Gervonta Davis Scores TKO, Boots Ennis Wins Decision, Ellis and Peterson Are Upset, Zarate Wins WBC Latino
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Washington, DC (January 8th, 2023)– Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., hosted a 12 bout Showtime boxing card on Saturday evening, January 7, 2023, Two unanticipated upsets occurred on the card, on both the televised and untelevised portion of the card.
In the Showtime televised portion of the card, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, despite some recent troubles with the law, appeared unaffected in scoring a ninth round technical stoppage of challenger Hector Luis Garcia in the main event at 0:13 of round nine. The World Boxing Association regular World Lightweight title of Davis does not appear on BoxRec, however he did retain his title when Garcia quit on his stool between the eighth and the ninth rounds. Davis, 28-0 with 26 knockouts, is worthy of better opposition. A solid left hand power shot by Davis in the eighth round convinced the Dominican southpaw Garcia, now 16-1 with ten knockouts, San Juan de La Maguana, Dominican Republic, the WBA regular World Boxing Association World Super Featherweight champion, not to seek further punishment.
The bout featured a number of close technically fought rounds, and the bout appeared even through six rounds. Davis began landing power shots late in the seventh round, but did not break the fight open until the eighth round. More interesting was the ringside fight which broke out during the eighth round, forcing referee Earl Brown to call a halt to the bout and send the boxers to their respective neutral corners, until ringside security could remove the troublemakers from the vicinity of the ring and restore order. Undefeated Ryan Garcia could be next in line for Davis at 135 or 140 pounds, if Davis survives his next court date next month over a domestic dispute with the mother of his daughter.
In the preliminary bout to the main event, welterweight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis won the interim International Boxing Federation World Welterweight title with a 12 round unanimous decision over a game but outmatched Karen Chukhadzhian. Ennis, 30-0 with 27 knockouts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a 35-1 odds on favorite, nonetheless was not expected to go the distance. Chokhadzhian, 21-2 with 11 knockouts, Karlsruhe, Germany, had a good defense, was successful in staying out of range from any major danger Ennis presented, tying Ennis up when Ennis did get too close, and had a great defense. Ennis landed hooks, left hands, and left-right combinations, accounting for most of the bout’s offensive output. Ennis won by unanimous scores of 120-108 on all three scorecards, but it was hardly the sort of performance which would have impressed world champions Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford or Errol Spence Jr. that Ennis could do better against them later in 2023, if it comes to that.
Reiman Villa of Venezuela dropped heavily favored Rashidi Ellis twice in the twelfth and final round, and wound up the beneficiary of an upset 12 round majority decision win by scores of 114-112 and 114-112 for Villa, and 113-113 a draw. Villa, 26-1 with 24 knockouts, Rosario, Columbia, earned a 10-7 round in the twelfth round on all three judges’ scorecards, with Ellis ahead on the scorecards after eleven rounds. Ellis, 24-1 with 15 knockouts, Lynn, Massachusetts, appeared to win the first seven rounds on points behind a consistently fast jab attack. Villa eventually outworked Ellis with pressure in the second half of the bout, as Ellis slowed down. Villa previously upset undefeated Janelson Bocachica at Bally’s Event Center in Atlantic City in September 2023.
On the undercard, southpaw former world light middleweight and middleweight champion Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade, 32-0 with 19 knockouts, Providence, Rhode Island, won his 168 pounds super middleweight debut, winning a 10 round unanimous decision over veteran Demond Nicholson, 26-5-1 with 22 knockouts, Laurel, Maryland. Former IBF, WBA and WBO World Super Lightweight champion Lamont Peterson, 36-6-1, 17 knockouts, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, attempting a comeback after four years of inactivity post-pandemic, was stopped in the fourth round in an upset by 17-16-1 journeyman Michael Ogundo of Nairobi, Kenya, age 40. Ogundo, a loser of eight of his last nine bouts in the past five years, decked Peterson in the fourth round and had him out on his feet stumbling around the ring in trouble, before the Peterson corner finally stopped it. The end looked much as Sugar Ray Leonard’s did against the late Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho. Peterson, a loser of his last three bouts, has not won a bout in six years. At age 38, and after four years of inactivity, Peterson should call it a career.
Capital One Arena, Other Undercard Results
Demetrius Andrade Win 10 Demond Nicholson, Super Middleweights
Kyrone Davis Win 8 Cristian Fabian Rios, Super Middleweights
Keeshawn Williams Win 6 Gustavo Fabian Rios, Super Middleweights
Michael Ogundo TKO 4 Lamont Peterson, Super Lightweights
Brandun Lee TKO 4 Diego Gonzalo Luque, Super Lightweights
Vito Mielicki Jr. TKO 4 Omar Rosales, Super Welterweights
Mia Ellis TKO 1 Karen Dulin, Female Lightweights
Travon Marshall TKO 1 Shawn West, Super Welterweights
Jalil Major Hackett TKO 1 Joel Guevara, middleweights
At Plaza Dr. Bujan, Paso del Rey, Argentina, Junior Leandro Zarate, 19-4 with seven knockouts, Buenos Aires, Argentina, won the vacant World Boxing Organization Latino Super Flyweight title, on Saturday, January 7, 2022, with a 10 round unanimous decision victory over Ernesto Irias, 15-6-1 with nine knockouts, Managua, Nicaragua. Irias was deducted a point in the fifth round. Zarate also holds the Argentinian Federation Super Flyweight title.
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