Tall 16-0 Welterweight Prospect Mykal Fox Outpoints Garcia in A Wild Scrap at Sands
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent- Ringside
*Photo Credits: Ray Bailey, Real Combat Media
Bethlehem, PA (February 15th, 2018)– Unbeaten welterweight prospect Mykal ‘The Professor’ Fox won an impressive 10 round decision over veteran Ricardo Garcia at Sands Bethlehem Events Center in the main event bout on Tuesday evening, February 13, 2018.
Fox, 16-0 with four knockouts, Forestville, Maryland, who stands 6’3 ½” tall, worked left and right jabs into the face of Garcia, 14-2 with nine knockouts, Dominican Republic, all night, and succeeded in closing Garcia’s left eye by the end of round two. Garcia attempted good pinpoint body shot work, landing some, and threw wild headshot haymakers at Ruiz. Some landed, but most did not. Still, both fighters gave their all in a very entertaining main event contest which evolved into somewhat of a wild scrap, with referee Gary Rosato watching Garcia’s eye between rounds in his corner, but letting the bout run as Garcia was competitive and clearly ‘in the house’.
Noted boxing trainer Daniel ‘PaEncima’ Guerrido worked the corner of Garcia, who landed some pretty good head power shots at times, but could not overcome the issue of his closed left eye. Guerrido was in effect giving advice to a one-eyed fighter from the third round on, good enough to survive the 10 rounder but unfortunately not good enough to win. Garcia, in a situation similar to Iran Barkley in the eleventh round of his middleweight world title bout with Roberto Duran, went down in the seventh round from a right hook he could not see as his left eye was closed, sealing the decision as Fox won a 10-8 round and the bout on the scorecards.
Fox is tall enough, in the tradition of Thomas ‘Hitman’ Hearns, to give the welterweight division trouble in the future if he keeps progressing.
Celebrities in attendance at Sands Events Center included heavyweights Larry Holmes, Gerry Cooney and Travis Kauffman, and former middleweight contender turned trainer Bobby ‘Boogaloo’ Watts.
Result: Mykal Fox Win 10 Ricardo Garcia, Welterweights
Scoring: 78-73, 78-73, 77-74 Fox. Garcia down in the seventh round. Referee: Gary Rosato.
In the co-main event, former World Welterweight champion Kermit Cintron, age 38, 39-6-3 with 30 knockouts, Reading, Pennsylvania, settled for a three-round No Contest against 8-1 Marquis Taylor of Houston, Texas, in a bout marked by questionable tactics by Taylor.
Taylor had no chance against the aging but more experienced Cintron. It became immediately clear he could not win any rounds. So, Taylor resorted to hitting Cintron behind the head, throwing behind the back kidney punches, hitting below the belt, and elbowing. This reporter remarked at ringside illegal headbutts must be next. Sure enough, in round three, Taylor landed a headbutt, causing a nasty cut on the right eyebrow of Cintron which doubled him over with his back turned in a corner, in pain and confusion.
The Pennsylvania Athletic Commission’s leading officials, Greg Sirb and Rudy Battle, were absent. Referee Eric Dali was generous to rule the bout a No Contest. This was a brief but ugly affair, and could have been declared a win by disqualification for Cintron. It was not.
Result: Kermit Cintron No Contest 3 Marquis Taylor, Welterweights (0:35)
Referee Eric Dali declares No Contest after Cintron is cut by a Taylor accidental head butt.
Undercard Results at Sands Casino Bethlehem
Referees: Gary Rosato and Eric Dali
Kendall Cannida (Pro Debut) Win 4 Leroy Jones, Cruiserweights
Philadelphia light heavyweight Cannida debuted at 175.1 pounds, so the bout went off at cruiserweight. Newark fighter Jones weighed 174.5. The Newark Leroy Jones is no relation to late Denver heavyweight Leroy Jones, who died at age 60 in 2010, who fought Larry Holmes for the WBC World Heavyweight title at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in March 1980.
Juan Sanchez KO 4 Sergio Aguilar, Featherweights (2:55)
5-0 Allentown prospect Sanchez dropped 41-year-old but game Aguilar in first, and twice in second. Aguilar came back and won the third impressively. In fourth, Mexico’s Aguilar, having lost the bout on the cards, swung away going for broke looking for the knockout, and got decked to finish the bout on his back at 2:55 of the fourth. No count at the end.
Martino Jules Win 4 Malik Loften, Featherweights
Bloody Allentown featherweight southpaw Jules won first round, and dropped Loften with a straight left in the second, then survived to just pull out 39-38, 38-37, 38-37 close decision.
Michael Polite Coffie Win 4 Nicoy Clarke (Pro Debut), Heavyweights
There was nothing polite about six foot something 269 pound Coffie. One needed a good cup of coffee to watch him brutalize debuting 206 pounds, the debuting Jamaican southpaw Clarke, who nonetheless showed dramatic heart and survived. Clarke should be a cruiser.
Blake Mansfield TKO 5 Daryl Bunting, Super Middleweights (0:36)
Interesting close scrap for four rounds, with Mansfield losing a point for spitting out the mouthpiece. Behind on points, Mansfield staggered Bunting at the end of round four, and finished him early in round five. It was a good toe to toe war while it lasted. Retired Philadelphia veteran middleweight contender Bobby ‘Boogaloo’ Watts, whose record includes a 10 round unanimous decision win over Marvelous Marvin Hagler, is training Mansfield and was in the corner. The corner edge was the difference in this tough bout.
Colby Madison Win 6 Dante Selby, Heavyweights
In a crowd booing boring stinker, a blubbery out of shape Madison somehow outpointed the muscular in shape Selby, who had practically no offense. Almost no punches were thrown in the bout. After the bout, Madison’s corner claimed he fought with a hand injury from training. The two heavyweight fighters ‘did the clinch dance’, giving the Bethlehem spectators plenty of time for snacks, bathroom trips, and meaningful cellphone calls.
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