At the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia Friday night King’s Promotions featured in the Main Event Brandon “BROB” Robinson in a brawl over six rounds. Except for a knockdown suffered by Robinson in the fourth round it was an evenly fought fight before Kalvin “Hot Sauce” Henderson stopped Robinson in the seventh scoring a pair of knockdowns of a scheduled 10 rounds for the Universal Boxing Federation (UBF) Inter-Continental Super Middleweight Title.
No. 14 USBA ranked Brandon “BROB” Robinson, 11-2 (8), of Upper Darby, PA, lost in a mild upset to Kalvin “Hot Sauce” Henderson 11-0 (7), of Fayetteville, ARK, at 2:08 of the seventh round.
This writer had it 57-56 Henderson going into the seventh round.
In the first round both fighters exchanged left hooks on the chin. Robinson followed up with a lead right to the chin of Henderson. Halfway through the round Robinson rocked Henderson with a right on the chin. Henderson came back with a left hook to the chin of his own.
In the second round both fighters came out throwing punches. Robinson had swelling under his left eye. Both were throwing bombs. There was bad blood from a weigh-in of Henderson pushing Robinson in a face-off. Robinson seemed to outscore Henderson.
In the third round Robinson rocked Henderson with a right cross on the chin. A solid jab by Henderson knocked the head of Robinson back. Near the end of the round Henderson buckled the knees of Robinson with a right to the head. In fourth round Henderson worked his jab on the swollen left eye of Robinson. Robinson was wearing down by this point only seeing with his right eye with his left all but shut. In between rounds cut-man Joey Eye worked on not only the closed left eye that had a cut above it but another cut over the right eye.
In the fifth round a short left hook from Henderson on the chin of Robinson dropped him to a knee. Robinson came fighting back driving Henderson against the ropes and keeping him there until the end of the round.
In the sixth round Robinson was right back into the fight landing counter rights over an effective jab. Henderson was still putting pressure on Robinson. The round was very close with Robinson’s left eye with cut’s over both eyes and he looked near exhausted.
In the seventh round Robinson drove Henderson against the ropes with a flurry of punches forcing Henderson to clinch. The Robinson fans were yelling “BROB, BROB”. Robinson pinned Henderson against the ropes until a right uppercut on the chin dropped Robinson. Henderson jumped on him dropping him again with a right on the chin. Referee Benjy Esteves, Jr. wisely waved the fight off.
At the end of the sixth round scores were Adam Frisca 57-57, James Kinney 58-56 for Robinson and Dewey LaRosa 57-56 for Henderson. This writer had it 57-56 for Henderson with the one knockdown the difference.
“He was a really tough opponent. I felt he was wearing down after the fourth round. I felt it was a matter of time. I want to thank promoter Marshall Kauffman, my family and manager,” said Henderson.
Philly Super Welter Isaiah Wise, 7-2-1 (4), stopped Andy “Hard Road to Travel” Gonzalez, 6-4 (5), of Worcester, MASS, at 0:40 of the second round in a spirited fight while it lasted.
In the first round Wise landed a combination while Gonzalez countered with a right to the chin. Gonzalez had Wise against the ropes with a flurry. Wise spun out of it and landed a flurry backing Gonzalez against the ropes. Wise dropped Gonzalez with a right hand on the chin. He beat the count of referee Esteves and walked to his corner with seconds left as if they called him knowing the round was about to end.
In the second round Wise came right out picking up where he left off driving Gonzalez into a neutral corner landing punches without any return forcing referee Esteves to call a halt.
In the co-Main Event returning to the ring after over almost four years Heavyweight Paul “The Machine” Koon, 4-0 (1), of South Philadelphia, defeated Cade Rodriguez, 2-3 (2), of Monroe, GA, over 4 tough rounds scoring one knockdown.
In the first round Koon landed a left hook to the chin which was countered by a Rodriguez right hand. Koon dropped Rodriguez as he was coming forward with a right hand partially near the back of the head knocking him face first to the canvas. Koon never capitalized on the knockdown allowing Rodriguez to get through the round.
