Local Las Vegas Boxers Sweep “Punch-Out at the Plaza”
By Albert Howell: Cruiserweight Dewey Cooper, lightweight Lonnie Smith, and welterweights Abdon Lozano and Said El Harrak all from Las Vegas emerged victorious on Friday Night on the local card dubbed “Punch-Out at the Plaza” held at the Plaza Hotel-Casino of Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Main Event featured the cruiserweight battle between Dewey Cooper (18-3, 10 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada versus Corey Phelps of Catlettsburg, Kentucky. Cooper and Phelps (15-6-1, 7 KOs) were battling for the kobra moniker as both go by the nickname “The Kobra.” After a hard fought eight-round battle, Cooper emerged as the dominant kobra fighter winning a lopsided unanimous decision victory.
Cooper, a southpaw, landed a right jab that snapped back the head of his foe to commence the action in the opening stanza. The Las Vegan followed up with an overhand left that found its target. Then, a straight left by Cooper needled its way between the gloves of Phelps. Cooper possessed the heavier hands and it showed from the outset. A lead left by Cooper awakened his opponent. The right-handed Phelps shot back a lead right of his own. Phelps followed up with a left hook upstairs. An angered Cooper retaliated with a monstrous lead left hand that crashed into the cranium of his opposition. A sober Cooper followed up the crushing left with a double one-two combination. A left hook by Cooper caught Phelps coming in. It was a good opening round for Cooper as he won the session handily.
In the second episode, Cooper emerged from his stool and targeted Phelps’s body for a right hook. The Las Vegan followed up the hook with a lead left that snapped back the head of his adversary. Phelps covered up as Cooper unloaded a barrage of power punches. Phelps finally came out of his turtle defense and connected on a right hook to the side of Cooper’s midsection. Cooper responded with a one-two, right-left combination. Phelps shot back a lead right. Cooper ended the episode by pushing Phelps to the ropes where he barraged his opponent with a flurry of punches. Cooper banked another round.
In the third session it was Phelps who began the action. The Kentucky Kobra connected with a right hook to the body of Cooper. Phelps followed the hook with a left jab that scored. Cooper answered back with a left uppercut that landed under the chin of his combatant. Not to be outdone, Phelps responded with a straight right to the solar plexus of his contestant. The landed punch marked a turning of the tide. Phelps for the first time in the fight was dominating his cruiserweight competition. Feeling the round slipping away, Cooper successfully landed four punches in a row between and around the guard of his southern foe. But, Phelps refused to lose the third stanza. The Kentucky native connected with a power shot then wisely clinched as Cooper tried to steal the round with a flurry at the end. It was too little too late as the Kentucky Kobra had already banked the third round for himself.
Cooper emerged from his stool in the fourth intent to return the tide of the fight in his favor. Up two rounds to one, it was apparent from the look on Cooper’s face that the hometown fighter was determined not to lose another round. A double right jab landed for Cooper to begin the action in the fourth episode. Phelps shot back with a single left jab of his own. Looking to slow down his opponent, Cooper connected on a straight left to the solar plexus of Phelps. The man known as the Black Kobra, Cooper landed a smashing left to the gut of his adversary. The Black Kobra was much sharper in the fourth session than the previous round. Cooper dug a right hook to the side of his opponent’s gut. Cooper followed up with two left hooks downstairs. Cooper won round four compliments of his crisper punching.
A sweeping left hook upstairs connected for Phelps to commence the action in the fifth stanza. Cooper answered back with a lead left to the face of his foe. The two combatants traded hooks on the inside. Cooper landed a bunch of punches as Phelps hid behind his guard. By now Phelps’ mouth was open an obvious sign that he was tiring. A lead left to the nose scored for Cooper followed by a right hook to the body. Cooper outworked his competition to win round five.
Cooper scored with a right jab to begin round six. Three left hooks to the body of his contestant landed for Cooper. A right hand behind the jab connected for Phelps. Cooper responded with a lead left that landed flush snapping back the head of his foe. A sweeping right hook by Cooper tagged the side of Phelps’ head. Cooper followed up with a left hand that smashed into the face of his competitor. Cooper won the sixth round and now held a comfortable lead of five rounds to one.
A double right jab followed by a straight left scored for Cooper at the beginning of round seven. Phelps retaliated with a solid right hand behind a feint jab that opened up the guard of his opponent. It was Phelps’ best punch of the round. The picturesque punch awakened Cooper who fired back a left hand that hurt Phelps. Visibly shaken, Phelps wisely clinched. After regaining his composure, Phelps slammed a left hook into the side of his adversary’s head. Cooper answered back with a left hand to the face of his opponent. Phelps dug a right hook to the body of Cooper at the end of round seven. The seventh session was hotly contested with Cooper barely edging out his opponent to win the episode.
