On March 10th, KO Boxing held it’s first event of the year which had some one-sided fights, some upsets, and some fights that the end result had you scratching your head wondering how did the judges come to that score?
In the main event “Irish” Cam O’Connell (15-0-1, 10 KO’s) dug deep to earn a stoppage victory over Oscar Barajas Grano (16-4-1, 8 KO’s). O’Connell did as he always does and came at Grano aggressively with bad intentions in every punch. Grano was able to avoid punishment with his awkwardness and movement. In the second round, Grano stepped into a jab from the heavy-handed O’Connell and suffered a knockdown in the process. He was able to get up and make his way back into the fight but O’Connell showed no signs of slowing down and sent Grano down and out with a hard liver shot in the fourth round.
The co-main event between Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford (11-0, 7 KO’s) and Rob “Ragin Bull” Nichols (11-4-1, 6 KO’s) stole the show as many ringside spectators had expected. Ford was able to control the pace and the action with his quick hands and avoid a majority of Nichols punches with his head movement. In the first round, Ford put combinations together which left a mouse under Nichols left eye by the end of the round. As the fight went on, Ford kept dishing out punishment so Nichols trainer Sterling Craig had no choice but to stop the fight by the end of the fifth round.
Mike “The Phoenix” McWilliams (6-0-3, 2KO’s) made his in-ring return after a nine-month layoff against Arturo Garcia Lujano of Mexico. McWilliams was able to establish his jab early on but the momentum shifted quickly in the first round when Lujano caught McWilliams with an overhand right that had McWilliams on unsteady legs. McWilliams was able to recover after the first round had ended and he came back to take the fight to Lujano and he did so with some terrific bodywork that had Lujano ready to crumble. Unfortunately for McWilliams time ran out but he was still able to secure a unanimous decision victory.
Tim Chemelli (4-1, 4 KO’s) played the biggest role of spoiler that night when he avenged his only loss to Stan Surmacz Ahumada (6-1, 4 KO’s). Ahumada started off slow and calculative in the first round and was able to land some solid shots but Chemelli was unfazed by them and returned hard shots of his own. In the fourth round, Chemelli was able to send Ahumada down to the canvas with a barrage of heavy blows and would quickly finish him off soon after and avenge his only career loss.
Eric Taylor (6-1, 3 KO’s) and Kye Sabo (3-3-1, 1 KO) squared off in a battle of up and coming fighters, which had its moments of excitement. Taylor was able to land some good shots on Sabo in the first round but in the second round, Sabo was able to return the favor and fracture his hand in the process. Taylor would take over from there and go on to win a unanimous decision.
The opening bout of the night between debuting fighters Patrick LaFleur and Rhett Gibbons left more to be desired. Both fighters may have had butterflies, as the action was slow throughout the fight with some points being the opposite. Neither side had done enough to win and the judges ended up deciding on a split draw.
