Karmazin decisions McKart in battle of former champions

Report by Francisco Salazar
Photos by "Big" Joe Miranda

In a battle of former world champions, Roman Karmazin showed enough to still be in the mix of a future title shot. Moving up to middleweight, the former two-time 154-pound champion won a 12-round unanimous decision victory over former world champion Bronco McKart before 800 at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood, Calif. With the victory, Karmazin wins two minor belts.

The bout headlined an 11-bout “Seasons Beatings” card, presented by Art of Boxing Promotions and Bash Promotions.

Karmazin was coming back from a surprising 10th round stoppage defeat at the hands of Alex Bunema in January. This was Karmazin’s second time fighting in the Los Angeles area as he knocked out Alejandro Terra Garcia in the third round at Staples Center last November.

McKart last fought in March, where he fought to a 10-round majority draw against middleweight contender Raul Marquez. He fought consecutive bouts against Enrique Ornelas, where McKart won the first bout by split decision, but was stopped by Ornelas in a rematch.

Fighting as a professional for the last 16 years, McKart was hoping for one last hurrah.

Both fighters sized each other up in the opening rounds of the fight. McKart attempted to counter, while Karmazin worked behind a jab.

McKart began to land more in the third round. He was able to connect with straight left hands behind an effective jab. He continued to counter effectively to the head of Karmazin.

However, the edge began to favor Karmazin, as he frequently began to find his mark beginning in the fifth round. Karmazin began to go to the body of McKart with left hooks followed by right hands to the head. His body attack slowed down McKart in the middle rounds when McKart attempted to use his legs to box around his opponent.

Late in the fight, McKart began to press the action. Sensing he was down, McKart attempted to counter with one punch at a time to the head of Karmazin. He found success landing an occasional punch flush to the face of Karmazin.

However, it was not enough to offset the offense and punches landed consistently by Karmazin. He was busier than McKart even as McKart went for broke in the final round.

All three judges scored the bout 117-111, 118-110, and 119-109 in favor of Karmazin. Fightnews.com scored the bout 117-111 in favor of Karmazin.

Karmazin, from Los Angeles, by way of Katsniezesk, Russia, improves to 37-3-1, 23 KOs. McKart, from Monroe, Mich., falls to 51-9-1, 31 KOs.

Nelson, Johnson draw

In a battle of unbeaten super welterweights, Willie Nelson and Antonio Johnson fought to a six round split-decision draw.

The taller Nelson started strong over Johnson, landing right hands to the head. Despite his lanky build, Johnson landed the more effective and stronger punches in the first half of the fight.

Nelson’s punch output dropped in the second half of the fight. Johnson began to outhustle Nelson, throwing more and being busier than Nelson.

One judge scored the bout 58-56 for Nelson, another scored the bout  59-55 for Johnson, while the third judge scored the bout even at 57-57. Fightnews.com scored the bout 58-56 for Nelson.

Nelson, from Cleveland, Ohio, goes to 10-0-1, 6 KOs. Johnson, from St. Paul, Minn., by way of Oakland, Calif., goes to 7-0-1, 3 KOs.

Gasparyan decisions Narvaez

Welterweight Vardan Gasparyan won a hard-fought six-round unanimous decision over upset-minded Octavio Narvaez.

Narvaez was coming a hard-fought stoppage loss at the hands of former world champion Vivian Harris. Narvaez was able to score a knockdown over Harris and was hoping to defeat Gasparyan.

Gasparyan had the height and reach advantage, as well as strength over Narvaez. However, it did not deter Narvaez from attempting to work on the inside of Gasparyan. Narvaez pressed forward and was able to sneak counter left hook and right hands to the head of Gasparyan.

However, Gasparyan controlled most of the action in the fight. He was able to land the more effective punches. Gasparyan also boxed from the outside, giving himself some room to throw his punches over his opponent. Despite showing heart, Narvaez slowed down while Gasparyan was the fresher fighter who finished strong until the final bell.

All three judges scored the bout 59-55, 59-55, and 60-54 in favor of Gasparyan. Fightnews.com scored the bout 59-55 in favor of Gasparyan.

Gasparyan, from Glendale, Calif., by way of Yerevan, Armenia, improves to 11-1-4, 5 KOs. Narvaez, from West Covina, Calif., by way of Chinandega, Nicaragua, drops to 7-6-1, 4 KOs.

Byrne stops Gil

Welterweight Dean Byrne stopped Francisco Rios Gil in the fourth round of a scheduled six round bout.

With trainer Freddie Roach in his corner, Byrne was faster and a better overall boxer than Gil. However, when Byrne attempted to land hard combinations to the head, Gil was able to land with wild hooks on his own. To avoid this, Byrne decided to utilize his jab and either keep Gil at bay or make him miss wildly with his punches.

Gil complained to referee Wayne Hedgepeth for fouls that Byrne was allegedly doing. When Gil was dropped in the third round by a left hook to the body, he argued that the legal blow was below the belt.

Byrne knocked down Gil again in the fourth round by a counter right hand to the head. Gil got up and fought back bravely, but was hurt from another right hand to the head. Byrne charged in for the kill, but Hedgepeth stepped in and stopped the bout at 1:11 of the round.

Byrne, from Hollywood, by way of Crumlin, Ireland, improves to 10-0, 4 KOs. Gil, from Hutabampo, Sonora, Mexico, falls to 13-9, 9 KOs.

Demyanenco TKOs Logan

Welterweight Vitaliy Demyanenco won by technical knockout when Marteze Logan remained on his stool at the end of the third round of a scheduled six round bout.

