Antonio Woods Abdullah Mason, and Giovanni Cabrera Shine on Top Rank Card!
Undercard fighters are prospects looking to horn their craft and begin the journey towards potential superstardom. This is the case for the fighters on the undercard of the WBC featherweight title eliminator between two-time title challenger Joet Gonzalez and former champion Isaac Dogboe.
ANTONIO WOODS PUTS AWAY DARRYL JONES!
Antonio Woods (11-0, 9KO) is an undefeated middleweight prospect with serious promise and power. Fighting in front of the home crowd in Minnesota, Woods was very methodical in his attack against challenger Darryl Jones. The fight only lasted one round as Woods applied good pressure while working behind the jab. He landed a nice left hook followed by a right hand to the body with another hard left hook that prompted the referee to stop the fight.
ANTONIO MIRELES SHINES WITH STOPPAGE VICTORY!
Heavyweight Antonio “El Gigante” Mireles (4-0, 4KO) is a decorated amateur that stands 6’9” with an 85-inch reach and is light on his feet for a man his size. He put on a good performance against a tough Cuban fighter Dennys Reyes. El Gigante landed a perfect straight left hand and body shots that dropped Reyes twice in the second round before the stoppage. The sky is the limit for Mireles in a heavyweight division deep with young talent.
HAVEN BRADY JR GAINS TOUGH DECISION WIN
Featherweight prospect Haven Brady Jr (7-0, 4KO) earned a unanimous decision victory against tough Aaron Echeveste (6-8, 3KO). Brady Jr, a former number one ranked amateur fighter, had a little trouble with the southpaw Echeveste. However, he started going downstairs to the body, which slowed down the movement of his opponent. The straight right hand to the body was money throughout the fight. Brady Jr will have learned a lot from a fight like this and will go back to the drawing board to make the adjustments for the next fight.
JAVIER MARTINEZ SERVES PACHINO HILL FIRST LOSS!
Middleweight prospect Javier “Milwaukee Made” Martinez (7-0, 2KO) got a good win against another undefeated fighter in Pachino Hill (7-1-1, 6KO). Martinez, a five-time amateur national champion, earned this victory against Hill by going to the body, which made the difference. He also attacked with blistering combinations whenever Hill would lean up against the ropes. Despite getting the unanimous decision victory, Martinez needs to go back to the gym and work on improving his defense.
ABDULLAH MASON DECIMATES LUIS FERNANDEZ!
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason (3-0, 3 KO’s) utterly dissected and systematically tore Luis Fernandez apart in a one round decimation (1-4-1, 0 KO). Within the first fifteen seconds, a crispy, straight left placed Fernandez on the seat of his pants. After beating the count, Fernandez ate and was battered with just about every punch in the book.
In particular, Mason relentlessly popped his foes head back with extremely accurate uppercuts launched from both hands. Mercifully, referee Mark Nelson jumped in to stop the massacre in the closing seconds of the opening round as Fernandez was being hammered in the corner. Trained by his father, Valiant Mason, at the young age of 18 years old his future is exceedingly bright.
DANTE BENJAMIN JR. WINS THIRD PROFESSIONAL OUTING!
Promising Top Rank signed prospect Dante Benjamin Jr (3-0, 2 KO’s), who hails from Cleveland, Ohio, launched out of his corner and bull-rushed Corey Thompson (4-1, 3 KO’s) to start their affair. His naked aggression was rewarded with two quick knock downs and a small river of blood running down his opponent’s face. Toward the middle portion of the round, Benjamin realized that he was going to have to change tactics, which he did.
Once the Cleveland native took his foot off the gas, he was able to once again put Thompson on the canvas, forcing the referee to call a halt to the action. The victory marked his third win since turning professional. As an amateur, Benjamin was also a standout, having done well in the Youth National Championship and National Junior Olympics.
GIOVANNI CABRERA GETS KO WIN!
The match began in devastating fashion as the very first punch, a straight left, put Gabriel Flores Jr (21-2, 7 KO’s) on the canvas. For the next full minute, Giovanni Cabrera (21-0, 7 KO’s) beat and pelted the once-defeated prospect around the ring with impunity. While Flores would escape the opening period, he would suffer a second knockdown. It was a terrible way to start the fight as Flores was only one bout removed from his first professional upset defeat at the hands of Alberto Vargas.
To his credit, Flores did a great job of leveling the fight back over the next few rounds. Then in the fifth, a short right hook liquefied his legs. Moments later, he was roughly deposited back on the canvas. Unfortunately for him, despite showing admirable courage and heart by fighting to the end, Flores Jr went on to suffer the second loss of his career. This great win for Cabrera has now cast Flores Jr’s professional career into complete chaos.
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By: Bakari Simpson & Garrisson Bland
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