by Tim Harrison
Delvin Rodriguez (27-6-3, 15 KOs ) outclassed and stopped the undefeated, yet untested George “Comanche Boy” Tahdooahnippah (31-1-1, 23 KOs) in six easy rounds at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut in the Friday Night Fights main event.
“Comanche Boy” entered the ring in grand fashion, with “Ten Little Indian Boys” playing loudly throughout the arena and a big chunk of his Oklahoma fan base in attendance. It was quite an introduction to a national audience. Unfortunately for Tahdooahnippah, his performance in the ring was overshadowed by his ring-walk. Rodriguez came in to the ring in a more subdued fashion, but more ready to get down to business.
The first round was somewhat evenly contested early on, with Rodriguez looking to get a feel for Tahdooahnippah, who looked wound up as tight as hand-woven rope. Rodriguez took control midway through the round when he found a wide, gaping opening for his right hand. He landed that punch several times in the second round, and had Tahdooahnippah on queer street and holding on to keep from going down. Rodriguez never got into third gear and allowed Tahdooahnippah to make it out of the round.
A miscommunication almost stopped the fight during the break when Eddie Cotton mistook a signal from the ringside physician as a reason to stop the fight. After getting back on the same page (and a 90-second break between rounds) the fight resumed. The third round was more of the same, with blood appearing on the face of Tahdooahnippah to make things interesting. Rodriguez mixed in some hooks to the body over the next couple rounds, but was warned for a low blow when he landed a perfectly legal shot to the rib cage of Tahdooahnippah.
Tahdooahnippah showed toughness and grit, taking many big shots that had him teetering to and fro. But it was a series of hard right hands and solid left hooks to Tahdooahnippah’s bleeding head, forcing him to stagger from corner to corner, that forced Eddie Cotton to step in and end the bloodletting in the 2:41 mark of the sixth round.
After a poor showing in his last bout against Austin Trout, Delvin Rodriguez gets back on track and notches his 15th career Friday Night Fights win. Tahdooahnippah will likely go back to the Oklahoma club circuit where he can make a good living.
Chris Howard (15-2-1, 7 KOs) scored a surprising one-punch knockout victory over Bayan Jargal (17-4-3, 11 KOs) on the undercard. After fighting cautiously against a forward-moving Jargal over the first two rounds, Howard took advantage of a stationary Jargal when he followed a short jab with a hammer-like straight right hand in the third round. The punch sent Jargal crumpling slowly to the canvas. He would get up at the count of six, but the referee called a stop to the fight when Jargal was unable to face him or walk straight.
The four-round swing bout pitted Enver Halili (2-0, 1 KO) against Antonio Marrero (1 no-contest) in an entertaining, but sloppy fight. Marrero was the aggressor early on, but Halili was the more skilled fighter, forcing Marrero to miss with wild shots and follow him around the ring. All three judges scored the fight in favor of Halili, with The Boxing Tribune chiming in with a fourth scorecard reading 40-36 in favor of Halili.
The walkout-fight featured Tylon Burris (4-0, 3 KOs) taking on Marlon Farr (2-1) in a six-rounder. Farr, in flashy black and silver trunks and knee-high yellow socks, looked the part of a seasoned showman. Unfortunately he didn’t offer much resistance to the slightly more experienced, but conventionally-outfitted Burris. Farr looked comfortable leaning back on the ropes and peeking out from behind his gloves after taking one or two wide shots from Burris, only to grab on and hold once Burris finished punching.
Farr lasted the full six rounds without ever being in serious trouble, but lost a shutout to Burris, who never did much more than he needed, on all three judges’ scorecards. The Boxing Tribune also scored the fight 60-54 for Burris.
Friday Night Fights returns next week with a bona fide world title fight between IBF junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson and former 140-pound belt-holder, Kendall “Rated-R” Holt from the DC Armory in Washington D.C.
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