by Joe Latti
Brick City Boxing
Alex Perez vs Brandon Adams
The 2015 Boxcino Super Welterweight tournament did not disappoint, as there was plenty of action throughout the night at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT.
Stanyslav Skorokhod (10-0-1, 5 KO) def. Michael Moore (13-1, 6 KO) by TKO in Round 4
Skorokhod came into the tournament with the least experience of all participants, but looked like a seasoned veteran as he went to work on Moore right out of the gate. The Ukranian landed a left hook that stunned Moore with a minute left in the second round, then continued the action into the corner with a flurry of damaging punches. The assault continued as Skorokhod dropped Moore with a big right hand 30 seconds into round three, and once again 40 seconds into round four. Referee Mike Ortega let the bout continue, but stopped it immediately after Moore was tagged with another power punch and looked to be out on his feet.
John Thompson (16-1, 6 KO) def. Ricardo Pinell (10-2-1, 6 KO) by UD
Cleotis Pendarvis failed to make weight for the tournament, which opened a spot for Newark, NJ native John Thompson to take this fight on 1 day of notice. The short notice had no ill-effect on Thompson as he dominated the first two rounds, with Pinell making a late surge at the very end of the second. Pinell carried that momentum into round three, which was much more even than the previous two, but Thompson gained momentum back in the final two rounds to earn an easy decision. The bout was scored 60-54 in favor of Thompson by all three judges.
Vito Gasparyan (15-3-5, 8 KO) def. Simeon Hardy (13-1, 10 KO) by UD
Gasparyan was inactive for two years prior to this bout against the undefeated Hardy, and rust may have shown as the first two rounds of this one were uneventful and even. The tides changed as Gasparyan landed big punches throughout round three and gained the edge in round four as well. Hardy bounced back early in round five, but Gasparyan put the pressure back on late in the round bringing it back to even. The final round started slow, but Gasparyan put the pressure on Hardy in the final minute which ultimately earned him a unanimous decision. The judges scored this one 60-54, 59-55, and 58-56 all in favor of Gasparyan.
Brandon Adams (16-1, 11 KO) def. Alex Perez (18-2, 10 KO) by TKO in Round 5
The closing bout of the evening featured two boxers who came in with only one defeat on their resume, that loss for Brandon Adams was in the 2014 Boxcino Middleweight Tournament finals. The bout was littered with power shots by Adams, which Perez toughed out in the early rounds and fired back some of his own. Adams stuck to his game plan by keeping the fight on the inside, and keeping Perez backed against the ropes. Adams landed a hard right hand in the 5th round that sent Perez to the canvas leading referee Harvey Dock to put an end to this one 2:47 into the round. The fans were treated to lots of action in this one to cap off an excellent night of boxing.
Alex Perez vs Brandon Adams
The tournament will resume April 3rd on ESPN2 with Skorokhod vs Thompson and Adams vs Gasparyan in the semifinal round. The favorites to move on to the final would be Skorokhod and Adams, however the skill of Thompson and the grit of Gasparyan will make the road to the finals difficult for both boxers.
Be sure to check back with BrickCityBoxing.com for all the future results and previews of the tournament, and tune in to ESPN2 at 9:00 pm ET this Friday for the first round of the 2015 Boxcino Heavyweight tournament.
Check out our preview of the 2015 Boxcino Heavyweight tournament here.
Photos courtesy of Samad Haq – Brick City Boxing