TTR Ringside Report

Toe To Toe Tuesday: Alexandria, Louisiana (7/18/2017)



Fight 1: Middleweights- Kalvin Henderson vs Engelberto Valenzuela

Henderson weighed in at 162, Valenzuela weighed at 155 3/4.

Honestly there's not much to report here. Engelberto went down within seconds from a body shot landed by Henderson and the fight was over almost as quickly as it began.



Result: Kalvin "Hot Sauce" Henderson (7-0, 4 KOs) TKO 1 Engelberto Valenzuela (10-12, 3 KOs)



Fight 2: Cruiserweights- Edwin Rodriguez vs Melvin Russell

This was Rodriguez' first bout since his TKO-2 loss to Thomas Williams, Jr. on April 30, 2016.

Rodriguez weighed in at 185 3/4; Russell at 184 1/4.

I was very surprised to see Rodriguez's fight so early on in the card to be honest. Melvin Russell put up a spirited effort attacking aggressively early on, but this plan soon backfired as Edwin Rodriguez responded in kind with heavy power shot counters that were more than Russell could stand up to. Russell was able to make it through the first round, but Rodriguez certainly got the better of it.

It wasn't too long into round 2 that Rodriguez upped the aggression and really started laying in the heavy power shots on Russell. A heavy chopping right hand put Russell down and put an end to the contest

Result: Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriguez (29-2, 20 KOs) TKO 2 Melvin "The Romantic Redneck" Russell (10-2-2, 6 KOs)



Fight 3: Heavyweights- Justin Jones vs Carlos Sandoval

"Jawbreaker" Jones had a fairly easy opponent here as Carlos Sandoval was quite frankly not in fighting shape. Jones to his credit handled him the way you're supposed to handle an over matched opponent dispatching him inside 2 rounds. Jones scored a knockdown in the first round when Sandoval was knocked into the ropes and the referee deemed the ropes had kept him upright, Jones would continue to dominate the action and control the first round 10-8.

After more punishment early in the 2nd Sandoval was dazed at one point and turned his back to Jones multiple times, the referee taking this as a sign that he didn't want to continue halted the bout.

Result: Justin Jones (21-0-2, 11 KOs) TKO 2 Carlos Sandoval (9-14-1, 6 KOs)



Fight 4: Super Middleweights- Brandon Shavers vs Phillip Jean Seide

Cagey 1st round with both fighters trying to pick their shots from the outside, the Southpaw Shavers got the better of the action slightly making good use of his straight left.

Round 2 saw similar action, but Shavers let his hands go with a few more combinations in this round landing some right hooks in the mix along with the straight left which he continued to throw with regularity.

Round 3 brought us a strange conclusion to the bout. After a bit more of a careful boxing match Seide unleashed an assault of right hands on Shavers dropping him to the canvas. I didn't catch it, but apparently a blow landed when Shavers was down. There was no count, and there seemed to be a lot of confusion about the situation. The next thing I know the fight has been called and Shavers was awarded the victory by disqualification.

This result drew boos from the crowd, and left many of us in Press Row unsure as to exactly what had just happened as well.

Result: Brandon Shavers (1-0) DQ3 Phillip Jean Seide (0-1)



Fight 5: Lightweights- Clay Burns vs Josh Ross 2
This was a rematch from a Draw the two had fought in April of 2016.

In Round 1, I thought Ross had the edge by a bit. Burns was the aggressor, but Ross was more accurate.

Round 2 was a better effort for Burns who was able to connect on his offense better than he had in the previous round. This one was a clear cut round for Burns we all felt at ringside.

Round 3 was another one I personally would've given to Ross who I thought edged it slightly with his punches landing more flush than Burns' shots had. It was a very close round though as Burns was aggressive throughout and ringsiders were split as to who had won it. I personally favored Ross.

Round 4 I thought went to Burns who had the higher workrate. Basically he was still fighting with the same intensity as he had at the start and Ross had fatigued a bit so this was a Burns' round in my view.

My final score was 38-38.

The official scores were 39-37 Ross, 40-36 Burns, and 40-36 to the winner by Split Decision Josh Ross....the decision was booed by the crowd

Result: Josh Ross (3-4-4, 0 KOs) W4 (SD) Clay Burns (4-4-2, 4 KOs)



Fight 6: Heavyweights- Charles Martin vs Michael Marrone

They circled the ring with former IBF champ Martin probing with his jab looking for an opening. It didn't take long until he found one and landed a vicious right hook on Michael Marrone dropping him to the canvas. I thought the fight would be over there, but Marrone gamely rose to his feet. Martin didn't waste the advantage though quickly pouncing on the already stunned Marrone and dropping him again with a left hand to the body. The referee had seen enough.



Result: "Prince" Charles Martin (WBC #12, IBF #12; 25-1-1, 23 KOs) TKO 1 Michael Marrone (21-8, 15 KOs)



Fight 7: Light Heavyweights- Ahmed Elbiali vs Christopher Brooker

Good round of action in the first. Brooker lost a point early in the round for a rabbit punch which seemed very questionable as he hadn't even been given a warning previously, and the foul certainly didn't seem flagrant enough to warrant an immediate point deduction. Brooker landed a solid right hand at the bell, but Elbiali had landed the harder shots throughout the round and along with the point deduction won the first round 10-8.

In the 2nd round Elbiali was much more aggressive. He soon cut off the ring and battered Brooker in the corner with a barrage of heavy shots, Brooker dropped to the canvas and the fight was stopped. Brooker was very angry with the referee which drew boos from the crowd, but I was curious as to what had him so upset.



Result: Ahmed Elbiali (16-0, 13 KOs) TKO 2 Christopher Brooker (12-4, 5 KOs)

Special Postfight note - I got a chance to converse with Christopher Brooker to ask him what he was so angry about. He was pissed that the referee had taken a point from him in the 1st, and felt nervous to even throw a punch in the 2nd for fear of being penalized with a foul he told me. He also mentioned that Elbiali had hit him with a foul blow to his spine that the referee didn't call.



Fight 8: Featherweights- Miguel Flores vs Chris Avalos

The television Main Event definitely lived up to top billing. Good competitive action to start with Flores getting the better of it slightly I thought with his body punching. In the 2nd round I liked Chris' work better. More accuracy with his shots, particularly to the head.

Flores scored a knockdown in the 3rd round, which gave him the edge in what was otherwise another pretty close round.



Flores was cut in the 4th round I wasn't quite sure if it was a punch or a headbutt that had caused it, but from my view I thought it was a punch. Both fighters threw shots after the bell which drew a strong warning from the referee.

Avalos got the better of the action in the 5th round landing several clean shots on Flores. I believe the Doctor ruled that the cut was too severe for Flores to be able to continue after the 5th round and the fight was called to a halt.

Result: Chris "Hitman" Avalos (27-5, 20 KOs) TKO (RTD) 5 Miguel Flores (21-2, 9 KOs)



Fight 9: Welterweights- Ryan Karl vs Carlos Winston Velasquez

This one was televised so if you saw it you'll know what I mean. Every round was pretty much the same here. Karl aggressively pressed forward with his jab, and attacked Velasquez who was mostly on the defensive all night. Velasquez fired a few shots here and there, and kept encouraging Karl to attack. This is more or less how all 8 rounds played out and Ryan Karl predictably won via shutout 80-72 on all official scorecards.

Mine was the same, as was every other ringsiders. No other way to see it.

Result: Ryan Karl (14-1, 9 KOs) W8 (UD) Carlos Winston Velasquez (24-30-2, 1 ND, 14 KOs)