#jordan white
by Seamus McNally
Mykal “The Professor” Fox (11–0, 3 KOs) of Forestville, Md. gave a lesson in the sweet science to Somner “Magic Man” Martin (5–3, 3 KOs) of Martinsville, Va., dominating from the opening bell en route to a third-round technical knockout victory. The scheduled eight-round junior welterweight clash served as the main event of the King’s Promotions card at the Hilton Crystal City in Arlington, Va. on Friday night.
Fox, who is 6’4”, towered over Martin and smartly used his massive height advantage to keep Martin out of punching range. Fox, a southpaw, used an educated right jab and slick footwork to stay on the outside and pepper Martin with punches while Martin was lunging in trying to close the distance. Fox stunned Martin in the opening two frames with straight left hands and uppercuts thrown behind his jab. In the third round, Fox clipped Martin with a straight left to the temple that threw off Martin’s equilibrium and had him on shaky legs. Fox followed it up with a barrage of punches that sent Martin stumbling across the ring and the referee stepped in at the 1:53 mark to end the contest.
In the co-feature bout, Mike “Silverback” Balogun (7–0, 6 KOs) of Upper Marlboro, Md. handed Luther “Lights Out” Smith (5–1, 4 KOs) of Bowie, Md. the first loss of his professional career with a vicious second-round stoppage in a matchup of undefeated Maryland heavyweights.
Balogun, a former NFL linebacker, was the aggressor in the first round, landing some hard body blows that bothered Smith. Balogun continued his pressing attack in the second round. Balogun caught Smith with a thunderous uppercut on the chin that sent Smith crashing to the canvas. A dazed Smith barely beat the count, and Balogun pounced on the badly damaged Smith. Balogun backed Smith up against the ropes and pounded away with heavy leather until the referee jumped in at the 1:52 mark to save Smith from further punishment.
Washington, D.C. super bantamweight Jordan “Shortdog” White (3–0, 3 KOs) had a successful first fight in his home region, forcing Sergio Aguilar (0–5) of Homestead, Fla. to retire on his stool after the first round. Eager to impress his home fans, White came out to start the fight with a blistering pace. Aguilar survived the initial onslaught, but ended being dropped three times in the round. In a weird sequence, Aguilar went down a fourth time in the closing seconds of the round, but the referee ruled it a slip. Shortly after, the bell rang, and both fighters thought the ref waved the fight off, but was actually waving it a slip. White and Aguilar both started taking their gloves off but then realized the referee had not ended the fight. But given the extra time to think about it, Aguilar decided he had enough and ended the fight himself.
Greenbelt, Md. cruiserweight Sam “The Vanilla Gorilla” Crossed (4–0, 2 KOs), who appeared in a Super Bowl commercial with Mike Tyson back in February, scored the knockout of the night with a devastating left hook that flattened Mike Estus (0–4) of Ames, Iowa. Estus tried to put forth his best imitation of Emanuel Augustus, sticking his tongue out at Crossed, dancing and showboating, but ultimately paid the price. Crossed did not get frustrated by Estus’ antics and showed patience, picking his shots. He connected with a flush left hook to Estus’ jaw that sent him flat on his back, his head bouncing off the canvas. A gutsy Estus miraculously got up before the count of ten but was in no condition to continue, and the ref waved the fight off at the 2:03 mark of the first round, much to the delight of the crowd.
Super middleweight Devar “Jengawar” Ferhadi (7–0, 6 KOs) of Frederick, Md. scored a third-round technical knockout over a very game Christopher Petty (0–3) of St. Louis, Mo. Ferhadi, a Kurdistan native who is in medical school in his homeland when not fighting, was able to drop Petty with strong right hands in both the first and second rounds. Petty was able rise to his feet both times and land some hard counter shots of his own. Early in the third round Ferhadi caught Petty with a left hook that sent him down a third time. Petty got up but was finished soon after by a crunching left to the body from Ferhadi. The referee ended the fight at the 2:35 mark.
Washington, D.C. middleweight Phillip Hooker (1–0, 1 KO) made a successful pro debut, scoring a first round stoppage of David Rohn (0–7–1) of Villa Park, IL. The two fought on even terms until Hooker found a home for his left hook that dropped and badly hurt Rohn. Rohn was able to beat the count but his legs were gone and the referee halted the bout at the 2:28 mark.
Super bantamweight Marcus “Dreamcrusher” Bates (4–0–1, 4 KOs) of Washington, D.C. had not fought in 22-months coming into his bout but it seemed like he never left. He looked in pristine condition and showed no signs of ring-rust, scoring an impressive first round knockout of Daniel Hernandez (0–2–1) of Queens, N.Y. in just 44 seconds. Bates, anxious to be in the squared circle once again, came charging out at the sound of the first bell. Bates immediately had Hernandez reeling on the ropes and landed blazing combinations until Hernandez went down. Hernandez realized he was in over his head and sat on his butt until the referee counted to ten, suffering the first stoppage loss of his career.
MiddleweightPatrick Rivera (1–0, 1 KO) of Edgewood, Md. dazzled in his pro debut, fending off a game effort from Dustin Caplinger (2–9, 1 KO) of Akron, Oh. before finishing him in the fourth round. Rivera landed punishing combinations to the head and body throughout the contest. Rivera dropped Caplinger in the second with a right hand, but Caplinger got up and continued to absorb a beating while throwing some heavy leather back himself. Rivera was able to end the fight in the fourth with a flurry of punches in the beginning of the round that sent Caplinger staggering towards the ropes and on the canvas. The referee stopped the fight 4 seconds into the final frame.
The big boys took center stage in the first fight of the evening, and Colby Madison (3–0, 2 KOs) of Baltimore, Md. ended the fight with the first significant blows landed to the debuting Bryson Haubrick (0–1) of Lewiston, Pa. who weighed a whopping 331 lbs. Haubrick was counted out at the 2:05 mark of the first round in what was a sign of things to come the rest of the night.
