, but it was the quicker hands and multi-punch combinations from Mioletti that controlled most of the action in the last three rounds. All three official scorecards read 49-46 for Mioletti-Cabrera.

Local former amateur stand-out Richard Van Siclen (2-0, 2 KOs) added his second win as a pro, stopping Seattle’s Justin Davis (0-4) in the first round. Van Siclen boxed well from the outside for the first two minutes, working off his jab, before stepping in with a thudding right hook to the ribcage. Davis turned in pain and, as Van Siclen stepped in to unload, let referee Jeff Macaluso know that was enough for him. The end came at 2:15 of the first. The bout was contested in the cruiserweight division.

Nate “The Fighting Marine” Serrano (5-5-2, 3 KOs) took a close four round majority decision win over Seattle’s Zach Cooper (5-3-2, 3 KOs) in a Jr. middleweight bout. Cooper moved well in the first round, staying at range and landing with quick one-twos. Serrano came on in the second round, though, forcing the fight in close with an unrelenting attack. Serrano was a buzz saw throughout rounds two and three. Cooper fired back in the pocket and gave the crowd some wildly entertaining exchanges, but Serrano was landing more often with the cleaner punches. Serrano seemed to tire a bit early in the fourth, allowing for Cooper to rally, but late in the round Serrano stormed back, making for a close round. Two judges scored the bout 39-37, with the last seeing it a draw at 38-38, giving Serrano the majority decision win. After the fight, Serrano, who has been a fan favorite over the years at the Emerald Queen Casino, announced his retirement.

Portland, Oregon’s Sean Gee (4-6) won a hard-fought split decision over Jacob Szilasi (4-3, 4 KOs) in a five round Jr. welterweight contest. Gee boxed well in the first round, keeping the fight at range where he could counter effectively as his opponent pressed, but in the second he began to sit in the pocket more often, allowing Szilasi to get close enough to land. The fight picked up in the third with both fighters unloading in the center of the ring. Late in the round, a right hook in close seemed to stun Szilasi, forcing him to back off his attack. Szilasi came on in the fourth, working his opponent’s body hard and following up with right hooks upstairs. In the last round, the two combatants unloaded, trading leather and trading momentum as the fight wound down. One judge saw the fight for Szilasi 49-46 with the last two seeing it for Gee with scores of 49-46 and 48-47

Yakima, Washington’s Carlos Villanueva (2-0) kicked off the night’s festivities, pitching a four round shutout over Shaitan Wilson (0-1), of Seattle, who was making his pro debut. After having to contend with a stiff jab from his taller opponent for the first minute of the fight, Villanueva began to step in with vicious right hands that put Wilson on the defensive and set the tempo for the remainder of the bout. Villanueva kept a steady stream of pressure from that point on, connective with hard right hands and heavy hooks out the mid-section, outworking the defensive minded Wilson throughout the remainder of the fight. All four judges scored the fight 40-36 for Villanueva.

Brian Halquist Productions will return to the Emerald Queen Casino I-5 showroom March 18th for “Battle at the Boat” 110. Tickets can be purchased at the EQC box office or at all Ticketmaster outlets.