Leon Margules Warrior’s Boxing presented 12 bouts at the Minneapolis Armory in Minnesota Friday night over Fox Sports 1. Matchmaker was Melvin Rivas. They packed them in at the armory.
In the main event the No. 3 ranked Welterweight Jamal “Shango” James, 24-1 (11), of Minneapolis, MN, knocked out Mahonry “Russo Jr.” Montes, 35-8-1 (24), of Sinaloa, MEX, at 2:58 of the second round before his home crowd.
In the first round James circled Montes using an effective jab with occasional left hooks to the body. Montes landed the final punch a right to the body of James In the second round Montes was chasing and James boxing and countering. James landed a solid right to the body of Montes letting him know he may be moving away but has some power. Montes walked in and got nailed by James. Both fighters landed right hands to the head of one another. Seconds later Montes landed a right hand. James started throwing combinations looking to end it early. James landed a left hook to the body and down went Montes for the count by Referee Mark Nelson.
Middleweight southpaw Willie “Mongoose” Monroe, Jr., 23-3 (6), of Rochester, NY, easily defeated Javier “La Bestia” Francisco Maciel, 33-7 (23), of Bueno Aires, Argentina, over 10 rounds.
The first three rounds Monroe was giving Maciel problems being a southpaw. In the fourth round Maciel was doing better but Monroe had too much power for him. In the fourth round Monroe worked the body then to the head of Maciel. In rounds five through seven it was more of the same with neither boxer moving but standing in front of one another. Monroe seems to have won every round up to this point.
In the ninth round Monroe kept the pressure on Maciel who seems content to go the distance at this stage of the fight. In the tenth and final round Monroe would like to end the fight by stoppage but Maciel is not throwing punches like he needs a knockout. Halfway through the round Monroe keeps outworking Maciel. In the final seconds of the fight Maciel backed Monroe against the ropes but it was too little too late for the man from Argentina.
Scores were 100-90 twice and 99-91 as did this writer see it. Gary Miezwa was the referee.
Super Welterweight southpaw Jamontay “The Quiet Assassin” Clark, 13-1 (7), of Cinn., OH, lost for the first time by decision to Dominican Jeison “Banana” Rosario, 16-1-1 (11), of Miami, FL, over 10 rounds.
Clark suffered his first loss in an upset by unknown Rosario. Clark hit the canvas and halfway through the ropes in the third round and never got untracked after that.
Scores were 99-90, 98-91 and 97-92. This writer had it 98-91.
Super Welterweight southpaw at 6:06 Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora, 10-0 (6), of Coachella, CA, stopped Antonio Urista, 10-3 (2), of Lansing, MI, at 2:23 of the fourth round. The referee was Celestine Ruiz. Fundora is an exciting prospect.
Super Bantamweight Olympian Gary Antonio Russell, 12-0 (10), of Wash., DC, continued his winning ways scoring a first round knockout at 1:18 over Nick “Kanyankole” Otieno, 31-15 (13), of Nairobi, Kenya, in a scheduled 8. Mark Nelson was the referee.