Demyanenco was in complete control of the bout from the opening bell. The southpaw Demyanenco was stronger and effective with his punches as Logan attempted to get on the inside. However, he was on the receiving end of hard punches to the head.

In the third round, Demyanenco dropped Logan with a right hook to the head. Logan stood up and finished the round, but his corner told referee Ray Corona to stop the bout after the round had ended.

Demyanenco, from Almaty, Kazakhstan, improves to 16-0, 11 KOs. Logan, from Covington, Tenn., falls to 26-35-2, 6 KOs.

Battle of debuters

In a battle of fighters making their professional debuts, light heavyweight Joe Schilling stopped Orlando Brizzo with one punch to end matters at five seconds of the from the opening bell.

Schilling, from Los Angeles, charged out from is corner and landed a right hand to the chin. The Italian-born Brizzo landed face first to the canvas, prompting referee Wayne Hedgepeth to immediately stop the bout.

The knockout set a record in the United States for the fastest knockout, eclipsing the mark set by set Jack Roberts stopped Tony Milam in six seconds in Corpus Christi, Tex. in 1939. The fastest stoppage victory was four seconds, when Russell Rees stopped Des Sowden in Monmouthshire, Wales in 2000.

Sillakh stops Corral

Light heavyweight Ismayl Sillakh stopped Jose Humberto Corral in the second round of a scheduled six-round bout.

Sillakh had his way with Corral throughout the brief fight. Sillakh was bigger and stronger than Corral, who should be fighting two or three weight classes below Light Heavyweight. Corral tried hard to get inside and land punches, but Sillakh dominated with right hands raining down on Corral.

An accumulation of punches put together by Sillakh pinned Corral against the ropes, prompting referee Wayne Hedgepeth to step in and stop the bout at 1:13 of the round.

Sillakh, from Simi Valley, Calif., by way of Zaporizhia, Ukraine, improves to 6-0, 5 KOs. Corral, from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, drops to 16-11, 10 KOs.

Kayode stops Cox

Heavyweight Lateef Kayode stopped Ethax Cox in the second round of a scheduled four-round bout.

Kayode was in complete control as Cox was no able to defend himself. Cox was stopped in his last bout at the hands of 2008 Bronze Medalist Deontay Wilder in November.

Kayode dropped Cox with a left hand to the head. Surprisingly, Cox was able to beat the count, but it was only a matter of time that Kayode would connect again. Sure enough, a few moments later, Kayode landed another left hook to the head of Cox. As soon as Cox hit the canvas, referee Jack Reiss stopped the bout at 1:02 of the round.

Kayode, from Hollywood, by way of Lagos, Nigeria, goes to 5-0, 4 KOs. Cox, from Long Beach, drops to 2-4-1, 1 KO. He should think about giving up boxing for good.

Suleymanov remains unbeaten

Featherweight Khabir Suleymanov remained unbeaten with a four-round majority decision victory over Lance Addy. 

Suleymanov was busier and landed the more effective punches at the beginning of the fight. Suleymanov landed combinations to the head, but Addy was able to score to the body. Addy came on strong in the final bell as he was able to land the more effective punches to the head and body.

One judge scored the bout even at 38-38, but was overruled by the other two judges, who had Suleymanov winning the bout with scores of 40-36 and 39-37. Fightnews.com scored the bout 39-37 in favor of Suleymanov.

The Russian-born Suleymanov, from New York, improves to 6-0, 2 KOs. Addy, from Accra, Ghana, drops to 6-3, 4 KOs.

Tolmajyan stops Kim

Super featherweight Gabriel Tolmajyan stopped Andre Kim in the second round of a scheduled six-round bout.

The southpaw Tolmajyan easily outboxed Kim throughout the fight. Kim pressed the action, but would constantly get beaten to the punch by Tolmajyan

Tolmajyan hurt Kim with a left uppercut to the head in the second round. Referee Ray Corona looked as though he was about to step in and stop the bout a few times, but allowed the action to continue.

Tolmajyan fired a two-punch combination that badly wobbled Kim, prompting Corona to halt the bout at 1:46 of the round.

Tolmajyan, from Glendale, Calif., by way of Yerevan, Armenia, improves to 5-1, 1 KO. Kim, from Sacramento, Calif., falls to 2-3.

Medina wins in walkout

In the walkout bout of the evening, super middleweight David Medina won a sloppy six round unanimous decision over Dan Wallace.

Only a few dozens fans remained to watch the fight that saw more holding and missed punches than actual action. Medina fought almost 10 pounds heavier than in his last fight and looked sluggish for much of the fight.

Medina was able to land more right hands to the head of Wallace, but did not significantly hurt him. Wallace remained to try to knock out Medina with one punch, but connected little as the bout progressed.

Medina himself missed with numerous punches and left himself wide open, but Wallace never took advantage of that. Wallace, who entered this fight having lost seven bouts in a row, tired at the very end of the fight.

All three judges scored the bout 59-55, 59-55, and 58-56 in favor of Medina. Fightnews.com scored the bout 59-55 for Medina.

Medina, from Junction City, Ks., goes to 20-2, 10 KOs. Wallace, from Adrian, Mich., drops to 9-8, 3 KOs.

Notes

- Heavyweight contender James Toney, super middleweight contender Andre Ward, super welterweight contender Alfredo Angulo, super welterweight Deandre Latimore, super middleweight Kingsley Ikeke, welterweight Rashad Holloway, and welterweight prospect Max Skayzer watched the action from ringside.

- This will be the final local professional boxing card in Southern California for 2008.

- The card began at 6:35 PM local time on Saturday night. When the results of the walkout bout were announced, local time was 12:20 AM Sunday morning.

- Ring announcer was Jim Fitzgerald.