In the second round both fighters mixed it up well. Koon remained the aggressor. Koon landed a 3-punch combination halfway through the round making Rodriguez to clinch. Koon landed half a dozen punches having Rodriguez against the ropes but got countered by a solid right to the chin from Rodriguez.
In the third round Koon landed a left hook to the chin that Rodriguez countered with a right to the chin. Koon continued to fight with his left hand to his side trying to lure Rodriguez in. Rodriguez landed a flurry of punches to the body and head of Koon until the latter landed a right to the chin. Koon ended the round with a combination ending with a solid right to the chin of Rodriguez knocking his head back. Rodriguez had an abrasion under his left eye at the end of the round.
In the fourth and final round Rodriguez landed a flurry of punches moving Koon back several steps. Koon landed a double left hook to the chin of Rodriguez who came back with a hard right to the chin of Koon. Both did little the final 30 seconds.
Scores were Jasper 39-36 while LaRosa and Kinney had it 40-35 as did this writer. Chris Riskus was the referee.
Bantamweight Romuel “Cuco” Cruz, 3-0-1 (1), of North Philadelphia won a hard fought decision over Hugo Rodriguez, 0-2, from Nuevo Leon, MEX, over 4 rounds.
In the first round the shorter Rodriguez forced the action. The taller Cruz used an effective countering jab. In the second round they picked up where they left off. Halfway through the round Cruz landed a lead right to the chin rocking Rodriguez. Rodriguez came right back landed a 3-punch combination to the body and head of Cruz.
In the third round it was Cruz pressing the action rocking Rodriguez with a solid right cross to the chin. Cruz outworked Rodriguez for the most part. In the fourth and final round Cruz drove Rodriguez into the ropes with a right hand knocking out his mouthpiece into the audience. Cruz pinned Rodriguez into a corner until Rodriguez fought himself out of it. Rodriguez landed a lead right to the chin of Cruz at the halfway point. Cruz ended the round with a right to the chin of Rodriguez.
Scores were 40-36 by judges LaRosa, Friscia and Jasper. This writer had it 39-37.
Lightweight James “No Chill” Bernadin, 2-0-1 (1), of Lancaster, PA, drew with Sheldon Deverteuil, 1-0-2 (0), of North Philadelphia, PA, over 4 rounds of action.
In the first round both boxers fought it out well. The taller Bernadin may have pulled it out while Deverteuil used an effective jab making it close. In the second round Deverteuil walked into a right uppercut from Bernadin on the chin. Deverteuil came back diving Bernadin into the ropes with a flurry. Deverteuil slipped punches well landing left hooks out of a crouch.
In the third round Bernadin landed a hard right to the body of Devertreuil. Devertreuil was the aggressor the entire round. Bernadin landed some chopping rights but missed as many as he landed. At the end of the round Devertreuil had Bernadin against the ropes.
In the fourth and final round Devertreuil landed a double jab followed by an overhand right to the head of Bernadin. Bernadin used a countering jab as Devertreuil contined to come to him slipping punches but not throwing enough in return.
Scores were Kinney 39-37 for Bernadin, Jasper 39-37 for Devertreuil and La Rosa had it 38-38 as did this writer. Riskus was the referee.
In the opening bout Light Heavyweight Travis Toledo, 4-0 (3), of Washington Heights, NY, stopped Ronnie Lawrence, 0-3, of Philadelphia, PA, at 2:30 of the first round.
In the first round both boxers mixed it up well with Toledo the aggressor. Halfway through the round Toledo landed a left hook to the chin of Lawrence. About a minute later Toledo landed a pair of left hooks to the body and head knocking Lawrence down for a second time. Referee Riskus wisely stopped the bout.
Ring Announcer was Alex Barbosa. Three bouts fell through the week of the fight. It was a good crowd. Kings Promotions may be back around January 19th.