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09/30/2007 Archived Entry: "Mahi Shrine Temple Fight Report"
Mahi Shrine Temple Fight Report
By Stephen Roche at Ringside
MIAMI, Fla., September 28, 2007 - Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this was the venue where the legendary Roberto Duran celebrated a great victory during the twilight of his formidable career…Or perhaps it is because the environment is stripped of the glitz, glitter and glamour that typically clouds a high profile boxing arena, and forces the audience to focus on the pugilists in the squared circle…Whatever the reason, the Mahi Shrine Temple in Miami, FL is consistently finding itself as the showcase for electrifying boxing, and tonight Luis DeCubas and ElitePromotions packed a fight card showcasing some of today’s most talented up and coming prospects that did nothing but reinforce that claim.
In the main event of the evening, Nelson Romine of Columbus, OH faced off against crowd favorite Yukenze Andino, fighting out of Puerto Rico, for eight scheduled rounds of Welterweight action. Andino appeared the aggressor in round one, and loaded up on his hooks to Romine’s chin.
As the fight progressed, Romine countered at every opportunity, but could not shift to the offensive against Andino, who sported a visibly superior physique. Andino used this edge in the 4th round to muscle Romine into the corner, unloading power shots on his foe, but Romine, showing the heart of a champion, gave back as good as he got with his back against the ropes. The fifth round started where the fourth left off, with Romine’s back against the corner. This seemed to be a comfortable position for him, as he again traded evenly with Andino, and successfully mounted an attack against Andino’s midsection that could be felt even by those in attendance. This was the ebb and flow pace for the remainder of the contest, with each fighter having his moment of brilliance. At the final bell, the crowd was on its feet in appreciation of the two fighters in the ring. As poetic justice, the judges saw it as a Majority Draw, with scores of 78-74 and 76-76 (twice.) The Draw allows Andino to keep his undefeated record at 9-0-1 (3 Kos) and Romine’s record moves to 8-1-2 (2 Kos.)
In Light Middleweight action, Anthony Little, of Akron, OH faced Ed Paredes, of Hollywood, FL for six scheduled rounds. Each fighter brought his game tonight, with Paredes appearing to have a slight edge in power and connections in the opening stanza. As the bout progressed, Little returned fire at a respectable rate, but still did not quite seem to be on par with Paredes. About one minute into the 4th round, Paredes caught Little flush on the jaw with a vicious left hook that instantly dropped Little. Proving his warrior heart, Little beat the count and continued the battle against his formidable foe. Little’s connection rate increased in the 5th as he successfully connected on a number of power shots to Paredes’ midsection. As if sensing his insurmountable deficit, Little came out with “guns a blazing” to open the 6th and final round, but appeared to lose gas at the midway point, which resulted in the bout ending with the same story as the majority of the contest with Paredes at the reins. The judges at ringside saw it the same way, with all three giving the nod to Paredes with scores of 58-55 and 59-54 (twice.) The impressive victory improves Paredes to an impressive 15-2 (9 Kos) while Little drops to 7-9 (1 KO.)
In other action, Hector Sanchez of Puerto Rico faced local boy Roberto Astacio of Miami, FL. Despite being floored in the opening minute, Sanchez returned the favor by introducing Astacio to the canvas, forcing Referee Jorge Alonso to waive off the contest at 2:30 in the opening round.
Blooming Heavyweight prospect Wilmer Vasquez, of Venezuela made quick work of Andres Rivera, dropping him with enough conviction in the opening seconds for Referee Samuel Burgos to stop the contest at 36 seconds into the opening round. The TKO improves Vasquez to 3-0 (2 Kos) while Rivera ended his debut in defeat, falling to 0-1.
Other results:
Middleweights: Joe Linenfelser of Rockford, IL (5-0-1) D-6 Bryan Mullis of Mt. Holly, NC (4-2-1)
Welterweights: Carlos Rodriguez of Puerto Rico (1-1) TKO1 (time 0:55) over Lee Bon of Brandon, FL (0-1)
Heavyweights: Kevin Burnett of Augusta, GA (9-1-1) W-6 over Willy Perryman of Biloxi, MS (9-12.)
