Detroit native Tony “SuperBad” Harrison knocked out Brain Chaves in the fourth round at Fox Theatre on Dec. 20, highlighting a night of local talent delivering excitement for the hometown crowd.
Harrison faced Chaves in the co-main event to Oliva Curry vs. Kaye Scott. Harrison made his entrance to the ring with Detroit rappers Doughboyz Cashout, singing along to their hit song ‘Ghetto Gold.’
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From the opening bell, Harrison displayed a style not normally seen from him. By standing in the pocket and trading blows, it was apparent Harrison was looking to get in close-range to unleash heavy punches.
Harrison landed heavy blows early while nullifying most of Chaves’ punches with a high guard.
At the end of the first round, Harrison launched a flurry of blows that sent Chaves tumbling to the canvas.
This would be the theme for the remainder of the fight as Harrison walked Chaves down with consistent pressure and powerful punches.
Chaves was a game opponent, trying to answer back with barrages of his own, but Harrison’s punches did more damage.
Harrison dropped Chaves again at the end of the third round with a left-hook straight-right combination.
Sensing Chaves was badly hurt, Harrison pounced on him in the fourth, stunning Chaves several times throughout until he eventually went down from a left-body-hook. Chaves was unable to beat the count and Harrison won by KO.
After the fight, Harrison dedicated the bout to the kids that train at his gym, SuperBad. He said he’s seeking help with getting a new roof for the facility.
---> SuperBad Boxing Gym seeks community’s help for renovations
Harrison also called out former Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. for a potential fight.
In the main event, Kaye Scott of Chicago, IL and Oliva Curry of Australia rematched after their previous fight ended in a draw.
At the opening bell the fight immediately picked up where they left off, as both exchanged heavy blows.
The high-action pace never settled as the pair battled for 10 rounds. However, as the fight went on Scott’s forward pressure allowed her to win more punch exchanges and push Curry backwards.
Curry valiantly fired back and landed some clean blows but Scott had more moments throughout the fight. The bout went to the judges’ scorecard with Scott winning by majority-decision and taking home the WBC and WBA World Middleweight titles.
Rising heavyweight prospect Pryce Taylor faced Michael Coffie in an eight-round bout.
Taylor opened the fight controlled and patient, utilizing a sharp jab to set up combinations. Taylor had the hand speed advantage as he consistently beat Coffie to the punch with a jab.
Coffie sustained heavy blows but also dished his own punches that backed Taylor up at times.
Whenever Taylor set his combinations up with the jab, Coffie could not effectively stop it.
The bout went to the judges’ scorecards with Taylor winning by unanimous-decision.
In another heavyweight bout, Flint native Sardius Simmons took on Colby Madison in a bout scheduled for six rounds.
The bell rang and Simmons seemingly waited for Madison to make a mistake. Simmons absorbed punches with his guard and used minimal movement for the first ten seconds.
Then all of a sudden, Simmons launched a huge left hook that sent Madison to the canvas and he could not beat the 10-count.
Simmons delivered a one-punch knockout within the first 30 seconds of the first round.
In the super featherweight division, Pontiac native Cameran “The Problem” Pankey fought Damian Alcala in a six-round bout.
Early in the first round, Alcala landed a hard right hand that momentarily stunned Pankey. Alcala aggressively pursued Pankey with a relelentless barrage of punches. Pankey struggled to find space to box from long-range.
However, towards the end of the round, Pankey settled in and started utilizing his hand speed, movement and ring IQ to fight his kind of fight.
In the second round, Pankey found a home for the jab-straight combination as well as the check left-hook which allowed him to dictate the pace and range of the fight.
Pankey landed several heavy left hooks and won punch exchanges due to the advantage in speed.
Pankey finished the fight on a high-note, delivering a barrage of punches as the final bell sounded.
The bout went to the judges’ scorecards with Pankey winning by unanimous-decision.
In the middleweight division, Flint native Jaquan McElroy faced Rakim Johnson in a four-round fight.
In the first round, McElroy dropped Johnson with a right-hand after throwing a jab. Johnson rose to his feet but McElroy followed with an overhand-right that sent Johnson to the canvas again.
Johnson survived the round but McElroy nearly knocked him out of the ring in the second.
Johnson was not given the opportunity to get up as the referee stopped the fight, making McElroy the winner by technical knockout.
In the welterweight divison, Dearborn Heights’ Husam Al-Mashhadi faced William Jackson in a bout scheduled for six rounds.
From the opening bell, Al-Mashhadi dazzled the crowd with lightning-fast hand speed and devastating power.
Al-Mashhadi hurt Jackson with a counter left to the body and scored a knockdown with a lead hook.
Al-Mashhadi followed with two successive lead hooks to the body that sent Jackson tumbling to the canvas.
This time, Jackson was unable to beat the count and Al-Mashhadi won by knockout.
In the light heavyweight division, Detroit’s Kahmel Makled faced Antonio Hernandez in a six round fight.
Makled displayed patience, discipline, power and solid defense from the opening bell. Makled’s sharp jab followed by combinations kept Hernandez on the defensive.
Hernandez seemingly didn’t want to exchange much, likely due to the possibility of leaving an opening for Makled to land a heavy blow.
Whenever Hernandez threw punches, Makled displayed solid heavy movement and a strong guard which made it difficult to land cleanly.
Makled mixed his punches to the head and body as he routinely hurt his opponent and sent him to the canvas in the third and sixth round.
Hernandez survived until the final bell but Makled won every round on all of the judges’ scorecards for the unanimous-decision victory.
In the super featherweight division, Flint native Garret “Baby G” Rice Jr. made his professional debut against Andrew Scott of Lansing.
Right at the opening bell Rice Jr. quickly dropped his opponent with a quick barrage of punches. Scott rose to his feet but was quickly floored again and the referee called a stop to the fight.
Rice Jr. opened his professional career with a technical knockout victory.
In the middleweight division, Detroit native Davante Shumate faced George Sosa in a four round fight.
Sosa was highly aggressive from the opening bell and found success backing Shumate to the ropes to unleash a barrage of punches. However, right when it looked like Sosa had the upper hand, Shumate dropped him with a check left hook.
Undeterred, Sosa rose to his feet and got right back on the attack, pressing Shumate into the ropes and landing heavy blows of his own.
Over the next three rounds Sosa broke Shumate down with consistent pressure which made Shumate start to slow down.
Shumate never stopped returning fire and found success landing the left hook throughout but it wasn’t enough. The bout went to the judges’ scorecard with Sosa winning by split-decision.
To open the night of boxing Toledo’s Antwan Jones faced Janer Gonzalez of Columbia.
The pace of the fight picked up in the second round with Jones and Gonzalez both trading heavy punches.
In the third round, Gonzalez hurt Jones with a sharp combination early in the round. Gonzalez started applying pressure behind combinations as Jones struggled to find distance. Both fighters exchanged heavy blows at the end of the round.
Gonzalez abruptly retired in between rounds three and four which made Jones the winner by technical knockout.