Saturday, December 12, 2009
UIC PAVILION, Chicago, ILHeavyweights - 4 rounds
DARLINGTON AGHA ------------TERRY ADAMS
Sugarland, TX---------------------Huntsville, AL
239 lbs, 1-0 (1 KO)----------------208 lbs, 0-1
In this first fight of the afternoon, Agha avoided the heavily-muscled telegraphed hooks of Adams, who seemed winded after the first round, prompting his corner to stop the fight at 0:01 of round two. Agha improves his professional record to 2-0 with 2 KO’s.
DOMINIC GUINN-------------------- CHARLES DAVIS
Houston, TX--------------------------- Tuscon, AZ
239 lbs, 31-6-1 (21 KO’s)------------ 214 lbs, 19-17-2 (4 KO’s) 
At one time, it seemed that at least a portion of America’s heavyweight hopes were pinned on Guinn, who impressed with his power and patience early in his career. That was in 2000, and a lot of time has passed since then. In this six-rounder, Guinn showed that he has just enough left in the tank to escape with scores of 58-56 (twice) and 60-54 against a now 19-18 fighter. Despite the boos from the crowd, Dominic Guinn improves his record to 32-6-1 with 21 KO’s.
OMAR FIGUEROA--------------- ANTHONY WOODS
Welasco, TX----------------------- Nassau, BAH
138.5 lbs, 7-0 (7 KO’s)------------ 137.5 lbs, 6-12 (3 KO’s) 
It’s really a joy to see a young, undefeated power-puncher in the lower weights, and Omar Figueroa definitely fit’s the bill. He’s fast, has good power, and he improves to 8-0 with all eight wins coming by way of knockout. Tonight, the Welasco, TX native needed only a round and a half to dispatch of the game and wiry Woods with his accurate jab and relentless two-handed body attack, paired with his strong hooks to the head. The referee was forced to stop the fight at 1:46 of round two for a Figueroa TKO victory. Look for Figueroa to be quite a force in the junior welter or welter divisions in the near future.
RONALD HEARNS--------------- SHADRACK KIPRUTO
Southfield, MI--------------------- Nairobi, KEN
154 lbs, 22-1 (17 KO’s)------------ 154.5 lbs, 10-11 (7 KO’s)
Ronald “The Chosen One” Hearns boxed with his legendary daddy, Tommy “Hitman” Hearns sitting ringside, to the delight of the Chicago crowd. This Hearns is still lanky, and quite powerful, too. Perhaps he’s on the same road that his father paved, but only time will tell. On this night, Hearns sent Kipruto to the canvas in the second with his lightning-quick right hand, which was set up by his “flicker” jab, which kept Kipruto off-balance the whole fight. A perfectly-timed overhand right landed square on the temple of Kipruto, prompting the referee to immediately wave off the fight at 2:33 of round 6, improving Hearns’ record to 23-1 with 18 KO’s.
JERMELL CHARLO--------------- ABDON LOZANO
Houston, TX------------------------ Las Vegas, NV
146.5 lbs, 9-0 (4 KO’s)------------- 146.5 lbs, 6-0 (1 KO)
Now this isn’t something you see everyday. Two young undefeated up-and-comers willing to fight one another, neither of which anywhere near their hometown. Lozano sustained a flash knockdown in the first ten seconds of the fight but recovered nicely, making the first round really exciting. Charlo caught Lozano with a left hook at 2:11, sending him to the canvas, slamming Lozano’s head backwards onto the canvashard enough to keep him down for a full ten-count, ending Lozano‘s undefeated record, and improving Charlo‘s professional record to 10-0 with 5 KO‘s.
RANDALL BAILEY------------- GERMAINE SANDERS
Miami, FL----------------------- Chicago, IL
148 lbs, 39-7 (35 KO’s)--------- 146.5 lbs, 27-7 (17 KO’s)
Randall Bailey is a real “fight fan’s” fighter. He’s quick, he’s strong, and he scores knockouts. After scoring a knockdown late in the first round, Bailey scored another knockdown late in the second. Again in the fifth, Sanders hit the deck, but got up and continued to take more and more punishment at the hands of “The KO King“. Sanders, to his credit, boxed well in the sixth and seventh, possibly getting a second wind. The eighth round was actually give-and-take, but Bailey had done more than enough to secure the victory by unanimous decision, improving to 40-7 with 35 KO’s. Scores were 78-71, 79-70, and 77-72.
