At the SugarHouse Casino, in Philadelphia, Friday night before a packed house promoted by Marshall Kauffman’s King’s Promotions unbeaten Philly bantamweight Christian Carto brought what seemed all South Philly rooting for him. He didn’t disappoint. He is one of the two best prospects in the city and brings out the fans second to none.
Unbeaten Philly Bantamweight Christian Carto, 17-0 (11), won a lopsided but exciting decision over Antonio “Tony” Rodriguez, 13-23-2 (6), of Durango, MEX, over 6 rounds.
In the first round Rodriguez landed first to the body of Carto. Then Carto took over with solid quick jabs and several rights to the chin. The taller Rodriguez landed a right cross to the chin of Carto. Near the end of the round near his own corner Carto landed a right to the chin hurting Rodriguez. In the second round Carto landed a 3-punch combination to the body and head of Rodriguez. Rodriguez landed a hard right to the head of Carto. Carto landed a combination lead right and followed with a left cross. The exchanges were good from both. Carto hurt Rodriguez with a right to the chin. A wicked Carto left hook to the body dropped Rodriguez. He beat the count of referee Eric Dali just prior to the bell.
In the third round Carto hurt Rodriguez with a left hook to the chin. Carto looking for a knockout had a dangerous opponent in front of him. The fans and there were plenty for Carto loved the action. Carto landed a lead right to the head of Rodriguez backing him to the ropes. Rodriguez came back with a combination switching back and forth from orthodox to southpaw. It was an action second round.
In the fourth round Carto landed a 3-punch combination to the body and head of Rodriguez. Rodriguez tried smothering Carto and got hit with a counter combination on the chin.
In the fifth round Rodriguez was warned in a clinch for rabbit punching by referee Eric Dali. Carto came fighting back and then got warned for a rabbit punch. Carto was head hunting up until the final 30 seconds going to the body of a game Rodriguez.
In the sixth and final round Carto landed four punches to the body and head. Rodriguez was warned for holding. Rodriguez landed a long lead right to the head of Carto. Carto landed a left hook to the mid-section of Rodriguez. He followed up with a double left hook to the body. Then a Carto right cross rocked Rodriguez. Up until the bell it was interesting.
“I tried to get him out of there but he was tough. I will have to go back to the gym and work on things,” said Carto. He is a young man of few words. He added “I want to thank my fans for coming out and my sponsors.”
In the co-feature unbeaten welterweight southpaw Poindexter “Savage” Knight, 6-0 (3), stopped southpaw Travis Castellon, 16-3-1 (12), of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, at 1:33 of the first round in a scheduled 6 rounds. Castellon complained but was hurt. Knight looked fantastic!
In the first round after exchanging punches Knight landed a right to the chin hurting Castellon who grabbed and pushed Knight to the ropes. Knight punched him off across the ring having Castellon out on his feet
North Philly welterweight James Martin, 3-0 (0), defeated Kenyan Denis Okoth, 2-1-1 (1), of Siaya, KY, in 4 action rounds.
In the first round the son of former contender Jerry “The Bull” Martin, James, landed a right hand to the chin of Okoth halfway through the round scoring a knockdown. Okoth was up immediately and went right after Martin. In the second round both fighters exchanged right hands to the chin. It was a busy round and a close one.
In the third round Okoth landed several right crosses to the chin of Martin. Martin came back landing a right but got countered with a right to the chin from Okoth and hit the canvas getting up immediately. In the fourth and final round both mixed it up well with the fight on the line in this round. Okoth landed several solid rights to the head of Martin. Martin is moving around the ring in this round using a countering jab.
Scores were Rubenstein, Lundy and Constatino 38-36 with this writer having it 37-37.
In his return after 4 years Philly lightweight Frankie “Nitty” Trader, 11-2-1 (2), stopped Pablo Cupul, 10-28, (5), of San Diego, CA, at 1:45 of the second round in a scheduled 6 rounds.
In the first round the taller Trader was landing right hand after right hand to the chin of oncoming Cupul. In the second round Trader landed half a dozen punches having Cupul on the ropes when referee Eric Dali stepped in to prevent any additional punishment. Cupul was not happy it was stopped. He showed a lot of guts up until then.
West Philly welterweight southpaw Mark Dawson, 5-0-1 (3), defeated Chukka “Lion King” Willis, 3-7 (2), of Emporia, KS, over 6 rounds.
After a “feeling out” round in the second round landed a lead left to the chin of Willis. Dawson landed an overhand left to the chin of Willis followed by a right hook to the body. Willis landed an overhand right to the chin of Dawson. In the third and fourth rounds Willis turned southpaw stalking Dawson before turning back to orthodox which kept things even. In the fifth round Dawson landed a solid left to the chin of Willis. In the sixth and final round Dawson had Willis hurt with a body attack putting him against the ropes.
Scores were 60-54 twice and 59-55 as did this writer have it.
Philly middleweight Maurice Burke, 1-0 (0), defeated Brandon Bey, 0-1 (0), of the Bronx, NY, over 4 rounds.
In the first round Burke, the nephew of former world champion Charles “Hatchet” Brewer who is working the corner used a good jab while coming forward. Bey showed some power in his right. Burke ended the round with a left hook to the chin of Bey. In the second landed a chopping right to the head of Bey. In the fourth and final round both fighters opened up more but not enough to impress.
Scores were 40-36 by all 3 judges and this writer.
In the third round after banging heads Bey’s left eye was injured. Bey came back landing a solid left hook to the chin of Burke.
Ring Announcer Alex Barbosa announced King’s next show is November 16th at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA.