Ivan Baranchyk Raises His Record to 17-0 with Win Over Previously Undefeated Keenan Smith on Shobox

By Joshua “City” Brewer

Showtime’s Shobox: The New Generation was back on the air with a televised quadruple header on Friday, July 14th, live in Miami, Oklahoma. The action was thorough throughout. Here’s how Ringside Report saw the action.

The featured much anticipated fight of the night was Keenan “Killer” Smith, 11-1, 5 KO’s Vs Ivan “The Beast” Baranchyk, 17-0, 10 KO’s. As usual, Baranchyk started fast and aggressive looking to end it early. The two fighters found themselves muscling for position through the first minute. It got a little testy early as Smith threw Baranchyk to the ground. Baranchyk was able to land a hard hook after he was back to his feet and the action resumed, the most significant of the round. Overall, the round was a bit sloppy for Baranchyk as he missed many shots

Baranchyk landed a hard left that sent Smith stumbling against the ropes in the second that could have been called a knockdown. Baranchyk was back at it in the third and landed significant hooks to that rocked Smith. The two fighters exchanged punches after the bell and had to be separated by the referee. Smith was able to slow Baranchyk down in round four as he was able to constantly tie him up and use his jab on the outside.

Smith was deducted a point for holding midway through the fifth round, a round he was winning prior to that point. The two fighters shared different points exchanges in the sixth and in the latter part of the round it looked as though Smith hurt Baranchyk though he could have been off balance. Baranchyk was able to regain the momentum in round seven as he was able to catch Smith with wide hooks. Smith’s punch output also decreased during the late stages of the round.

The eighth and final round saw staying on the outside boxing early on and Smith was able to put together good combinations to land cleanly on Baranchyk who was unable to get set to throw his punches. Baranchyk landed 102 punches to Smith’s 73. The judges officially scored the fight 80-71, 79-72, and 78-73 in favor of Ivan Baranchyk. Baranchyk is still very raw and has many holes in his game on defense, but he’s one of the most exciting fighters on the rise. We’ll be tuning in for his next event.

Kenneth Sims, JR., 12-1, 4 KO’s and Rolando Chinea, 15-1-1, 6 KO’s, battled it out in the co-feature of the evening. Sim, JR., was very active with the right hook in the first round and was able to work at his pace and distance for the majority of the round finding much success in landing on Chinea. Chinea continued to take clean shots in round two as he seemed to lack any form of head movement and solely relied on his chin.

As the rounds wore on it was much of the same from Chinea as he tried to bully his way in utilizing his body weight to wear down Sim, JR., and prevent him from moving around the ring. Chinea found success in the latter part of the fight, about round six, as Sim, JR., started to slow down and was forced to stand his ground. Chinea’s punch output started to rise as his opponent’s decreased.

Chinea continued his pace and hurt Sims, JR., in the late part of round seven as he was able to land solid combinations in close. Sims, JR., though, fought back and made it through the round. The two fighters fought hard through the final round and closed the show swinging and entertaining the fans in what was surely a close fight.

Officially, the judges scored the fight 76-76 and 77-75 (twice) in favor of of Chinea who moves on better things. Great showing by Sims, JR., as well and he’ll hopefully have an opportunity to bounce back.

The second fight of the packed Shobox card saw undefeated Glenn Dezurn, JR., 9-0-1, 6 KO’s take on Adam Lopez, 16-1-2, 8 KO’s. There was a lot of exciting back and forth exchanges between Dezurn, JR., and Lopez as they both sought to make stern investments in the body. Dezurn, JR., was able to get the better of the exchanges in the latter part of the first round. He kept that momentum going through the second as well.

Dezurn JR’s output dropped in round three as Lopez was able to outwork him on the inside. Both fighters equally found success in the fourth round. The body shots of Lopez started to take their toll in the fifth round as he again outworked Dezurn, JR., who looked visibly tired. Lopez was again the more dominant fighter in the sixth using uppercuts to the body on the inside.

After a stern talking to from trainer Barry Hunter in between rounds Dezurn, JR., was able to bounce back and likely won the seventh with effective body work though Lopez didn’t back down. Both fighters gave their all in the eighth and final round as the shared exchanges. Lopez suffered a cut over the right eye due to a headbutt. The fight went the distance as both fighters were very game throughout.

It was a very close fight as the punch stats showed Dezurn, JR., landing 157 punches to 148 for Lopez. In the end the judges scored the fight 77-75 (Lopez), 77-75 (Dezurn, JR.), and 76-76 resulting in a split draw. We’ll see if a rematch is in order later in the year.

The first televised fight of the night featured Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer, JR., 14-1-1, 6 KO’s, taking on Leroy Davila, 5-2, 4 KO’s. Greer, JR., provided excitement in his fight with Davila and was able to land a heavy shot that made him stumble early in the first round of their match. On the replay, it clearly showed Davila’s glove touching the canvas but the referee wasn’t in position to see this knockdown. His speed was apparent as he was able to land swift combinations that seemed to catch the more reserved Davila off guard.

Davila looked much better in the second round and used his counters to land on Greer, JR., as he moved in. There were a few solid exchanges that went in Davila’s favor as well. Davila carried that momentum to the early part of round three before Greer, JR., seemed to get a bit more comfortable landing single shots.

Greer, JR., was again able to hurt Davila midway through the fourth as he landed an assortment of hooks and straight rights. Greer, JR., started to take control in the fifth round and found himself throwing a multitude of unanswered shots as Davila leaned against the ropes in a high guard. Davila’s punch output dropped significantly and visible damage started to show on Davila’s face from that point, to include a bloody nose.

Davila’s corner stopped the fight prior to the start of the sixth round saving their boxer from taking any further, unnecessary punches. Officially, it went down as a technical knockout victory for Greer, JR. Greer, JR., landed 94 of his punches to only 48 landed by Davila. Greer, JR., looked very enthusiastic about fighting and will move onward as Davila assesses his next move.

Earlier in the night Shobox regular Antoine Douglas got a knockout victory as he looks to get into title contention.

Showtime once again provided fans with a great night of action for boxing fans in 2017 as they seemingly have become the premier platform for boxing showcases. We’ll be tuned in for future shows and until then, box on.

Win an autographed copy of Mike Tyson’s autobiography “UNDISPUTED TRUTH” by clicking HERE and subscribing to be entered to win this great prize along with any future ones!

[si-contact-form form=’2′]