David Stevens Stops Sean Hemphill on ShoBox & Atif Overton Remains Undefeated in Bethlehem, PA
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Bethlehem, PA (January 21st, 2023)– In the main event of a nine bout ShoBox: The Next Generation at Wind Creek Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Friday evening, January 20, 2023, super middleweight David ‘Dynamite’ Stevens scored an eighth round knockout of Sean ‘Silky’ Hemphill in a battle of unbeaten prospects.
Stevens, 12-0 with nine knockouts, Reading, Pennsylvania, appeared to be ahead five rounds to three going into the eighth and final rounds against Hemphill, now 14-1 with eight knockouts, New Orleans, Louisiana. Hemphill, inactive over a year, had a good jab which worked well for volume, but lacked consistency and power, getting outworked by Stevens, In the eighth and final round, a right-left-right combination from Stevens put a fading and tired Hemphill down near the end of the bout, who beat the count. However, the next punch of the bout, a left hook by Stevens, sent an exhausted Hemphill down for the second time, where he was counted out at 2:58 of the eighth and final round by referee Shawn Clark, ending the ShoBox contest.
The bout went around in circles at times, with the ring not being cut off. Stevens, who aspires to fight David Benavidez, Canelo Alvarez and other 168 pound notables, is definitely a prospect on the rise at 12-0, but still has a long way to go before he fights either of them. Here are the video highlights.
In the televised preliminary to the main event, Philadelphia southpaw light heavyweight Atif Overton, 8-0 with six knockouts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a Marshall Kauffman fighter, a lookalike of former Chicago cruiserweight Carl Davis, won an impressive eight round decision over Russian Artem Brusov, in another battle of unbeaten prospects. Brusov, 12-1 with eleven knockouts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by way of Tambov, Russian Federation, butted and brawled and swung away, but got beaten by Overton’s superior ring generalship. Overton just appeared bigger, had a good defense which slipped and blocked punches, and landed solid shots. Perhaps Brusov won a round or two on aggression, but while the bout was at least competitive it was not a close bout. Scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 78-74 for Overton were on the mark. Both fighters appeared to have minor eye cuts which did not figure into the outcome of the bout. Brief wrestling occurred at the end of round seven along the ring ropes, with referee Eric Dali telling separating the combatants and telling Overton to stop, cautioning. “You’re better than that.”
In a heavyweight bout on the undercard with a controversial ending, 9-0-2 Moses Johnson of Huntington, Long Island, New York, battled to a six round split decision draw with 29-55-10 Terrell Jamal Woods of Forrest City, Arkansas. Scores were 58-56 Johnson, 58-56 Woods, 57-57 a draw. The referee was Eric Dali. 9-0-1 Reading, Pennsylvania super featherweight prospect Julian Gonzalez stopped Rosalindo Gonzalez, now 9-1, Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, in the fourth round. Debuting heavyweight Francis Oran of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, stopped 0-4 Marlon Haywood of Kankakee, Illinois, in the first round.
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