Ivan Redkach Defeats Tony Luis for USBA Title; Frank Galarza Destroys John Thompson in Two
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Ivan Redkach Defeats Tony Luis for USBA Title; Frank Galarza Destroys John Thompson in Two
By German Villasenor, Doghouse Boxing (Jan 18, 2014)

Ivan “The Terrible” Redkach
Photo © DBE
Highly touted lightweight southpaw Ivan “The Terrible” Redkach, 16-0 (13), had to work extra hard in order to best an ultra-tough Tony Luis, 17-2 (7), in a unanimous decision win on the first “ShoBox: The New Generation” show of 2014, televised from the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee.

Long range shots from the Ukrainian, who had over 300 amateur bouts, set the tone in the first round. Luis scored a flash knockdown with a left hook head shot that wasn’t recognized by referee Randy Phillips when Redkach's glove touched the canvas. Redkach came back to clip Luis with a shot by the ear which put the fighter down and almost out of the ring late in the round.

Luis came back in the second to pressure his way on the inside, taking Redkach against the ropes. Luis kept the lankier fighter from getting off and missing with wide shots when opening up late in the round.

Both men traded back and forth throughout the following frame.

Luis kept his guard tight while coming forward, keeping Redkach uncomfortable with the pressure throughout the fourth and Phillips warned both fighters for headbutting in the fifth.

Redkach showed his power in the sixth as he nailed a squared-up Luis with a right hook to the face. Staggering and in deep trouble, Luis managed to not go down. His holding and fighting back led to an accidental headbutt moments later, which resulted in Luis bleeding heavily from the hairline area and down the middle of his face. Luis went back to work, digging to the body and trying to keep the fight in close quarters for the rest of the round and doing much the same in the seventh.

Phillips kept breaking up any kind of sustained action in the eighth and Redkach was implored by his corner to score a KO before the start of the ninth.

After a spirited ninth, both corners asked their respective fighters for KOs in order to notch the victory.

Both fighters went to war in the final round, rocking each other in spots with the fight going the distance.

The official ringside judges’ scores were 99-90, 97-92 and 97-93, all for Redkach. With the win, Redkach took home the vacant USBA lightweight belt. In the co-feature bout, super welterweight John “Apollo Kidd” Thompson, 14-1 (5), was taken out 16 seconds into the second round by Frank Galarza, 12-0-2 (8).

Thompson showed a fast, hard jab from the start, marking Galarza up around both eyes by the end of the first. A surprising finish took place at the onset of the second as Galarza landed his first two shots of the round. Both right hands followed by a left hook sent Thompson crashing face-first onto the ground with his neck twisting at an odd angle.

Referee Keith Hughes stopped the fight at the count of nine as Thompson was unable to recover.

With the stoppage win, Galarza took the WBC Latino super welterweight title.

In a bout between undefeated middleweights, Antoine Douglas, 12-0 (7), handed Marquis Davis, 8-1-2 (5), his first defeat via unanimous decision in eight rounds.

Both men went body hunting from the onset, mixing it up at close range late in the round.

Taller and quicker on his feet on the outside, Douglas did very well in the second and third rounds, mixing up some jolting uppercuts and keeping Davis’ attempts at connecting limited.

Davis spent most of the fourth and fifth trying to block shots or having his punches muffled as Douglas kept the work rate high and piling up the points.

At the end of the sixth round, Douglas actually knocked out a tooth out of Davis mouth.

The very tough Davis hung on until the end of the eighth, making Douglas work for the decision win.

However, both men were warned for hitting after the bell by referee Randy Phillips.

The official scorecards read 79-73 and 80-72 (twice) all for Douglas, who won the WBC interim FECARBOX title.

Super lightweight Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker, 12-0-2 (9), and Abel Ramos, 8-0-1 (4), battled to a competitive eight-round draw.

Tall, lanky and with good speed, Hooker began quickly, using angles and jabbing and going to the body. Ramos came forward and hooked upstairs but came a hair short with some of his shots in the first round.

Both fighters began to close the gap and work on the inside in the second with Ramos landing wide shots after getting nailed by a straight right upstairs toward the end of the round.

Ramos made it a fight in the following round, going to the body and taking the fight against the ropes as Hooker had trouble getting off with clean shots in short quarters.

Hooker regained control by staying at long range in the last minute of the round, doing the same throughout the fourth.

Ramos got back on track in the fifth by pressuring and landing on the inside. He would back up his foe while hooking to the body, not allowing Hooker to get his own shots off.

As both men battled past the fifth (this was Ramos’ first fight scheduled for over four rounds), Ramos kept working the body while his left eye began to swell, courtesy of the repeated right hands landed by Hooker.

Ramos kept working the body and pressuring Hooker. The latter landed a good right hand here and there as he seemed to tire as the fight went into the eighth and final stanza.

Ramos would land a good shot with no follow-up as had been the case nearly throughout the entire fight. Finally opening up late in the round, Ramos staggered the game Hooker with a hard hook upstairs. Against the ropes, Hooker stood his ground as both men traded shots to the bell.

Scores were 77-75, Hooker, 76-76 (twice), resulting in a majority draw.

Questions and comments can be sent to German at ultragerman@yahoo.com.
 
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