By Gary “Digital” Williams at ringside

Not even a stubborn earring could keep undefeated Germantown, MD welterweight Gerome “GQ” Quigley from scoring a victory in the main event of the self-promoted GQ Promotions card at the University of the District of Columbia Physical Activities Center in Washington, DC. Quigley scored a fourth-round TKO over Dennis Sharpe of Bayonne, NJ in a rematch of an April 2016 bout that Quigley won by first round TKO in Springfield, VA.

The rematch was delayed for about three minutes after the introductions because Quigley forgot to take his earring out of his left ear. Quigley needed assistance from one of the ring card girls to get the earring out. Once the bout started, Quigley proceeded to batter Sharpe for the duration of the bout. Quigley would focus his attack on the body and knock Sharpe down in the third round before completing the job with the stoppage at 1:02 of the fourth round. Quigley remains undefeated at 16-0, 15 KO’s while Sharpe falls to 17-24-4, four KO’s.

The co-feature saw Baltimore, MD super middleweight Franchon Crews-Dezurn win her first pro bout as she needed just 29 seconds to stop Latashia Burton of Houma, LA. Crews-Dezurn, who last her pro debut to two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields in November, overpowered Burton in the corner before referee Vic DeWysocki stopped the contest. Crews-Dezurn is now 1-1, one KO and Burton drops to 17-25-4, four KO’s.

In another female contest, “The Dark Menace” Tiara Brown of Washington, DC won a four-round unanimous decision over a very game Natalie King of Wilson, NC in a featherweight contest. Brown was in complete control landing solid shots to King’s face and body. King fought back valiantly but could not keep up with the speed and accuracy of Brown, who also is a police officer in DC. Brown is now 2-0, one KO while King is 0-7.

In an all-Maryland heavyweight contest, Luther “Lights Out” Smith of Crofton scored a third-round TKO over “The DC Diamond Cutter” Carlos Black of Rockville. Smith landed the harder shots early in the contest, including, unfortunately, a left hand that nailed Black after the bell rang to end the first round. Referee DeWysocki did not penalize Smith for the infraction. By the third round, Smith gained complete control over the game Black and finally stopped him with right hands near the end of the third round. The bout was stopped at 2:55. Smith, who recently has competed as a cruiserweight, is now 8-1, seven KO’s. Black’s record falls to 1-5.

In a spirited featherweight rematch, Marq “Monster” Johns of Fort Washington, MD and Stephon McIntyre of Jonesboro, GA fought to a four-round draw — the second draw the two boxers have fought against one another. Much like their first contest in December of 2013 in Fort Washington, both men traded shots equally in the first two rounds. Johns seemed to gain the upper hand in the third round with strong and accurate jabs. However, McIntyre came storming back in the fourth with right hands that rocked Johns, who was able to hang on. McIntyre’s final round output may have given him the bout on judge Paul Wallace’s scorecard, 39-37. Johns won the bout according to Tammye Jenkins’s card, 39-37. Judge Wayne Smith saw the draw at 38-38. Johns’s record is now 7-1-2, six KO’s while McIntyre is 2-29-3.

Undefeated Clinton, MD super featherweight Cobia “The Soldier” Breedy won a relatively easy six-round unanimous decision over Roy Garcia of Alice, TX. Breedy, who competed in a six-rounder for the first time, was in complete control of the bout. The native of Bridgetown, Barbados had no problem landing jabs and hooks to Garcia’s face and body. Garcia, to his credit, managed to stay upright throughout the bout but could deliver no offense in return. Breedy won by shutout (60-54) on all three scorecards. Breedy is now 9-0, four KO’s while Garcia 4-22-1, three KO’s.

Glenarden, MD super lightweight Drayvontay Speed Rawls remained undefeated by stopping Rynell Griffin of New Orleans, LA at the end of the third round. The hand speed of Speed Rawls proved to be the difference in the contest as he generated power from his speed. In the third round, Speed Rawls picked up the pace and knocked Griffin down with a left hand to the body late in the round. After the round was over, Griffin could not come out of his corner for the fourth round. Speed Rawls remains undefeated at 8-0-1, six KO’s while Griffin falls to 7-28-2, two KO’s.

The Bell Twins — super middleweights Justin and Jason of District Heights, MD — both won their pro debuts. Justin had a rough time with veteran Greg “Hot Shot” Hackett of Philadelphia, PA. Hackett was crafty as he tried to lean and tie up with Justin Bell. Bell’s output was spotty at times but he threw more punches in the contest. Hackett’s shots seemed to be more effective but he did not throw as many punches. The judges seemed to like Bell’s output and gave him the bout by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 (twice). Hackett’s record is now 2-17-1.

Jason Bell had an easier time in his pro debut, scoring a first-round TKO over David “Rock Steady” Rohn of Villa Park, IL Bell used a fierce body attack as he dropped Rohn with two strong left hand body shots. Bell would follow with a right hand to the head to knock down Rohn a second time, forcing referee Sharon Sands to stop the contest at 1:40. Rohn remains winless at 0-8-1.

In the opening contest, debuting super middleweight Leo Alcanera of Fort Washington, MD won a four-round unanimous decision over the equally debuting Alex Rojas of West Palm Beach, FL. Alcanera landed the stronger shots throughout the contest as all three judges scored the bout 39-37.

The bout featuring Shakeem Hodge of Reading, PA was cancelled when his opponent, Dustin Caplinger, did not come to the arena.

GQ Promotions is led by Quigley and his manager Jeff Gatling. The matchmaker was Brian Dillon and the ring announcer was Henry “Discombobulating” Jones.

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