Wild Wild Warren! Boozer Wins Odd Split Decision, Flagg Down Twice in First and Wins
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent-Ringside
*Photo Credit: Robert Brizel, Real Combat Media
Warren, MI (February 29th, 2020)– In the main event promoted by Kenny Moore and Vi Tran’s Second2None Promotions at DeCarlo’s Convention Center on Friday, February 28, 2020, in Warren, Michigan, Patrick Boozer won a six-round middleweight war by controversial split decision over Jose Antonio Abreu. Ex-world champion Cornelius ‘K9’ Bundrage was in the house.
Ring announcer Pete Trevino read a tribute, followed by the traditional tolling of the ten count bell, for both Detroit middleweight Dwight Davidson, who died on January 29, 2020, at age 64, and New Zealand’s former IBO World Heavyweight champion Jimmy Thunder, holder of the record 13 second knockout in the first round over Crawford Grimsley in 13 seconds. Thunder died on February 13, 2020 at age 54.
Southpaw Boozer, 14-4 with four knockouts, Westland, Michigan, appeared to perhaps lose only the first round against Abreu, 14-8 with eight knockouts, La Romana, Dominican Republic. Boozer began moving forward with pressure in round two, turning the bout into a nasty punch and counter punch war on the inside, where he absolutely had to take the fight in order to neutralize Abreu’s height and reach advantage. Boozer slipped punches throughout, with Abreu landing some occasional good counters. Both fighters were warned for low blows in the third round. Real Combat Media scored the bout 50-54 for Boozer.
The exchanges between Boozer and Abreu were awkward on the inside, Boozer, outweighed by almost seven pounds by Abreu, was careful not to punch himself out, so as to avoid what happened in the preliminary bout to the main event. Abreu went down twice in the fourth round from either slips or pushes in clinches, ruled no knockdowns by referee Gerard White. Boozer did a good job cutting the ring off significantly in the last four rounds of the bout, forcing Abreu to slug it out with him and then clinch, in corners and in center ring, with good jab exchanges over the final two rounds. Some of the rounds were good scraps though, and could be considered hard to score on the scorecards. As a result, the scorecards went three different ways.
Result: Patrick Boozer Win 6 Jose Antonio Abreu, Super Middleweights
Scoring: 60-54, 59-55 Boozer. 58-56 Abreu. Referee: Gerard White.
Both fighters were warned for low blows in the second round.
In a shocking preliminary to the main event which brought the Detroit area crowd to its feet, 1-2 Ferris Golden, a boxer and kickboxer out of Findlay, Ohio, decked Anthony Flagg, 6-0 with five knockouts, twice in the first round, and appeared on the verge of a shocking upset. Flagg’s appeared gone when he simply fell over to cause the second knockdown, which he took mostly on one knee. The bell ended the round, and when Flagg recovered, he discovered Golden had punched himself out, and appeared to have little left.
After Flagg came back to deck Golden onto his back in the third round, the crowd went crazy. Flagg then earned the dramatic comeback stoppage. Golden has his golden moment, and certainly gave the local crowd their money’s worth in the theater of the unexpected. It didn’t figure Flagg could come back, but Flagg did not punch himself out, and Golden’s legs were gone.
Result: Anthony Flagg TKO 3 Ferris Golden, Light Heavyweights
Flagg down twice in first round. Golden down in third round. Referee: Ansel Stewart
Undercard Results at DeCarlo’s. Referees: Gerard White, Ansel Stewart
Reggie Harris Jr. Win 4 Carl Deaton. Middleweights
The opening bout on the card. 2-0 Ann Arbor Michigan middleweight prospect Harris decisions MMA fighter Carl Deaton, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who took bout on short notice. Deaton wore a full body length coonskin cap into the ring, getting some attention.
Cameron Pankey TKO 2 Tyler Stokes, Featherweights
Rising 2-0 featherweight prospect Cameron Pankey of Pontiac, Michigan was momentarily startled by the full length Grizzly Adams style beard of Minnesota’s 0-3 Tyler Stokes. Pankey decked Stokes twice in the second round to earn the stoppage. Only the beard was of interest in this ridiculously one-sided bout.
Kenyell ‘Boom’ Rouser TKO 2 Michael Wright (Pro Debut), Super Welterweights
Debuting Michael Wright looked silly showboating, taunting and swinging wildly at 2-0 Pontiac, Michigan super welterweight prospect Kenyell ‘Boom’ Rouser. Once Wright got staggered around the ring, the referee wisely stopped this mismatched affair. Wright, under nonstop attack, simply was not fighting back.
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