After Phelps scored with a one-two combination, Cooper left nothing to chance dominating his opposition the rest of the way in the eighth and final round. Cooper dug hooks to the body of his foe before pushing Phelps back to the ropes where he unloaded a barrage of hard punches. Cooper displayed his stamina by keeping his work-rate high throughout the eighth episode. Two straight lefts by Cooper landed on the button smashing into Phelps’ nose. Cooper followed up quickly with two right hooks to the side of the body of his opponent. A right hand over the top landed flush for Cooper. A big overhand left nailed Phelps on top of the head. Cooper clearly outworked his opposition in the final round.
All three judges scored the bout 79-73 in favor of the hometown hero Cooper by unanimous decision. Cooper said afterwards that he is a dual-sport competitor, and the plans for his next fight will be a kick-boxing contest.
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Welterweight Lozano Earns Unanimous Decision Win!
In a six-round welterweight duel, Ardon Lozano (6-0, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada defeated Andre “Gorgeous” Gorges (8-1, 6 KOs) of Windsor, Canada. Both boxers entered the ring with unblemished records in this battle of undefeated welterweights.
In the opening stanza, Lozano began the action by scoring with two jabs to the body of his combatant. Gorges fired back with a right hand to the face of his opponent. The two fighters traded hooks to the body. A counter left by Gorges caught Lozano coming in flush. Lozano was cut over the right eye. The first round was a bit sloppy with a lot of clinching and neither fighter gaining a significant advantage.
Lozano commenced the action in the second with two hooks to the body of his adversary. Gorges retaliated with a sweeping left hook that scored. Lozano shot back an uppercut. A right hand connected for Gorges. A Lozano counter left upstairs tagged Gorges coming in. Gorges responded by tagging Lozano with a left hook to the head. The second session was another closely contested round.
An overhand right landed for Lozano to begin the third episode. Three uppercuts on the inside connected for Lozano in rapid succession. Lozano had Gorges stunned as he followed him around the ring. Two uppercuts followed by two hooks to the body scored for Lozano. In the third stanza, Lozano demonstrated his superior will as he literally willed himself to win the third round. It was the first clearly won round for either man.
A right uppercut landed on the button for Lozano. It was his best punch of the round, and the one that began the fourth. A compact left hook by Gorges momentarily stunned Lozano. But, Lozano recovered quickly and responded with a lead right that snapped back the head of his foe. Again, Lozano’s desire to win helped him eke out another round.
An overhand right by Lozano connected to begin the fistic action in the fifth stanza. A Lozano left jab snapped back the head of his foe. Gorges answered back with a lead right hand. Gorges looked to be tiring as Lozano’s body assault was having the effect of slowing down his defensive-minded opposition. The winded Gorges did not have the same zip on his punches as he did at the beginning of the contest. A looping left landed for Gorges in close quarters but Lozano did not even feel the punch. Lozano edged out Gorges in the fifth earning him three clear rounds in a row.
In the sixth and final session, a lead right by Lozano smacked flush to the face of his combatant. The fabulous right punch was followed up with two uppercuts on the inside. A tired Gorges responded by getting on his bicycle and pumping out the jab to try and keep the charging, pressing Lozano off of him. A left hand by Gorges caught Lozano coming in. But the shot was largely ineffective as Lozano walked right through it. Lozano retaliated by digging a deadly right hook to the side of Gorges’ gut. Lozano showed his heart as he won the sixth his fourth clearly won round in a row.
All three judges scored the bout 59-55 in favor of Lozano by unanimous decision. With the victory, Lozano remains undefeated. Afterwards, Lozano said that he was content with the victory over his previously undefeated opponent. He added that Gorges’ awkward style made for a bit of an ugly contest.
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Smith Scores 3rd Round Knockout!
Local favorite Lonnie Smith (8-2, 6 KOs) of Las Vegas scored a spectacular third round knockout over fellow lightweight James Lester Jr. (8-3, 4 KOs) of Detroit, Michigan.
