Jermall Charlo Stuffs Dennis Hogan’s Stocking with Coal, Stopping Him in Seven

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By Anthony “Zute” George (At Ringside)

Jermall Charlo continued his winning ways with an impressive seventh-round stoppage over the formidable Dennis Hogan at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday night. Going into the fight, everyone, including Inspector Jacques Clouseau, knew that Jermall was the better-skilled boxer, and Hogan’s only path to victory was to get inside and muscle his more endowed foe. That path to victory hit a roadblock early in the fight when Hogan threw a left hook at close quarters. Charlo blocked the punch with his glove. The blow had no momentum, and Charlo did not budge when he blocked it. This moment showed that Hogan did not have the kind of power, and/or strength, needed to disturb Charlo at all.

The fight turned to the inevitable in the fourth round when Charlo dropped Hogan with such force, that he did a somersault when he hit the canvas. The punch that dropped Hogan came after Jermall feinted with what appeared to be a push jab, then he coiled back and delivered a hybrid left-hook-uppercut that brought back memories of Razor Ruddock’s ‘Smash’ punch. The game Hogan got up and continued to try and make a fight out of hit but was dropped again with a left hook that had even more force, referee Charlie Fitch to call a halt to the bout at :28 of the seventh round. Charlo improves to 30-0, 22 KO’s, while Hogan fails to 28-3-1, 7 KO’s.

Charlo retained his WBC middleweight title. Daniel Jacobs is the number contender for his belt. Sergey Derevyanchenko, who attended the fight in Brooklyn, is ranked number three, while Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is the WBC middleweight franchise champion. A fight with any of those three fighters would be accepted by the fans for Charlo’s next defense. If indeed the fans wishes matter at all.

The co-feature showcased Chris Eubank, JR.’s much anticipated American debut against the rugged Matt Korobov. The fight was shaping up to be a good one, as Matt was hitting his mark with his left hand, and Eubank, JR. appeared to be enjoying the give and take of the action, as he presents as a guy who likes to be in a fight. However, the battle came to a disappointing end as Korobov could not continue due to an injury to his left shoulder that appeared to be caused by a punch thrown by Korobov. Eubank, JR. was credited with a TKO victory at :34 of round two, to win the WBA interim world middleweight title. Chris Eubank, JR. improves to 29-2, 22 KO’s, while Matt Korobov falls to 28-3-1, 14 KO’s.

In other action:

Ryosuke Iwasa captured the IBF interim junior featherweight championship with a TKO at 1:09 seconds of the eleventh round over Marlon Tapales. Both southpaw fighters were finding a home with the left hook during the fight, and Iwasa dropped Tapales with a devastating left hook, over a lazy right jab put out there by Tapales. Marlon beat the count, but his shaky legs were enough for referee Shada Murdaugh to call a halt to the bout. The majority of the crowd did not approve of the stoppage. The crowd also jeered at Murdaugh’s ruling of a knockdown against Tapales in round three, when it was, in fact, a clash of heads that sent Tapales to the canvas. With the victory, Iwasa improves to 27-3, 17 KO’s, while Tapales falls to 33-2, 17 KO’s.

Louisa “Bang Bang Lulu” Hawton defeated Lorraine Villalobos with a ten-round unanimous decision to the WBC interim female atomweight championship. All three judges agreed with a 95-94 score. As typical with female boxing, these ladies fought the fight of the night in an all-action, give and take affair. Villalobos dropped Hawton with a vicious left hook in round six. Based on the impact that she hit the canvas with, many ringside observers felt that Hawton might not beat the count, one ringside reporter shouted, “Oh, it’s over.” But Hawton got up and appeared to get the better of most of the exchanges. Most of the crowd booed the decision, however. With the victory, Bang Bang Lulu improves to 10-2, 5 KOs, while Villalobos falls to 4-3, 2 KO’s.

Ronald Ellis and Immanuel Aleem also fought a very entertaining 10-round fight at a catchweight of 163 pounds. Ellis got the better of the action, as he was the busier, more accurate fighter throughout the night. When Aleem did do good work, Ellis quickly responded with harder combinations. When the bout ended, it appeared to be a clear victory for Ellis; however, the official scoring was a majority decision. Scorecards read 95-95, 97-93, and 98-92. With the victory, Ellis improves to 17-1-2, 11 KO’s, while Aleem falls to 18-2-2, 11 KO’s.

Duke Micah, 24-0, 19 KOs, defeated Janiel Rivera,18-6-3, 11 KO’s, with an eighth-round unanimous decision in an entertaining bantamweight fight. The Baby-Faced Terminator had his hands full against Rivera, who indeed came to win. Micah dropped Rivera at the end of a very competitive first round. Rivera returned the favor and dropped Micah in the third round during a heated exchange at close quarters, but the Baby-Faced Terminator returned the favor by dropping Rivera with a crunching straight right hand in that same round. Rivera did not give up, however, and even tried to briefly switch to southpaw during the fight. Round seven and eight saw both men winging leather on the inside, but few punches were landed with much conviction. In the end, Micha’s power shots were the difference. Scores read 79-72, 77-74 and 78-73 for Duke Micah. The Baby-Faced Terminator should fit right in with the exciting bantamweight division.

Steven Torres made his heavyweight debut and slugged out Daniel Felix Franco, 2-3, 2 KOs at 2:09 of round one. The PBC signed the intimidating Torres, who stands at 6’7, just over 235 pounds, and no doubt has gigantic plans for him.
Welterweights Amon Rashidi, 7-1-1, 5 KO’s, and Antonio Sanchez, 6-8-3, 3 KO’s, fought to a six-round draw.

Super Middleweight Burley Brooks 5-0, 4 KO’s, defeated Nathan Davis Sharp, 4-2, 4 KOs via a six-round unanimous decision. Brooks was matched tough and went the distance for the first time in his young career against Sharp, who had only lost a majority decision prior to this fight, and stopped all of his opponents.

In a featherweight bout, Cobia Breedy, 15-0, 5 KO’s, stopped Titus Williams, 9-3, 4 KO’s, in six rounds.

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