Junior middleweight prospect Josniel “TG” Castro beat Jerry “Silent Assassin” Bradford via an eight-round unanimous decision (79-73, 78-74, and 78-74) and obtained the vacant WBC US Silver junior middleweight title in the main event.
Photo: Emily Harney/Fightography.
“Winning this belt [his first title] means everything to me and is a step on the road to a world title. I am getting better each fight,” said Castro. “I am ready for whoever is next for me. I am working my way up the ranks. Hopefully, I can get another fight in before the end of the year.”
Castro landed more punches, especially straight jabs to the head and body that constantly connected. He also landed the harder punches, which had Bradford backing up for most of the fight. Bradford was the more active fighter, however, a lot of his punches missed or were blocked by Castro, who displayed great defense.
He improved to 13-1, 8 KOs. Castro has won four in a row, including an eight-round unanimous decision over then-undefeated Jalen Renaud (9-0, 3 KOs) in his last outing. Bradford dropped to 9-3, 5 KOs.
“Punch-Out at Polar Park II” was promoted by Shearns Boxing Promotions in conjunction with Kendrick Ball’s Camp Get Right Boxing at Polar Park (home of the Worcester Red Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox) in Worcester, Massachusetts. The main event and the eight undercard bouts were televised live on www.bxngtv.com.
Former female WBC interim world featherweight and IBF world super bantamweight champion Maureen “The Real Million Dollar Baby” Shea defeated Beata Dudek en route to an eight-round unanimous decision in which she won every round on all three judges’ scorecards (80-72, 80-72, and 80-72) in the co-feature. She improved to 32-2-1, 13 KOs. She is unbeaten in her last twenty bouts (nineteen wins and a split decision draw) over the last fifteen years. Dudek fell to 4-3, 4 KOs.
“I was aggressive and boxed. I listened to my corner. I showed my ring generalship and control. I am an aggressive fighter who is hungry, and I like to fight, but I also like to box,” said Shea. “I am happy with my performance, but I am a perfectionist, and I know that there are things that I can improve upon.”
Shea controlled this action-packed, entertaining junior featherweight bout, where both fighters threw non-stop punches. She was more active and got the better of the exchanges, especially on the inside. Shea connected on more combinations and landed her jab frequently, preventing Dudek from getting into any offensive rhythm.
“I want to get the world titles that are rightfully mine,” said Shea. “Women’s boxing is doing itself a disservice not to put me in significant fights when I can move and fight better than most world champions.”
In his professional debut, Justin “The Bandit” Laporte (1-0, 1 KO) knocked out Tymar Miles in the first round. The former United States Marine dropped Miles with a straight right and left jab to the head and then knocked him down with two left hooks to the head. Referee Jackie Morrell waived off the junior middleweight fight at one minute and two seconds as Miles could not beat his ten-second count. Miles dropped to 0-3.
Keno Luna obtained a four-round unanimous decision over Izaiah Vargas, winning every round on all three judges’ scorecards (40-36, 40-36, and 40-36). The former four-time New England Golden Gloves titleholder upped his record to 3-0, 2 KOs in his first bout that went past the third round. He will fight again on September 7th.
Vargas fell to 1-11, 1 KO. Luna controlled the action in this junior middleweight bout and got the better of the exchanges. He also connected on the harder punches and staggered Vargas several times but could not drop him.
Kevin “Big Gulp” Nagle dominated Jose “Olympico” Humberto Corral en route to a six-round unanimous decision as he won all but one round on two of the three judges’ scorecards (60-54, 59-55, and 59-55).
Nagle aggressively stalked Corral around the ring and landed whatever he threw in this one-sided heavyweight bout. Nagle kept his undefeated record intact (9-0, 7 KOs). He will fight again on November 27th in his fifth bout of the year and tenth fight in the last two years. Corral dropped to 20-34, 12 KOs.
In his professional debut, Jhon “D-Wave” Devers Rodriguez (1-0, 1 KO) won a first-round knockout over Igor Santos. Santos fell to 0-3. The former two-time New England Golden Gloves champion knocked Santos down twice from a right hook to the head and then an overhand right hook to the head. Referee Leo Gerstel called a halt to the junior middleweight fight at two minutes and two seconds when Santos could not beat his ten-second count.
“Grafton Hill’s Favorite Son” Dan Docimo (1-0, 1 KO) beat Tracey Coppedge via a first-round technical knockout in his professional debut. Docimo dropped Coppedge twice from right hooks to the body. Referee Morrell stopped the welterweight bout at one minute and twenty-four seconds as Coppedge was in no shape to continue to fight. Coppedge dropped to 0-4.
Joe Powers scored a second-round technical knockout over Aquilla Prote. He improved to 2-2, 2 KOs in his first bout in eleven years. Prote fell to 0-9. Powers dropped Prote towards the end of the first round from three consecutive right hooks to the body. He knocked Prote down twice in the second round from right hooks to the body. Referee Gerstel had seen enough and stopped the heavyweight fight at one minute and twenty-one seconds.
In his professional debut, Austin Cassese (1-0, 1 KO) made quick work of Erick Matheus Alves via a first-round technical knockout. Cassese knocked Alves down from a left-right hook to the head and then an overhand right hook to the head. Referee Morrell stopped the super middleweight bout at fifty-nine seconds when Alves could not beat his ten-second count. Alves dropped to 0-5.
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