Smith landed a right over the top to commence the combat. The two fighters traded hooks to the body. A picturesque left hook landed perfectly earning Smith a first round knockdown. After referee Joe Cortez administered the eight-count Smith jumped all over Lester. It appeared Lester was dropped a second time by another smashing left hook, but this time Cortez ruled it a slip. Back on his feet, Lester shot back scoring with a left hook to the head of Smith. The opening stanza was a 10-8 round for Smith, but could have been scored a 10-7 round had Cortez counted the second knockdown versus ruling it a slip.
Determined to stay in the fight, Lester came off his stool in the second episode throwing hard punches. Lester caught Smith coming in twice with left uppercuts which landed flush under the chin of his foe. Lester pushed Smith to the ropes and unleashed a volley of punches. Lester was on the comeback trail after tasting the canvas in round one. Feeling the round slipping away, Smith connected on a crushing left hook to the body. Lester wisely clinched. A Smith right needled its way through the guard of his combatant. Smith followed up with a left hook to the body. The two contestants traded hooks on the inside. A Smith right landed over the top. A Lester left hook connected upstairs. A Smith right uppercut landed under his opponent’s chin. In close quarters again, the two boxers traded power shots. The second round proved to be an exciting back-and-forth conflict with each assailant scoring power points. This was not a jabbing contest as both fighters proved economical with their jabs and liberal with their power punching. It was definitely a spectator fight a contest fought for the appreciation of the fans.
In round three, Smith connected on a double jab followed by a barrage of power shots that hurt Lester. Smith was a man on the mission. It dawned on the stunned Lester that Smith was out for blood intent on winning this battle by knockout. But, an offensive-minded Lester did not have the defensive resources to keep Smith at bay. Smith landed power shot after power shot- hooks, uppercuts and power rights and lefts. Lester was cut over the eye. Sniffing the blood, Smith determined to end his wounded prey. A hell-bent Smith landed a crushing overhand right. The right hand completely devastated Lester, who fell wickedly to the floor landing flat on his back. Lester was out. Referee Joe Cortez immediately waived off the bout as the ring physician rushed to Lester’s side. Thankfully, Lester was not seriously injured by the lethal blow. After just a few minutes of aid, Lester was able to stand up on his two feet of his own accord.
It was scored a knockout at 2:10 of round three for the victor and celebrated hometown hero Smith.
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El Harrak Scores Shutout Victory
Undefeated Said El Harrak (6-0, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas won a shutout victory in his four round welterweight battle with James Helmes (6-4, 1 KO) of Cincinnati, Ohio.
A sweeping left hook by El Harrak connected followed by a straight right to begin the combat. El Harrak followed up with a left to the body and a left hook upstairs. A right over the top crashed into the head of Helmes. El Harrak was economical with his jabs in the opening stanza as he focused his attention on landing power shots. Helmes was out-classed in this contest as he led with his head leaving himself wide open for El Harrak’s quick-fisted attack. A lead right by El Harrak tagged Helmes on the nose. The first round was all El Harrak as Helmes landed nothing flush.
A left hook to the cranium landed for El Harrak to begin the second episode. Helmes retaliated this time with a straight left. A lead right by El Harrak hurt his opponent who clinched. An El Harrak left hook to the side of the gut connected followed by a right over the top. Helmes answered back with a counter right that landed flush to the skull of El Harrak. It was Helmes’ best punch of the night. El Harrak was cut over the left eye. A Helmes counter left hook connected upstairs. Although Helmes made it competitive, the second was still El Harrak’s round.
El Harrak dug a left hook to the body followed by a straight lead right to the head to commence the fistic battle in the third session. A right jab landed for El Harrak followed by a one-two combination then a crushing right that stunned Helmes. A one-two combination again scored for El Harrak. An El Harrak left hook crashed flush into the face of his adversary followed up by damaging hooks to the midsection. A lead right by El Harrak was answered by a counter left hook by Helmes. El Harrak had his combatant hurt in the third stanza, but the man from Ohio was game and weathered the storm.
A triple jab by El Harrak began the fourth and final round. El Harrak dug a left to the gut of his contestant followed by a lead right. Helmes responded by tagging El Harrak flush with a lead left hand. A one-two combination by El Harrak was blocked by Helmes’ gloves. A determined El Harrak stunned his adversary with a smashing one-two combination to the skull. A lead right landed for El Harrak followed by a right to the body. At this point in the round, Helmes was just hanging on. Another lead right crashed into the cranium of Helmes followed by an overhand right. Helmes was never in this round, but he held on and finished the fight on his feet thanks to his head movement.
All three judges scored the bout a shutout victory 40-36 for El Harrak. The unanimous decision victory means that El Harrak remains undefeated as a professional.
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