Results from Mohegan Sun - Boxcino 2015 CESBoxing

Skorokhod and Adams deliver with KOs; 

Thompson and Gasparyan score Unanimous Decision Victories as 154 Pound Boxcino Tourney Gets Underway at Mohegan Sun

by Alex Pierpaoli

(Twitter Recap is Here)

On Friday night the 2015 Boxcino Tournament got underway at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.  Arthur Pelullo's Banner Promotions in association with CES Boxing presented an 8 bout professional boxing card featuring the ESPN2 televised 4 bout Boxcino Quarter Finals and 4 regional off-TV undercard bouts.

In Bout 1 of the tourney, Ukrainian Stanyslav Skorokhod, fighting out of Los Angeles, CA, scored a 4th round TKO (1:03) over Michael Moore, of Cleveland, Ohio. Skorokhod controlled the southpaw Moore from the opening frame, stinging him with left hooks and a punishing straight right. Moore was able to connect with a hard shot of his own in the final seconds of the first but that was probably his best moment. In the second and third Skorokhod continued hammering away, driving Moore back along the ropes. Ringside physician Anthony Alessi was up on the ring apron and watching the corner very closely before the 4th but Moore was allowed to continue. Just as it was starting to look as though Skorokhod needed to wrap things up he landed a hard right that dropped Moore in a heap. Ref. Mike Ortega let the fight continue but Skorokhod was all over his hurt opponent and Ortega wisely stepped in to stop the punishment.

Stanyslav Skorokhod now advances in the tourney and will face, John Thompson, the winner of tonight's Bout 2, on April 3rd in the semi-finals. Skorokhod's record improved to 9-0 (7) while Moore dropped to 13-1 (6).

Bout two of the Boxcino Tourney featured late replacement John Thompson who came in yesterday after Cleotis Pendarvis turned-up too heavy at the weigh-in. Thompson, 154 1/4 lbs, of Newark, NJ, surprised Ricardo Pinell, 154 lbs, of San Francisco, CA, outpointing him over the six round distance.

Pinell fell to 10-2-1 (6) in defeat while Thompson rebounds from a 2nd rd KO loss in his last bout to Frank Galarza and returns to Newark at 16-1 (6). Thompson will battle Stanyslav Skorokhod on April 3rd in the Boxcino Semi-Final Round.

In bout three, Armenian Vito Gasparyan, 155lbs, defeated Simeon Hardy, 154 1/4 lbs, by unanimous decision. Gasparyan pressed the action versus Hardy from the opening bell, chopping and hacking at him with mean short punches in close. At a distance Gasparyan's feints and head movements bedeviled Hardy making him miss often. As the rounds wore on Gasparyan piled up the points but never hurt Hardy badly enough to put him down. After six rounds the judges were unanimous, with scorecards of 58-56, 60-54 and 59-55 all in favor of Gasparayan who advances to the semi-finals in the tourney and will face Brandon Adams on April 3.

Bout four, 2014 Boxcino Tourney alum, Brandon The Cannon Adams, of Los Angeles, CA, advanced to the semi-final round with a 6th rd TKO victory over Alex Perez of Newark, NJ. Perez got his shots off in the early moments of the bout but they didn't slow the pressing, pounding offense of Brandon The Cannon. Again and again Adams drove Perez back into the ropes, chopping at him with hooks and ripping him with uppercuts.

Perez simply had nothing in his arsenal to keep the stronger, pressing Adams from breaking him down. In the fifth, Adams connected with a thumping right that put Perez down and referee Mike Ortega halted the fight at 2:47. In victory Adams advances against Vito Gasparyan in the April 3rd Boxcino semi-final and his record improves to 16-1 (11). Alex Perez drops to 18-2 (10).

early results...

Khiary Gray-Pitts, 164 1/4 lbs, spied the vulnerable mid-section of opponent Rodrigo Almeida, 172 1/2 lbs, and went right after it in the first, ripping him with hooks and uppercuts to the guts. Almeida, of Woburn, MA, had enough after a single round and his handlers halted the bout in the corner before round two. Gray-Pitts of Worcester, MA, improved to 5-0 (3) with the victory while Almeida falls to 1-2. 

Jimmy Williams, 156 1/4 lbs, of New Haven, CT, had his hands full versus Eddie Caminero 157 1/4, of Lawrence, MA. After a lop-sided first that saw Williams stalking and stunning Caminero, the Elm City prospect ran into some difficulty in round 2 when he appeared arm-weary after the first and was stung several times with sloppy bolts from the rugged Caminero. The third saw a lot more slugging than science and Caminero tried gaining ground with a mugging attack. But in the fourth Jimmy Williams delivered what the small but enthusiastic group of supporters came for when he landed a monstrous left hook on Caminero that left him crumpled on the canvas in front of referee Mike Ortega. With the TKO win Williams is now 10-0-1 (5) while Caminero falls to 7-9 (7).

Angel Martinez, 132 1/4 lbs, of Austin Texas boxed a 4 round majority draw with Oscar Bonilla 133lbs. of New Haven, CT. Nobody deserved to lose this close, entertaining battle of two fighters with contrasting styles. The taller Martinez controlled the distance and punished Bonilla with straight shots when he had punching room. Meanwhile, Bonilla pressed forward throughout, trying to crowd Martinez and ripping him with body punches. After 4 one judges saw it 39-37 for Bonilla but he was overruled by two scores of 38-38 even for a majority draw. Martinez is now 5-1-1 (1) and Bonilla is 3-0-2.

In the walk-out bout of the night Ray Oliveira Jr of New Bedford, MA, scored a TKO after two rounds over the much taller and longer Ralph Johnson. Johnson, also of MA, posed a gangly grappling fight for Oliveira who tried to slug his way in and would get tangled in the long arms of Johnson. Oliveira was getting through with the speedier stinging shots and Johnson spent much of round one grappling and retreating. The cornermen of Johnson, in consultation with the ringside doctor decide to halt the bout before the start of round three due to what appears to be a leg injury to Ralph Johnson. Oliveira Jr picks up a TKO and improves to while Johnson drops to 1-4 (1).