By Ricardo Ibarra
Photos by Mike Blair

Tacoma, Washington’s Marquice Weston (8-1-1, 4 KOs) rebounded from his lone professional defeat on Saturday night, claiming a fourth round win over Jesse West (8-2, 5 KOs) at the Washington Land Yacht Harbor in Lacey, Washington.

Fighting in the main event of Pacific Northwest Professional Boxing Promotions’ “Brawl at Harmony Hall 3” card, Weston dominated the bout before West made the decision to retire nearing the end of the fourth.

Weston employed a methodical approach from the start, working patiently behind his jab and using his legs to set the range of the fight. In the first round Weston was reserved with his power punch output, opening up with occasional straight rights when the opportunity presented itself, but in the second he began to unload with greater regularity, catching West with counter left hooks and right hands as the Utah native tried to bulldoze his way in close.

The pace picked up more in the third with Weston unloading hard hooks in close, putting much of his focus on the mid-section. West remained determined to get inside, though, pressing his taller opponent, but in doing so he left himself open for Weston’s accurate counter punching. In the middle of the round a left hook caught West as he was coming in, causing him to stumble and put his glove on the canvass, prompting referee Terrance Moody to call a knockdown. West roared back at his foe after the mandatory count, seemingly trying to neutralize the lost point, but Weston quickly stifled that aggression, using his one-two’s and lateral movement to temper the oncoming attack. The pace appeared to be draining West and, perhaps because of that, he began to drop his mouthpiece repeatedly, losing a point for it after being warned late in the round.

Weston found his rhythm again in the fourth, firing from range and countering effectively as West attempted to land his over-hand rights. Late in the round West again lost a point for dropping his mouthpiece and made the decision to quit, giving West the TKO win at 2:35 of the round.

“I didn’t expect that to happen,” said Weston after the fight. “I think it was frustration and he was tired. He couldn’t reach me and he started to get winded. He started to get hit with more and more jabs and the power shots were coming hard. I think he didn’t want to get knocked out.”

“I was just getting warmed up,” continued Weston. “I still had two more rounds to go so I was just about to pour it on. I’m pretty happy with the performance, but I think I could’ve ended it way better. I could’ve stopped him earlier, but I was just pacing myself for the six rounds. I’ve been working with Joseph Parker and it’s been excellent. I’m blessed to be in their camp. I’m learning a lot and getting some great experience. Now I just want to stay busy. That was my tenth fight and I’m trying to get to 15 by the end of the year.”

The win was the first for Weston since dropping a surprising four round decision to Montez Brown last December in Brown’s home state of Virginia. West, meanwhile, loses for the first time since 2014. The bout was contested in the cruiserweight division.

In the semi-main event of the night, former collegiate boxing champion Richard Vansiclen (3-0, 2 KOs), of Seattle, claimed his third win as a pro, scoring a four round unanimous decision victory over Midland, Texas’ Jose Galindo (1-2). Vansiclen boxed well throughout the fight, using his lateral movement to control the range and set up his combinations. He switched back and forth between southpaw and orthodox style for most of the fight, landing with precise punches from both stances. The game Texas fighter tried to close the gap, even while eating oncoming leather, but he was never able to get close long enough to mount a sustained rally. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 for the former University of Washington boxing team member.

In a welterweight bout, Kevin Torres (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Bellingham, Washington, and Portland’s Ramel Snegur (1-1-1) battled to a four round majority draw. The first two rounds were close, with both fighters working behind their jabs, but Torres appeared to have an edge with the more effective right hands and busier output. In the third, Snegur focused on working at range more, using his jab as more of a feinting punch to set-up long right hands, landing more while keeping Torres on the end of his punches. In the fourth, though, Torres pressed vigorously, cutting down the distance and unloading in the pocket. Snegur battled back, making for some solid spurts of action, but Torres found his target at a more consistent rate, appearing to have done enough to secure the win in the last round. One judge agreed, scoring the fight for Torres 40-36, while the other two had it 38-38 for the majority draw.

Federal Way, Washington’s Steve “Hands of Gold” Villalobos (2-0, 2 KOs) scored his second consecutive first round stoppage, defeating Erik Cronkhite (0-1), of Eatonville, Washington at 2:25 of the round. Villalobos stunned Cronkhite mid-way through the round and quickly followed up with a series of left hooks that deposited him on the canvass. Cronkhite was up at seven, but found himself in trouble again moments later after catching a right to the chin that buckled his knees. Villalobos swarmed, unleashing a sustained barrage that prompted referee Terrance Moody to step in and save Cronkhite from any further damage. The match-up took place in the super welterweight division.

