Edner Cherry’s return to the Tampa Bay area was a quick one. Fighting for the first time in over two and a half years at the Ala Carte Pavilion, Cherry battered Columbian Hevinson Herrera for nearly two minutes before the referee saw enough and stopped the action. Official scoring was TKO at 1:49 in the first round. Cherry, who moved down two divisions from light welterweight to super featherweight said after the fight that he feels very comfortable at the lower weight. Cherry plans to stay busy and hopes to get a title shot at 130.
In the Co-feature “Cowgirl” Jenna Shiver fought like a raging bull and won a 6 round shutout decision over Caitlin Dance. From the beginning of the fight, Shiver, who was cornered by her father 80’s boxer “Cowboy” Don Shiver, used relentless pressure and threw punches in bunches from the opening bell onwards showing no signs of fatigue. Shiver, who has become a staple at the Ala Carte Pavilion, was greeted with cheers and chants from the sold out venue. Shiver said after the fight that she plans to fight Maureen Shea in the near future for the WBA junior featherweight title. Shiver originally was scheduled to fight Shea on Versus in November for the title, but failed an MRI and the fight was cancelled.
Heavyweight prospect Lenroy Thomas won an unpopular majority decision over Homero Fonseca. Thomas, who was outweighed by over 40 pounds, controlled the action with his quick feet and hand speed. Fonseca became increasing popular to the crowd by throwing nothing but haymakers, even though very few seemed to connect. Thomas did a great job of not allowing the bigger man to bully him and kept his composure. Scorecards read 58-56, 58-56 and 57-57. 8CN scored the fight 59-55 for Thomas, who moved his record to 15-1.
In the fight of the night, Ibaheim King won a tough, grueling battle over Ahsandi Gibbs in a 6 round middleweight bout. Both fighters stood toe to toe throwing thunderous shots on the inside. Gibbs was the busier fighter, but King was landing some very heavy shots that seemed to hurt Gibbs several times throughout the fight. No knockdowns were recorded in the fight, however near the end of the first round the referee tripped over his own feet and fell into the ropes. With the win, King moves his record to 7-1, while Gibbs falls to 10-2.
Amateur standout Joseph Elegele recorded his third first round knockout in four fights with a corner stoppage over James Cid. Elegele controlled the action from the beginning with strong jabs. Cid was dropped in the round with a straight left to the chin. After getting up, Cid ate some very hard shots before his corner waived it off. With the quick work, Elegele will be back in the ring next week in Georgia. Expect big things from this young man in the near future.
Ali Tareh won a four round unanimous decision over Darrel Jones in welterweight action. The flashy Jones seemed to have focused more on his flashy ring attire than actually preparing for the fight. With a decisive height advantage, Jones allowed the smaller Tareh to control the action and do extensive work on the inside. By the second round, Jones looked gassed with his mouth hanging open. He continued to fight in short spurts, but not enough to take rounds from the fan favorite Tareh. Scorecards read 39-37 across the board.
Amateur standout and Olympic alternate Robert Rodriquez moved his record to 2-0 with a four round shutout over Manuel Ortega. Rodriquez’s experience was evident from the onset. Rodriquez was much faster and threw crisper punches. Ortega was staggered a few times throughout the fight, but was a game opponent and never gave up.
In the opening bout of the evening, heavyweight Joe Salvatore’s pro debut was over in one minute. Salvatore, who was cornered by John David Jackson, knocked Wilfred Bailey’s mouthpiece out just seconds into the fight. Bailey, looked like he wanted no more, took a knee, while holding his shoulder complaining of an injury. The fight was called off and Salvatore was declared the winner via TKO.
