READING, Pa. — Boxing returned to Santander Arena on Saturday night with a nine-bout card presented by Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), of which two fights were televised on ESPN.
Denis Shafikov took the fight to previously unbeaten prospect Jamel Herring in the main event, eventually scoring a TKO in the 10th and final round via corner stoppage.
Shafikov (37-2-1, 20 KOs) was in control from the start, dropping Herring (15-1, 8 KOs) in the second round and generally wearing him down throughout. By the ninth round, Herring wasn’t responding well to Shafikov’s power punches.
Herring’s corner reluctantly allowed their fighter to come out for the 10th, but on a very short leash. Two big left hooks by Shafikov early in the round prompted Herring’s corner to wave the towel.
In the co-feature, Patryk Szymanski worked behind his jab while mostly staying on the outside for 10 rounds to earn the nod on the judges’ scorecards over Wilky Campfort. Szymanski’s clinical movement and “jab-jab-right” style made things comfortable early on and helped him build a lead.
Campfort (21-3, 12 KOs) gathered some momentum in the middle of the fight by landing a huge counter overhand right and attacking the body, but Szymanski (16-0 9 KOs) re-seized control in the late rounds and nearly got a stoppage. The official scores were 99-91, 99-91 and 98-92 for Szymanski.
Denis Shafikov’s huge upset win is sealed early in the 10th round as Herring’s corner stops the fight. #PBConESPN pic.twitter.com/0UhQzyN5nW
— PBC (@premierboxing) July 3, 2016
On the undercard, local favorite Frank De Alba (19-2-2, 8 KOs) thrilled his hometown fans with an early stoppage win over Jonathan Perez (35-15, 28 KOs). The 28-year-old junior lightweight needed less than two full rounds to dispose of his Colombian opponent.
Veteran junior middleweight Kermit Cintron (37-5-2, 28 KOs) also got in the win column with an eight-round decision victory against Carlos Garcia (10-16-1, 8 KOs). After a rough patch from 2010-2011 that saw Cintron lose three of four fights, he has now put together an impressive four-fight winning streak.
PBC is back on ESPN next weekend, as a junior lightweight fight between Mario Barrios and Devis Boschiero headlines a July 9 card in Trenton, N.J.