Promising young Northwest prospect Victor Morales, Jr. (4-0, 2 KOs) scored his fourth win as pro, taking a four round unanimous decision over Seattle’s Chris Wheaton (0-4). Morales, of Vancouver, Washington, went to work with a blistering attack from the start, opening up with quick flurries and pushing Wheaton back early in the round. Wheaton proved to be a tough and crafty fighter, though, and late in the round he was finding a home for the occasional overhand right. Morales stunned Wheaton with a counter left hook in the second round and quickly followed up with a flurry in close. The left hook proved to be one of Morales’ strongest weapons and mid-way through the round he caught Wheaton with a pin-point accurate counter-shot, dropping him. After the count, Morales stepped into the pocket and let his hands go, doing a good job of side-stepping to find the angles and avoid Wheaton’s right hand.

The pace in the second round was enough to get the doctor’s attention, who got up on the ring apron before the third round began to examine Wheaton. Once the action was allowed to go on, Morales went right back to work, shooting off fast combinations and maneuvering around the ring to avoid Wheaton’s offense. Morales stayed in control for the remainder of the fight, but in the last round his pace slowed as Wheaton continued to weather the storm and look for any opening he could find for his right hand, which he did from time to time. Morales finished out the fight working off his jab and boxing on the outside. All three judges had the fight a clear shut-out with scores of 40-35, 40-34, and 40-33. The bout took place in the super featherweight class.

Spokane’s Patrick Ferguson (6-0, 6 KOs) added his sixth straight win inside the distance in a cruiserweight bout, pummeling Justin Davis (0-5) into submission in the first round. Ferguson cut the distance quickly as the action got underway, pushing his way in close with one-twos and following up with thudding hooks to the head and body. The former US national amateur heavyweight champion mixed his punches well in the pocket, rocking Davis with a precise right hand moments into the fight. Seeing Davis buckle, Ferguson pounced, unloading with a relentless barrage along the ropes. After a series of hard shots to the mid-section, Davis let the referee know that was enough for him, prompting him to step in and call it at 1:59 of the round.

In a four round super welterweight fight, Olympia, Washington’s Johnathan Arias (2-1, 1 KO) took a unanimous decision over Alex Eastman (0-2), of Ellensburg, Washington. The fighters appeared to split the first two rounds, with Arias landing more in the first and Eastman coming back slightly in the second, but Arias had a clear edge down the last stretch of the fight, dropping Eastman in the third with a barrage in close, and again in the fourth, although the latter knockdown appeared to be the product of a push and not a punch. The official’s all scored the fight for Arias with tallies of 40-34, 40-35, and 38-37.

Yakima, Washington’s Eduardo Torres (1-1) added his first professional win, defeating Bricen Vasques (0-1), of Olympia, by unanimous decision in a four round welterweight contest. Bricen, who was making his pro debut, boxed well in the first round, moving in and out of the pocket with quick hooks and using a shoulder roll defense to avoid his opponent’s attack when Torres was able to get in close. Torres upped his aggression in the second, though, and began to find success with hard straight rights. Around the mid portion of the round a series of straight rights sent Bricen falling into the ropes, causing the referee to rule a knockdown. Bricen slowed considerably in the last two rounds, moving to avoid Torres’ attack, but not throwing much back. Torres had the edge late in the fight, cutting off the ring and landing at a higher rate. All three judges scored the fight 38-37 for Torres.

An exciting super middleweight fight opened the show with Bonney Lake, Washington’s John Peak (1-0, 1 KO) coming back from a knockdown to viciously knock out Kalispell, Montana’s Justin Chappell (0-2) in the first round. Peak began the bout patiently stalking, looking to land right hands as Chapell maneuvered around the ring, firing off one-twos. A stunning counter right caught Peak on the chin a minute into the bout, dropping him hard. Peak was up at eight, but he looked unsteady on his legs as the referee allowed the action to resume. Chapell pressed, winging looping overhand rights over Peak’s guard. At first Peak simply covered up to try and avoid the oncoming assault, but as he regained his composure he began to mount his own offensive, retaliating with short shots in close. During an exchange, Peak caught Chappell with a flush straight right, sending him crashing to the canvass. Referee Terrance Moody didn’t bother counting, immediately waving the fight off at 2:19 of the round.

A near sell-out crowd packed into the Washington Land Yacht Harbor’s Harmony Hall with many of the local fighters having a large number of passionate supporters, making for an electric atmosphere in the small venue. Pacific Northwest Professional Boxing Promotions will stage their next card on June 24th.