HYLON WILLIAMS------------ HUMBERTO T APIA
Houston, TX--------------------- Tijuana, MEX
137 lbs, 11-0 (3 KO’s)----------- 137 lbs, 14-11-1 (7 KO’s) 
Now this was an interesting one. . . Tapia is only capable of moving forward, and Williams is a classic counterpuncher. Combining this with the undefeated record of Williams on the line, we had the ingredients for a real barnburner. After a high-spirited first four rounds, the fifth is where the fire started. Tapia walked into a Williams lead right, then ate ten or so unanswered shots to the delight of the Chicago crowd. The hand speed of Williams is the stuff dreams are made of, but he doesn’t use speed as often as he could, or should. Oftentimes, he’s content to sit back and counter with standard uppercuts and hooks. Just imagine what this 19 year old man will be able to accomplish when his skills are complete. After an all-action eighth round where both fighters scored well, the scores were all the same (80-72) in a fight the audience really rose to the occasion for. Williams improves to 12-0 with 3 KO’s.
JIMMY HERRERA------------ GUSTAVO PALACIOS
Chicago, IL--------------------- Chicago, IL
146 lbs, pro debut------------- 148 lbs, 2-6 (1 KO)
Jimmy Herrera needed only 28 seconds to dispatch of durable but overmatched Palacios. Herrera put Palacios on the seat of his pants almost immediately after the bell started the fight, and Palacios struggled to get, but upon getting up, was waved off by the referee. This gives Herrera a professional record of 1-0 with one knockout.
ARGENIS MENDEZ------------- MORRIS CHULE
Brooklyn, NY--------------------- Nairobi, KEN
130 lbs, 14-1 (9 KO’s)------------ 129.5 lbs, 7-7-1 (7 KO’s)
The overhand right and left hook of Mendez controlled the early part of this fight, keeping Chule off-balance and guessing. Chule’s chin is most impressive, as he took plenty of Mendez’s best shots cleanly. This was a long and drawn-out affair, with Mendez doing most of the landing, and Chule doing more than his share of absorbing blows. Chule’s gameness and toughness are admirable, but I doubt he won even a round. 78-74 and 80-72 (twice) sealed the deal to improve Mendez’s professional record to 15-1 with 9 KO’s.
ERISLANDY LARA---------------- LUCIANO PEREZ
Guantanamo, CUB---------------- Chicago, IL
155.5 lbs, 8-0 (5 KO’s)------------ 155.5 lbs, 17-9-1 (15 KO’s)
Lara’s pedigree, along with his former stablemate, Yuriorkis Gamboa, have been tearing up the sport since their recent deportation from their native Cuba. After bloodying Perez’s nose in the first round, Perez basically threw just as many punches as Lara. The big difference was how often Lara was able to connect which was considerably more than Perez. Perez fought gamely, but in the end, was no match for the more polished Lara, who with scores of 100-90 and 99-91 (twice) improved his undefeated record to 9-0.
***Special thanks to Golden Boy Promotions, Dibella Promotions, and 8Count Promotions for issuing Bolo Punch the credentials for to cover this event.Photography by Emil Kegebein LegUpPhotos.com. All photos are the sole property of Bolo Punch, and cannot be used without permission.
Ringside report by Chris Guzman. No portion of this report can be used without permission.
JUAN DIAZ Houston, TX 138.4 lbs, 35-2 (17 KO’s)
The first round was pretty much cat and mouse, with no true aggressor, but Malignaggi had the “crowd advantage” as the cheers of “Paulie, Paulie, Paulie” could be heard throughout the stadium. Diaz also has more than his share of fans here, and the “Diaz, Diaz, Diaz” chants were screamed at the exact same volume. Paulie used his slick boxing skills to take the second round with his uppercuts right through Diaz’s defenses. A cut opened up over the left eye of Diaz, probably the same cut he suffered at the hands of Marquez, which reopened for Malignaggi in their first fight. Rumor has it that it never healed properly. At the end of round three, Diaz lands a couple of left hooks, which Malignaggi shrugs off with a smile. Malignaggi took the fourth round with his accurate jabs and hooks on the outside.
Diaz is more successful in the fifth with his inside hooks to the head and body. Paulie acts as if they don’t bother him, but we’ll see. Paulie comes out and totally dominates the sixth with his accuracy on the outside, even wobbling Diaz towards the end of the round. I can’t help but think, that since styles make fights, these two were absolutely MADE to fight one another. Slick, brash boxer versus forward-moving humble hook-thrower. The seventh wasn’t exactly action-packed, but Paulie’s jab kept Diaz at bay. Eighth round finds Diaz pushing forward, scoring to the body, and winning the round. Diaz took the ninth round too, still by bulling forward, making Paulie circle more than usual, not allowing him to get set and score, himself.
Round ten finds Diaz’s glove 
Scores: 116-111 all for Malignaggi, the new NABO junior welterweight championship. Congrats, Paulie. You earned it.
