By Ken Hissner: At the Firelake Arena, Shawnee, Oklahoma, Saturday over ESPN and ESPN+, Bob Arum (Top Rank), Lou DiBella (DiBella Entertainment), Tony Holden (Holden Productions) presented in the Main Event former IBF, WBA, and WBO Lightweight champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos, Jr. winning a disputed majority decision over IBO Lightweight champion Maxi “Maximus” Hughes in a title eliminator.
In the Main Event, former IBF, WBA, and WBO Light champ George “Ferocious” Kambosos, Jr., 20-2 (10), #134.6, of Sydney, AUST, IBO World Light champ southpaw Maxi “Maximus” Hughes, 26-5-2 (5), #134.7, of Rossington, UK, 12 rounds.
In the first two rounds, it was close, with Kambosos having an edge. In the third round final seconds Hughes hurt Kambosos with a lead left uppercut to the body. In the fifth round, Hughes hurt Kamobosos with a lead left on the nose and later opened a cut over the right eyebrow of Kambosos.
In the sixth round, a clash of heads caused a cut over the left eye of Hughes though he did enough to take the round. In the eighth and ninth rounds, Hughes took the round and got away with landing an elbow to the chin of Kambosos without warning from Referee Gary Ritter. In the tenth round, Hughes countered the oncoming Kambosos well.
In the eleventh round, Kambosos continued following Hughes, getting countered. In the twelfth and final round, neither fighter scored well in a close round with Kambosos having an edge.
Scores were 114-114, 117-111, and 115-113 Kambosos with 117-111 Hughes KH.
In the co-feature 2020 Olympic Silver Medalist WBC USA and WBO Inter-Continental Light, champ ranked Keyshawn “The Business Man” Davis, 9-0 (6), #134.3, of Norfolk, VA, defeated WBO Global champ Francesco Patera, 28-4 (10), #134, of Genk, Limburg, BELG, over ten rounds scoring a knockdown.
In the first round, Davis was the aggressor, and in the second round, it was Patera, with the aggressor taking the round. In the fourth and fifth rounds, Davis out-landed Patera taking both rounds.
In the sixth round’s final minute, Patera landed a left hook on the chin, and Davis came back with a flurry of punches showing his better hand speed. In the seventh round, Davis continued to use his hand speed against Patera. In the eighth round final minute, Davis dropped Patera with a left on the chin drawing blood from his nose for an 8-count from Referee Mark Nelson.
In the ninth round, Davis did well driving Patera around the ring until the final seconds when it was Patera landing a 3-punch combination. In the tenth and final round, there was no quit in Patera, who held his own, while Davis did enough to take the round and the decision.
Scores were 100-89 twice and 99-90, as did KH.
Welter southpaw Giovani “Gallo de Oro” Santillan, 31-0 (16), #147.8, of San Diego, CA, won a close decision over Erick Bone, 27-7 (14), #147.6, of Portoviego, ECU, ten rounds.
In the first two rounds, Bone outworked Santillan, who hasn’t fought in a year. In the third, it could have gone either way. In the fourth and fifth rounds, Bone continued out-landing Santillan.
In the seventh round’s final minute, Bone rocked Santillan with a right knocking his head back. In the eighth round, both boxers’ faces were marked up as Santillan landed a chopping left to the head in the final minute.
In the ninth round, both gave it their all being the best round of the fight. In the tenth and final round, the action continued with both trying to pull the fight out and Santillan taking the round. The referee was Chris Flores.
Scores were 97-92, 98-92 and 97-93 Santillan and 96-94 Bone KH.
Middle 2020 Olympian Troy “Transformer” Isley, 10-0 (4), #158.8, of Alexandria, VA, defeated Antonio “Primo” Todd, 14-9 (8), #159.2, of Atlanta, GA, over eight competitive rounds.
In the first round, Isley had Todd hurt with a minute remaining, landing a dozen unanswered punches. In the second round, Todd used an effective jab to edge out Isley. From the third through the fifth, Isley kept on the pressure outworking Todd.
In the seventh round, Todd came storming out, landing quite a few punches to the surprise of Isley. Isley came back well, but not enough to take the round. In the eighth and final round, Isley kept the pressure on Todd, who countered with his jab but couldn’t outland Isleyi. The referee was Gerald Ritter.
Scores were 79-73 by all and 78-72 KH.
Heavy Jeremiah ‘DreamLand’ Milton, 10-0 (7), #255.3, of Tulsa, OK, and Las Vegas, NV, stopped Willie “Lump-Lump” Harvey, 4-3-2 (3), #296.5, of Charlotte, NC, at the end of four rounds of a scheduled eight rounds.
At the end of the second round, Milton had Harvey hurt at the bell with a right on the chin. In the fourth round, Milton had Harvey hurt in the final minute but couldn’t put him away. The corner of Harvey called it an end. The referee was Mark Nelson.
Heavy southpaw Amron “Sandman” Sands, 12-3 (9), #300, of Orlando, FL, was stopped by Hemi “The Heat” Ahio, 21-1 (16), #247, of Auckland, NZ, at 2:12 of round six of a scheduled eight rounds.
In the first round, Ahio dominated Sands throughout the round. In the second round, Ahio continued punishing Sands, having him out on his feet in the final minute, but Sands landed the final punch bringing blood from the nose of Ahio
In the fourth round, Ahio out-landed Sands, who would counter with uppercuts. In the fifth round, Ahio had Sands in a corner defenseless, taking a dozen unanswered punches before Referee Chris Flores stepped in to stop it.
Heavy Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw, 18-2 (13), #244, of St. Louis, MO, was stopped by Joseph “Big Bad” Goodall, 10-1-1 (8), #238, of Brisbane, AUST, at 2:55 of the sixth round of a scheduled eight rounds scoring a pair of knockdowns.
In the first two rounds, Goodall outworked Shaw but in the final seconds of the second round, Shaw rocked Goodall with a right on the chin. In the third round, Shaw worked the body of Goodall well. In the fifth round, Goodall started fast, but Shaw ended strong.
In the sixth round, Goodall dropped Shaw with a 3-punch combination ending with a left hook on the chin for an 8-count from Referee Gary Ritter. Seconds later, again, Goodall dropped Shaw with a combination hardly beating the count. Shaw tried fighting back but was taking punches when his corner called a halt.
Ring Announcer Mark Shunock