By Jason Pribila: With a Winter Storm bearing down on the East Coast, Philadelphia fight fans found shelter at the Legendary Blue Horizon.
Philadelphia’s Derek Ennis and Bethlehem’s Ronald Cruz provided enough fire-power inside to make fans forget about the snow falling outside.
Ennis (20-2-1, 13 KOs) returned to the ring where he was last seen waging war against Eromosele Albert in October, 2009. That close, but unanimous decision earned Ennis the vacant USBA light middleweight title. That title was not on the line when he entered the ring to face rugged trial horse, Edwin Vazquez (22-15-2) on Friday evening.
While it took Ennis a few minutes to find his rhythm, it was evident that he owned every advantage over his opponent. While he was only able to land single shots to Vazquez’ body, it was clear that Ennis had his full movement after coming off an ankle injury that previously postponed this bout.
Ennis began landing combinations during the second round. Vazquez chose bravado over defense as if to tell Ennis he would have to break him down to earn a victory. Ennis was more than happy to oblige, and he began to do damage.
It became evident that it would be Ennis night during the third round when he landed two body shots and a big right that sent Vazquez into the ropes for an apparent knockdown. Although the referee failed to rule a knockdown, Ennis remained focused and continued to pound away throughout the round.
After the pace slowed in Round 4, a refreshed Ennis again put his pedal to the medal. A left hook to the body finally sent Vazquez down for a count of eight. When Vazquez rose, he was greeted with a follow-up assault capped off with a combo that sent Vazquez down a second time. Although he reached his feet, he was in no condition to continue, and the bout was waved off.
Ennis hopes to return to the ring in April and position himself for a title shot later this year.
The evening’s co-feature matched undefeated welterweight, Ronald Cruz against his most experienced foe to date, Martinez Clay (13-23-4).
Cruz was not fooled by Clay’s record. He realized he was facing an experienced guy that has made a career of taking on the best prospects available. However, when the opening bell rang, it was Cruz that fought like a seasoned pro.
Clay showed Cruz good lateral movement early, and kept him at bay by throwing a quick jab. Cruz remained disciplined and cut off the ring behind his high guard. He showed improved footwork and resisted the temptation of lunging at his opponent.
Cruz began to let his hands go in round two. Crisp combos to the body and head found their mark. Clay continued to land one punch at a time, but he could not keep up with the pace that Cruz was beginning to set.
Sensing his opponent had been softened up; Cruz began to throw punches with bad intentions in the third round. Wide body shots began to move Clay backwards, and a big counter right marked the beginning of the end. Cruz moved in for the kill behind a series of chopping blows that broke Clay down until he was vulnerable for a Cruz uppercut that sealed the deal.
This was the most complete performance of Cruz’ young career a
nd he will be fun to watch as long as he continues to improve.
Undercard:
Former US Olympic Alternate, Eric “The Outlaw” Hunter (12-1, 5 KOs) delivered a left hook to Roberto Bonilla’s body as the bell sounded to end the opening stanza. Not even a minute to rest was enticing enough for Bonilla to rise to his feet, and the bout was waved off. This was Hunter’s seventh victory in a row, and we hope to see him more active in 2010, as he only fought once in 2009, and twice in 2008.
Heavyweight Joey Dawejko needed only 47 seconds to make his Philadelphia debut a successful one, as he blew out late replacement Ricardo Johnson.
The most crowd pleasing bout was an eight minute battle between female welterweights Jacqueline Davis and Melisenda Perez. Each woman had her moments as they engaged throughout the four round war. When Davis would land it would only seem to anger Perez, who would react by charging forward.
Davis eventually won the decision, but the standing ovation belonged to both.
Swedish Heavyweight, Andres Gustafson (4-0, 2 KOs) stopped Levay King (0-2) in round two. Gustafson constantly switched between orthodox and southpaw, until he finally found a home for a straight right hand that ended the fight.
The opening bout of the evening saw Junior Welterweight, Clemente Bethea of Philadelphia make his professional debut a successful one against Henry Northan (0-2). Bethea jumped out to an early lead and was able to hold off Northan via split decision.
The seven bout card was promoted by Vernoca L. Michael and Blue Horizon Boxing Inc.
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