Khan Clary, Diaz triumph in Atlanta

Report/Photos: Scott Foster

To celebrate Evander Holyfield’s 55th birthday, his promotional entity The Real Deal Boxing held a 10 bout card Thursday night at The Georgia Freight Depot in Atlanta, GA.

Headlining the event was Rhode Island’s Toka Khan Clary (23-1, 16 KO’s), who made short work of late replacement David Berna (13-1, 12KO’s) from Hungary. After measuring the Hungarian in the 1st frame, Clary asserted himself early in following round, dropping Berna 3 times before earning the stoppage at 1:32 of the 2nd. With the win, Toka Khan Clary laid claim to the vacant WBC Continental Americas Featherweight Title.

In the co-headliner, Georgia resident and former world title challenger Rayonta “Stingray” Whitfield (28-2, 15 KO’s) engaged in a spirited 10 round bout against Mario “El Triturador” Diaz (17-1, 7 KO’s), from Aguascalientes, Mexico for the WBC Continental Americas Featherweight Title. Whitfield began the bout behind a stiff jab, controlling the early rounds with sharp counterpunching while dictating distance from the center of the ring. After what was ruled an intentional headbutt by Diaz, and was subsequently followed by a severe low blow, “El Triturador” wrested control in the 5th round, forcing Whitfield to fully engage in the 6th. Whitfield seemingly regained control of the bout, but late in the 7th round Diaz finally forced a winded “Stingray” to the ropes, landing a clean right hand before following with a flurry of punches, forcing the referees stoppage with only :32 seconds left in the round.

On the televised undercard, Portland, Oregon’s Ray Lampkin (11-0, 4 KO’s) hustled Washington, D.C. prospect Joshua Davis (11-2, 5 KO’s) over six rounds. Davis had no answer for Lampkin’s lead left hand, and was bothered by the southpaws counterpunching style throughout. Scores were 58-55 and 60-53 twice.

The Real Deal Boxing’s newly signed Joshua Temple (5-0, 4 KO’s), of St. Louis, Missouri, remained undefeated after 6 competitive rounds with Worcester, Massachusetts’ Bryan Daniels (5-1, 3 KO’s). In what appeared to be an evenly fought 2-3 rounds, Temple imposed his will in the middle rounds, pulling away in round 5 before cementing his victory in round 6. Scores were 60-54 and 59-55 twice.