Atlantic
City, NJ---Mi gente, forget about Sandy; that witch is long gone. But as the
Jersey shore continues its effort to rebuild and return to normalcy, there was
still one major “problem” that needed serious fixing on the Boardwalk. A young
man by the name of Adrien Broner invaded the Boardwalk Hall Convention Center,
looking to redeem himself from a previous performance. Broner, 134.5, of
Cincinnati, Ohio would be returning to the ring for the first time since
failing to make weight against Vicente Escobedo in July of this year.
“I
was shaking and baking and then I flipped him,” said the 23-year-old Broner. “I
knew this was a world class fight, so it was important that I stepped it up.”
Broner,
the former WBO champion at 130, had a lot of damage control to do heading into
Saturday's showdown with WBC lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco of Los
Mochis, Mexico. It was imperative that he make a statement by winning
impressively.
“I
knew he didn't have the skills to beat me,” said Broner who improved to 25-0
(21). “I thought I made a statement tonight.”
Broner
picked apart the slightly older DeMarco en route to capturing his second world
title in as many weight classes. Broner punished and would eventually prompt
DeMarco's corner to throw in the towel at the 1:49 mark of the eighth frame.
“His
defense and shoulder roll was hard to penetrate,” said the 26-year-old DeMarco,
who now falls to 28-3-1 (21). “I fought my heart out. I will be back.”
Broner,
resembling a member of the Dipset (with all of the pink he was wearing in the
ring) boxed in the pocket while doing his best Floyd Mayweather impersonation.
Broner connected with so many lead right hands as well as crippling, counter-left
hooks to the head of the southpaw DeMarco.
“He
was definitely the strongest opponent I have faced,” said Broner. “He had a
good chin and could take a punch. I got the skills to run this city and run
this sport.”
Broner
was stronger, faster and smarter as he exploited every last one of DeMarco's
flaws, including his invisible defense. DeMarco started off the fight well by
using his right jab but as the contest wore on, that jab became a non-issue. To
DeMarco's credit, he showed a lot of courage. It was vital that his team save
him from himself, especially after Broner punctuated the imminent stoppage with
a knockdown in the eighth.
It
was a one-sided mismatch; apparently on the night of November 17, 2012, DeMarco
was the only one with a problem. At the time of the stoppage, Broner was up
69-64 on all three scorecards.
“I
don't usually go for the knockout,” said Broner, “but I knew if pressed him, I
would get the cheese.”
The
future of boxing in the post-Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao world looks like this:
Andre Ward, Saul Alvarez and Broner.
Canadian
junior middleweight Phil Lo Greco, 149, shook off any cobwebs he may have
sustained after being dropped early in the first by his opponent, “The Harlem
Kid,” Daniel Sostre, to earn a controversial stoppage six rounds later.
“I
feel like a million bucks,” said Lo Greco, 25-0 (14). “That's two times in a
row I was knocked down in the first round.”
Sostre,
146, now 11-8-1, (4) didn't appear hurt but absorbed a combination at the :45
mark while in the corner that left the third man in the ring extremely
concerned. Referee Allan Huggins eventually waved off the fight, leaving Sostre
and the crowd in attendance puzzled.
But
what matters is that Lo Greco got the “W,” regardless of the fight being fairly
close.
“I
feel like [Felix] Trinidad,” said Lo Greco. “I just got to get warmed up.” Expect
a rematch much sooner than later.
In
an all-out Pennsylvania battle, former junior welterweight contender Demetrius
Hopkins, (now fighting at junior middleweight),154.5, of Philadelphia, earned
bragging rights after stopping Joshua Snyder of York in the fifth round of a
scheduled eight round contest.
Hopkins
(the nephew of light heavyweight Hall-of-Famer Bernard Hopkins) dropped the
slightly heavier Snyder, 158 pounds, with a straight right hand to the face in
the fourth frame.
With
the victory, Hopkins (who was in control from the opening bell) improved to
32-2-1 (12) after earning the TKO in the fifth stanza at the 1:26 mark.
Unfortunately for Snyder, he now drops to 9-8-1 (3). To his credit, he is still
one win above .500.
Julian
Williams, 154, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pounded out Jonel Tapia of the “Boogie
Down” Bronx over the course of seven rounds, prompting the referee to spare the
Boricua of anymore of the assault.
To
Tapia's credit, he was tough and competitive but just wasn't active enough.
Tapia,
154.5, now 8-3 (5), fought Williams in a phone booth, which wasn't advantageous
for him. Williams unleashed a lot of punishment on Tapia, while improving to
10-0-1 (5). The time of the stoppage was 2:10.
Welterweight
Zachary Ochoa, 140.5, of Manhattan, New York, only needed one round to dispose
of his counterpart, Michael Salcido, 145 pounds.
Ochoa,
3-0 (3), dropped his opponent of Casa Grande, Arizona with the first right hand
he connected with in the contest. In the latter half of the first round, Ochoa
would score two more knockdowns via a straight right hand to the body, and another
straight right hand to the chin of Salcido, 1-5. The time of the stoppage was
2:09.
In
the opening bout of the evening, lightweight Terron Grant, 130, of White
Plains, Maryland, stopped Abraham Esquivel in the first round at the 2:14 mark,
improving to 5-0 (3).
Grant
dropped Esquivel, 131.5, of Monterey, Mexico, three times before the referee
called the bout to a halt. The three knockdowns were the result of precise work
to the body. With the loss, Esquivel dropped to 4-3 (2).
Jay Gon's Ringside Tidbits
- I got into A.C. today at 4:30 p.m. I have
never been to a fight that early in my life.
- The food in the press room was solid!
- A.C. looks good, post-Sandy.
- This was the second major event in the Boardwalk
Hall since Sandy waged war in the area. Carrie Underwood performed here last
week.
- Attendance at the fight was rather poor
though, unfortunately.
- There was a heated debate going on in the
press room about who was better, Jay-Z or Nas? I love those discussions!
- Compton, Cali MC Kendrick Lamar walked Broner
out to the ring. The beat that was being played was sick as the pair walked
into the squared circle was bananas.
- Golden Boy Promotions was donating a $1,000
to the Boys and Girls Club in Atlantic City for every knockout scored. Well
there were seven fights and all of them ended in a knockout. That's seven Gs
for the Boys and Girls club. Not bad…Good for them; they deserve it. Sandy
caused a lot of damage to the facility.
.