Battle at the Boat 66
June 28, 2008
Brian Halquist and the
Emerald Queen
Casino
Cedric Armstrong has been working and toiling in order to earn himself a shot in a main event. The only blemish on his record came in a very close unanimous decision loss to Fernando Barajas in March. Armstrong had proven that he could go the distance with relative ease at four or six rounds, and he was ready to step up to ten to face Carlos Molina.
Molina entered the ring with four losses, and he had a streak of three of those in a row, but a close look revealed that they had come at the hands of undefeated fighters, the first Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. And one judge scored the Chavez fight even, so Molina was not going to roll over in Armstrong's back yard.
The fight was technically sound, if not a rip roaring, head snapping slugfest. Both men used the jab effectively, though the edge in the early rounds went to Molina as he was able to counter punch and land shots to Armstrong's midsection. Molina's inside effectiveness carried him through the early rounds of the fight. Armstrong started strong in the fourth round as he found the opening to Molina's body, but by the midpoint of the round Molina used his quickness to regain control.
The sixth round proved fruitful for Armstrong. He returned to his jab which enabled him to keep Molina a bit off balance. That also allowed Armstrong to use his right, and that hand found a target on Molina's body. While Molina unleashed a few quick and strong left hands, he did not do enough to win the round. Armstrong continued his assault in the seventh round, staying aggessive and walking Molina down. Though Molina worked to regain the edge he used to win the early rounds, Armstrong squeaked to an edge.
Molina was back on track in the eighth and ninth rounds. He returned to using two and three punch combinations, and his left found Armstrong's head a few times when Armstrong dropped his right. Entering the tenth round Armstrong knew he would need a knockout to win the fight. Armstrong has scored two knockouts before, but they came against lesser opponents than Molina. Molina also made it difficult for Armstrong because he fought in close quarters. Molina did not need to hold Armstrong to stop the assault, what he did instead was stepped close and cut the distance between the two, meaning Armstrong could not unload a bomb.
After ten rounds two judges scored the fight 98-92, the third saw it 99-91 in favor of Carlos Molina.
Armstrong and Molina trade punches
Molina's left finds Armstrong's head
Ellis chopped Corn down with a right
Kenny Ellis returned to action facing journeyman Jonathon (call me J J) Corn. Ellsi had been out of the ring for three years, though he had been actively looking for a fight. This fight happened at 173 pounds, a temporary stopping point on Ellis's way to 168.
The fight was scheduled for six rounds, and the opening three saw a lot of defense and not much offensive firepower from either man. Both were content in the first two rounds to throw a jab then step back. Corn tried to get inside and work Ellis's body in the second round, but that resulted in a lot of holding.
In the third round Ellis began to double his jab and add the right. That slowed Corn from stepping in close. Ellis began the fourth round with a big left uppercut that solidly caught Corn. He followed that with a quick right and Corn went down. The fight continued after the count, but Ellis would give Corn no room to regather himself as he choped him down again to end the fight at :38 of the fourth round.
Been Metts and Daniel Castillo were two fighters seemingly heading in opposite directions in their young careers. Metts scored an impressive win in his first fight, a first round TKO. Castillo had dropped three in a row, all by decision, and all relatively close.
Metts answered the opening bell and agressively stalked Castillo. Behind a quick and accurate jab, Metts controlled the action and kept Castillo from getting off many shots. In the second round Castillo was initially content to counter punch, and he was effective. Then he pinned Metts on the ropes, taking away one of Metts's most effective weapons, his long reaching arms. In the third round Castillo's left found a home on the side of Metts's head. While Metts withstood the shots, Castillo was able to score.
In the fourth round Metts looked more like he did in the first, boxing and connecting, but Castillo kept coming forward, shortening the distance and making it more difficult for Metts to score.
After four rounds one judge saw the fight even, the other two gave the edge to Castillo, 39-37, for the majority decision win.
Metts's long reach worked to his advantage early
Johnson dropped Korotkov at the end of round one
The welterweight bout pitting Dashon Johnson and Ivan Korotkov had one of the strangest opening rounds we have seen in a while. Thirty seconds in to the fight Johnson threw a straight left hand that caught Korotkov flush on the face and dropped him to his knees. Korotkov stood up and the referee told the fighters to continue. Now, one can hardly expect Korotkov to ask for time to recover from a knockdown, but even a little bit of counting could have been beneficial. The fight continued and Johnson picked up where he had left off, landing almost everything he threw while ducking away from Korotkov's power. That strategy paid dividends as Johnson dropped Korotkov again at 2:50 of the round. This time the referee did initiate a count.
The second round ended quickly. Johnson battered Korotkov more heavily than an Ivar's four piece fish plate. He pinned him on the ropes and it was all Korotkov could do to try to raise his hands and protect himself. The referee watched for a few seconds then stepped in to stop the carnage.
Johnson would score the TKO win at :38 seconds of round two.
Canadian Aubrey Morrow made his pro debut against Rafael Umarov, a young fighter who had won his pro debut a month ago. In that fight Umarov won because he was more aggressive, he came forward, and just outworked his opponent. That tactic would not work on this night against the fundamentally sound Morrow.
Morrow showed patience and power in the opening round. Umarov stepped to him and threw a nice right left combination, but Morrow slipped his left through and dropped the lanky Umarov. Morrow's quickness and accuracy were the difference in the fight. He dropped Umarov two more times in the opening round. As the referee was counting the third knockdown, Umarov's corner stepped up on the apron to ask that the fight be stopped.
Morrow scored his first win, a TKO at 2:48 of the first round.
Morrow dropped Umarov early to end the fight
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Brian Halquist was a co promoter of the fights
at the Playboy mansion on June 25. Click here
to see the story. 