Results from ringside @MoheganSun for #SlugfestAtTheSun

Delvin Rodriguez vs. Courtney Pennington

Results from Ringside

By Alex Pierpaoli
Twitter recap

From the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT...

Bout 1-

Richard Rivera, 177 1/2 lbs, of Hartford, CT, defeated Marco Parente, 179 3/4 lbs, of Toronto, Canada in the first bout of the night. Starting fast, Rivera who goes by the nickname Popeye, charged out of the ring in a style more reminiscent Bluto. Parente met his rugged violence but Rivera asserted himself quickly, finding the range on single power blasts with the right hand to both the ribs and head of Parente. Both fighters looked tired in the third but Rivera continued applying pressure. In the fourth and final frame, Rivera was relentless in pursuing Parente, bringing cheers out of the crowd with every blast he landed. With just 31 seconds to go and Popeye boring in, banging the head and body of a fleeing and increasingly non-violent Parente, referee Danny Schiavone stepped in to halt the action. The winner by TKO at 2:27 of round 4 is Richard "Popeye the Sailor Man" Rivera. 

Richard Rivera improves to 2-0 (2) while Parente backs his way into the pro ranks at 0-1.

Bout 2-

In a duel of debuting pros, Omar Bordoy ,135 3/4 lbs, of Danbury, CT, defeated Jonathon Rojas, 133 1/2 lbs, of Jersey City, NJ, by four round unanimous decision. Bordoy showed superior hand speed and skills to his older but equally untested opponent. Bordoy landed double left hooks and quick overhand rights throughout the fight keeping the tenacious Rojas on the defensive. There was an especially heartfelt embrace and mutual congratulations between the fighters at the final bell. No doubt they both tried hard to win in a spirited contest. The scorecards were 40-36 x 3 all in favor of Omar Bordoy.

Bordoy is now a professional at 1-0 and Rojas is 0-1.

Bout 3-

Jose Rivera,154 1/4 lbs, of Hartford, CT, stopped Marcus Beckford,155 lbs, East Meadow, NY,  in a duel of southpaws. Both fighters were tentative in letting their hands go in round one, gauging the distance on a southpaw foe like themselves. In the second both fighters started landing heavier single shots with Rivera's punches, especially the right hook, finding their mark more frequently. In the fourth, just as Beckford seemed to be talking to his opponent, Rivera fired a bone-crunching right hook to his jaw. Beckford seemed to hang suspended for a beat as the crowd gasped before falling back to the canvas. Referee Mike Ortega gave him the mandatory 8 count and Beckford did pull himself to his feet but Ortega deemed him too hurt to continue. The fight was waved off at 1:50 of round 4.

Jose "Rated R" Rivera improves to 3-1 (3) while Marcus Beckford drops to 3-7-3

Bout 4-

Anthony Laureano, 138 3/4 lbs, of East Hartford, CT, prevailed over Sidney Maccow,140 3/4 lbs, of New York, NY,  4-5 (3) by 6 round unanimous decision. Starting quickly, Sidney Maccow got out in front of a slow-starting Laureano, winning rounds 1 & 2. Halfway through the third round, Laureano seemed to wake up and started throwing big punches, especially to the rib cage of Maccow. Over the next three rounds the geography of the fight changed entirely, with Laureano staying in close and forcing Maccow to banging at a distance that was not to his advantage. In the final round Laureano landed heavily with both hands, thrilling the assembled which had come out in force to support him. When the scorecards were read they were all 58-56 all in favor of Laureano.

Laureano improves his record to 4-0 (2) while Maccow drops to 4-6 (3). 

Bout 5-

Kali Reis, 151 1/4 lbs, of Providence, RI, outpointed Ashleigh Curry, 152 1/2 lbs, of Saint Joseph, MO, over six rounds. Despite the awkwardness of fighting a southpaw, Kali Reis was able to keep Ashleigh Curry on the retreat for much of the contest. Curry was able to exploit her size advantage in close but Reis made adjustments by increasing her shots to Curry's body. In the final round Reis was able to land several heavy jolting shots on Curry which got her clowning a bit in defiance but clowning doesn't score points. Although it was ugly, this observer thought it was Reis who dominated with the more accurate punches even in rounds where there were very few clean punches landed by either fighter to choose from. The judges saw it closer. At the end of six the scorecards read 57-57 from one official, overruled by two cards in favor of Reis at 59-55 and 58-56. 

Kali Reis rose to 11-6-1 (4) with the Majority Decision victory while Ashleigh Curry fell to 7-11-4 (1). 

Bout 6-

Daniel Gonzalez, 145 1/2 lbs, of Woodhaven, NY, won a lopsided unanimous decision over Samuel Amoako,147 lbs, of Accra, Ghana. Gonzalez swarmed Amoako from the start, boxing in and out behind speedy flurries to the head and ribcage of the Ghanaian veteran. Again and again, Gonzalez drove Amoako to the ropes and battered him with quick accurate punches. As the rounds wore on the crowd became frustrated with the monotony of the one-sided bout as Amoako used his defense and elusiveness to keep Gonzalez from breaking him down. Afterwards, Gonzalez said he thought he could have stopped Amoako had the bout been scheduled for 8 rounds instead of 6. No matter. After six the officials were in agreement, all three seeing it 60-54 in favor of Gonzalez.

Danny Gonzalez rose to 14-0-1 (5) while Samuel Amoako dropped to 21-15 (15).

Main Event-

Courtney Pennington, of Brooklyn, NY, 154 1/4 lbs, defeated Delvin Rodriguez,156 1/4 lbs, of Danbury, CT, by lopsided 10 round unanimous decision. Rodriguez was never able to overcome the speedy hands and footwork of Kingpin Pennington despite a consistent effort from the veteran. Pennington blasted Rodriguez with jabs to the mouth and face, swelling his eye and reddening his brow. Rodriguez pursued Pennington relentlessly but he missed often, bedeviled by the always moving and turning Pennington. By the fifth both fighters had swelling around their eyes. Pennington's thickening left eyelid was the result of D-Rod's single right hand blasts that scored occasionally, and on Rodriguez a reddish hematoma grew larger under his right eye from all of the Kingpin's pelting jabs. Rodriguez tried to rally in the final round and a half but Pennington was just too elusive for him and made him miss often. When the bell sounded to end the tenth, Rodriguez held his hands aloft but there was little applause. When the scorecards were read it was unanimous, the officials saw it 98-92 x 2 and 97-93 all in favor of Pennington.

Rodriguez slips to 29-9-4 (16). While Courtney Pennington rises to 11-4-1 (5) and has now won three in a row since his April of twenty-sixteen defeat to Patrick Day. 

Scratched due to medical eval-- Dan Murray, 141 lbs, of Weehawken, NJ vs. Carlos Perez, 137 lbs, of Hartford, CT