Cruiserweight boxer Paul Parker traveled to Hollywood for his first professional fight, and he put on a show…that lasted about two minutes. A big right hand punch and this fight was over. Photo by Jason Lewis
Welterweight Terrel Williams (left) improved his record to 5-0, with the last four victories coming by the way of knockout. A body shot in the first round was all that was needed to seal this victory. Photo by Jason Lewis
Amir Khan’s stardom gets punched out
Amir Khan was a star in the making, on a path that was going to lead him right to fights with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Khan was supposed to be the next big thing in boxing. Well after two consecutive losses, with the last one by knockout, his star is fading.
Khan lost a controversial decision to Lamont Peterson last December, and was supposed to have a rematch with him in May. But Peterson tested positive for synthetic testosterone, which canceled that fight.
Khan turned to an undefeated Danny Garcia, who was a heavy underdog against the much more experience Khan, and for two and a half rounds, Khan was outclassing Garcia.
But in boxing it can come down to just one punch, and Garcia landed it late in the third round, knocking Khan down. Khan was able to beat the count and get out of the round, but this fight was pretty much over.
Early in the fourth round it was clear that Khan had wobbly legs, and Garcia scored a second knockdown quickly. Khan looked like he was going to weather the storm, as he was able to fight back for the next couple minutes of the round, but Garcia kept landing big shots and knocked Khan down for a third time.
Even though Khan was able to get up again the fight was stopped at that point, and the chances of Khan becoming the next big thing in boxing have pretty much been KO’d.
Broner fights on HBO this Saturday night
Khan’s star may be fading, but Adrien Broner’s is burning bright. The super featherweight is 23-0 with 18 knockouts, many of which happened in the early rounds of his fights.
Broner is quickly moving up the ranks as he is taking on tougher opponents, and he looks like the real deal. This Saturday he will be put to the test once again, as he takes on Vicente Escobedo (26-3, 15KO).
Broner does not seem to worry much about this challenge.
“He’s coming to my hometown (Cincinnati) and I’m excited,” Broner told Boxingscene.com. “I don’t know him and I don’t want to know him. I’m in the hurt business and I’m gonna handle Escobedo. I’ve been in shape since 1989. When I was born the doctor smacked me, I smacked him back.”
Boxing returned to Florentine Gardens in Hollywood
This past Thursday night, Art of Boxing Promotions and Bash Boxing Promotions jointly presented “Hollywood Fight Night” at Florentine Gardens in Hollywood. The night featured nine 4-round bouts, with local fighter Terrel Williams remaining undefeated, while Paul Parker traveled from Toledo, Oh, for his debut match.
Williams and Parker had one thing in common that night. That would be a knockout punch that stopped their opponents in the first round.
Parker, fighting in the cruiserweight division, must have been dreaming about this moment for a long time, and he even surprised himself.
“I had a feeling that it was going to be a knockout, but I didn’t think that it was going to be that quick,” Parker said. “I had a vision that I would stop him in the 2nd round with a body shot.”
Parker may have had some extra incentive for knocking out his opponent earlier than expected, because Larry Ward danced his way into the ring wearing a cowboy hat and scarf, and he danced around the ring for a couple of minutes before Parker could enter. But once the fight began it did not take long for the action to get heated as Parker started punching, and Ward stopped dancing, and it looked like it was on the verge of becoming a wrestling match.
“I pulled a jab to the body, and then I came over the top with the right hand, and I believe that’s what hurt him,” Parker said. “He then clinched me up and that’s when I threw him off of me, and the ref said I threw him down. I told the referee afterwards that I didn’t throw him down, he was hanging on for his life. I knew I had him hurt after that so I went in for the kill.”
Moments later Parker hit Ward with a knockout blow, and now he’s looking forward to his next fight.
In Williams’ match, it did not take long for him to improve his record to 5-0 with four coming by the way of knockout. His first fight went the distance, but the last four have all been ended early by Williams’ punching power.
Williams is a tall and lanky welterweight, and he is comparable to Tommy Hearns. Hard work has kept Williams on the rise, as he works the morning shift as a forklift driver in Hawthorne, and then travels out to Reseda to train with Shadeed Sulki.
In Williams’ bout this past Thursday, he hit Cliff McPherson with a body shot and the fight was over. McPherson did not beat the count, and Williams was able to enjoy his night in Hollywood a little earlier than expected.
