- Bryant Jennings vs. Maurice Byarm
Heavyweight prospect Bryant "Bye Bye" Jennings and junior middleweight contender "King" Gabriel Rosado had career-best nights on the same show, scoring signature wins in a pair of twin main events in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Asylum Arena in South Philadelphia.
Thrust into the main event on five days notice, Jennings and ex-Philadelphian Maurice "Freight Train" Byarm put on one of the most entertaining heavyweights fights in recent memory. What they lacked in technical skills, they made up for with huge hearts and intensity as Jennings finished with a strong 10th round to earn the unanimous decision by scores of 96-94, 96-94, 97-93. With it, Jennings, of North Philadelphia, picked up the vacant Pennsylvania State Heavyweight Title and now must be considered seriously among the best young heavies in the country.
Rosado, always banging on the door of the big-time, finally broke through with a resounding fifth-round knockout over steel-chinned contender Jesus Soto-Karass, of Los Mochis, Mexico.
The heavyweight contest began with a tenative first round, then it heated up. Byarm, 244.5 pounds, of Washington, DC, was the steadier of the two and his head-and-body attack had Jennings on the move.
Just when you thought it would be Byarm's night, Jennings, 220, would plant his feet and attack with swarms of punches, stopping Byarm in his tracks and scoring big.
This was the pattern. Byram would score early with workman-like precision and he landed several telling body shots. Jennings would fight in bursts, throwing punches in bunches.
The judges agreed unanimously on seven rounds, giving Jennings rounds 1, 3, 4, 8 and 10, and giving Byarm rounds 2 and 5. Still, with three other rounds up for grabs, Jennings led by only one point on two cards going into the 10th round. Rather than play it safe, he went for it and pounded Byarm along the ropes on more than one occasion, solidifying his victory.
Jennings, 27, moves to 12-0, 5 K0s. Byarm, 29, drops to 13-1-1, 9 K0s.
In the junior middleweight affair, Rosado, 153.5 pounds, was on the attack from the opening bell, pounding Soto-Karass, 154, with jab, hooks and right hands. His punches cut Soto-Karass on the left eye in round three and Rosado used that to his advantage.
The fourth round was a slugfest with Rosado getting the better of it despite Soto-Karass' constant combination punching to the body and head. Rather than punch himself out, Rosado never missed a beat. He hung Soto-Karass up in the corner midway through round five, had him hurt and kept firing until referee Steve Smoger stopped it at 2.06 of the round.
Rosado, ranked No. 10 by the IBF going in, moves to 19-5, 11 K0s. Soto-Karass, moving up to junior middleweight for the first time, drops to 24-7-3, 16 K0s.
In other bouts on the card: the New Ray Robinson, 148.5 pounds, Northeast Philadelphia, used movement to frustrate hard-hitting Doel Carrasquillo, 149, Lancaster, PA, earning a unanimous (79-73, 78-74, 78-74) eight-round decision, welterweights; Jose Peralta Alejo, 145, Jersey City, NJ, was too busy for Lenwood Dozier, 146, Glen Burnie, MD, winning easily by scores of 60-54 across the board, welterweights; Cuban amateur star Sullivan Barrera, 174.5, Miami, FL, outworked Damar Singleton, 176.5, Toledo, OH, in a battle of unbeaten light-heavyweights. Scores were 59-55, 60-54, 60-54; Naim Nelson, 137.5, North Philadelphia, registered a unanimous (40-36, 40-36, 40-36) four-round decision over Pedro Andres, Bridgeton, NJ, lightweights.