Boxing Insider hosted six bouts this evening as part of their main event at Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which we covered ringside.
Here’s a recap of the notable bouts:
Ronnell Burnett Injures Hand, Loses to Giacomo (Jack) Micheli Via TKO in Round One
In a rather short super lightweight bout, both fighters came out with high energy, easily matching each other’s slick pace, and applying appropriate pressure, respectively, with hopes to establish ring control early.
Burnett attacked with his piercing jab, while Micheli initially threw hefty combos, however, both stood toe-to-toe landing clean shots. While Micheli seemed to employ aggression first in round one, Burnett was able to showcase his pressing power, landing a notable sharp left hook to the body.
What was slated for an even eight round matchup resulted in a TKO victory for Micheli, as Burnett believed he had broken his right hand.
Ronnell Burnett falls to 11-2 (7 KOs) while Giacomo (Jack) Micheli improves to 9-0 (7 KOs).
Bruce Seldon Jr. Bests Julio Mendoza in a Heavyweight Slugfest
Atlantic City favorite Bruce Seldon Jr. bested Julio Mendoza in his first full-length bout, which went to the judges scorecards after four rounds.
Seldon rushed his opponent with three jarring jabs out of the gate, and in round one, rattled Mendoza with a back-to-back right and left hook, forcing him into the corner.
Seldon landed consistent power shots and ended the round with a one-two targeted toward the body.
Constant activity was Seldon’s strong point, as his constant power hooks in the pocket proved difficult for Mendoza, who was stunned in round two by a sharp left.
Fast forward to round four, both fighters were noticeably tired and slugging at the ring’s center, also engaging in friendly trash talk.
Finally, Mendoza was able to land a couple punches of substance, connecting with two overhand rights — but it was simply not enough.
Mendoza took a lot of damage, much to the surprise of Seldon, who exclaimed “he’s got a hell of a chin,” in his ringside interview.
Bruce Seldon Jr. jumped to 4-0 (3 KOs) as Julio Mendoza dropped to 3-5 (2 KOs).
Donte Layne Easily Overpowers Shaquille Cameron in Round One
The two super middleweights were scheduled to hash it out for six rounds, but the smooth southpaw in Layne quickly instilled his sharp lead hand to rattle Cameron, and ultimately unleashed a fury of intense hooks and uppercuts to the head and body forcing Cameron against the ropes.
Cameron was just aiming to survive.
Layne was cool, calm and collected, and forced Cameron to the canvas off of a right hook to his left side that ended the bout for all.
Donte Layne impressed his way to 5-0 (5 KOs), while Shaquille Cameron picked up his fourth loss, 7-4 (6 KOs).
TRIPLE MAIN EVENT:
Avious Griffin Proves Legitimacy in Welterweight Division With Fourth Round Knockout
The triple main event was kicked off by Avious Griffin and Adrian Gutierrez, which was action packed from the first bell.
Griffin stuck with a pristine jab initially, clearly studying his opponent, and remaining poised while absorbing a few knocking shots.
Round two, Gutierrez unloaded, and was showing confidence despite being the pre-fight underdog.
Both fighters exchanged in the pocket, catching one another, and Gutierrez was able to punch through Griffin’s gloves, and hurt him with a fury of hooks. But, Griffin came right back to stumble Gutierrez with a left.
Rather than pivot out, Gutierrez became too comfortable, chasing Griffin as a result of his trades proving somewhat successful.
Gutierrez, while leaning in, tossed out an overhand right and jab toward Griffin, which resulted in him getting a direct straight right to end the night — shedding light on the advantage of Griffin’s longer reach.
Griffin took time to set up his shot, allowing Gutierrez to get comfortable in the early rounds.
Avious Griffin remains undefeated at 16-0 (15 KOs) and Adrian Gutierrez picked up his third loss, maintaining a still positive record of 12-3-1 (6 KOs).
“Dimes” Crowder Grabs Interesting First Round Knockout Over Duke Micah
The two bantamweights lasted all of 93 seconds, as “Dimes” used his length, sticking the far shorter Micah, who was hit with a one-two, let out a cry, and quickly ran to his corner to take a knee.
Upon replay, the punches hit Micah’s glove, and there was no indication of a clear connection.
Micah did not attempt to get up.
Dominique Crowder is now an impressive 18-0 (11 KOs) and Duke Micah falls to 24-3 (19 KOs).
Mr. Atlantic City Ends the Evening in Style to Conclude the Evening
Justin Figueroa, aka “Mr. Atlantic City,” dominated vs Omar Rosales.
Figueroa, Atlantic City’s prodigy, took his time in round one, but slowly began pounding on Rosales, catching him with power shots — particularly his straight right — and his jab, which in itself seemed like a knockout punch.
Figueroa walked down Rosales with power shot after power shot, and a final jab and straight put Rosales to the canvas, much to the pleasure of the crowd.
Still undefeated, Justin Figueroa is 11-0 (9 KOs) and Omar Rosales, now, 9-4-1 (5 KOs).
Jack Walsh is a New York-based journalist, currently working at a television station as a real time editor, and also an amateur boxer. He hopes to continue diving into the journalistic side of boxing and provide a unique, independent perspective. His work has also appeared in Boxing News Online.