On Saturday, September 20, 2014, Iron Boy Promotions- together with Top Rank, delivered a strong, entertaining card to Phoenix, Arizona’s Celebrity Theatre.
Unlike the co-main event, Ponomarev-Rivera was an insipid affair at best. However, it did not come as a surprise, as a 38-year old Cosme Rivera faced off against 21-year old Konstantin Ponomarev.
It was evident from the opening bell that Rivera looked every bit of his 38 years, if not more than that. The younger, faster Ponomarev pursued the slower Rivera around the ring all night, drawing a chorus of boos from the crowd.
Rivera was beaten to the punch nearly every time, although Rivera did find some success towards the end of the bout with some combinations, but Ponomarev still responded effectively with body-head counter shots, which overshadowed Rivera’s attack. I scored it eight rounds to two for Konstantin Ponomarev, who improved to (25-0, 12 KO). Rivera dropped to (37-19, 25 KO.)
In the co-main event, local boxer Victor Castro faced Mexican fighter Pablo Becerra. Becerra came into the bout with six of his seven victories coming by way of KO, but he had also been knocked out in four of his defeats.
The start of the fight looked like a button mashing video game, as both fighters threw a lot of punches, but not many were landing.
In the second round, Castro went to the body and found some success, with Becerra cringing from the shots.
A counter right-hook caught Pablo Becerra in the third round that sent him in a free fall to the canvas. Becerra was unable to beat the count and Castro won via third round knockout. Castro remained undefeated (12-0, 6 KO) and Becerra dropped to (7-6, 6 KO).
Robert Garcia was in attendance for the bout, who had three fighters from his stable out of the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, fighting on the card. Two of the three fighters won via first round knockouts. Trevor McCumby and Egis Kavaliauskas eliminated their opponents in the first round. Oleksandr Gvosdyk stalked Lamont Williams all night, until landing a big right-hand that sent Williams to the floor. Williams struggled to reach the ropes, but was unable to beat the 10 count.
Francisco De Vaca and Victor Serrano literally went at each other for all six rounds, which I found to be the most entertaining bout. There was little defensive technique in this bout, all offense. Although both fighters were landing bombs all evening, De Vaca got the better of Serrano in all six rounds and won via unanimous decision.
In a bout that left the Mosley’s infuriated, Shane Mosley Jr. fought in his third professional bout against Marchristopher Adkins. In the first round, Mosley landed a colossal right-hand that snapped Adkins’s head back, turning his body completely backwards into the ropes to the applause of the crowd, but Mosley was unable to capitalize on a clearly stunned Adkins.
The rest of the bout did not live up to the first round, but I felt that Mosley was landing the most effective punches. Some applause was heard when Adkins threw a punch, but most were blocked and did not have much power to them.
I scored the bout three rounds to one for Shane Mosley Jr., but the judges had a split decision in favor of Marchristopher Adkins. We attempted to get a word with Mosley, but his father, Shane Mosley Sr. waved us off, which was completely understandable given the situation.
However, I did get to speak with a lady from the Mosley camp, relation unknown, but she said, “He did not lose that fight. It is bull****.”
