Hopkins-Shumenov Tripleheader Early Results

MORE LIVE RESULTS TO COME................

by Cliff Rold and David P. Greisman, live from the D.C. Armory

- In swing action in the Lightweight division, local youngster Lamont Roach Jr. (1-0), 134 ½, of Washington, DC, made a successful professional debut at the expense of 21-year old Victor Galindez (1-4, 1 KO), 142 ¾, of Ponce, Puerto Rico.  Despite his best efforts, and a number of hard right and lefts that brought the crowd alive, Roach couldn’t out Galindez away and settled for a unanimous decision by scores of 40-36 across the board.   

- In additional swing action prior to the main event, 26-year old Welterweight David Grayton (7-0, 6 KO), 148 ¼, of Washington, DC, dropped 26-year old Howard Reece (2-5, 1 KO), 149 ¼, of Miami, Florida with a right hand shortly after the bell to start round one.  It never got any better for Reece.  Trapped in the corner and taking a rain of leather, the referee halted the bout at 1:58 of round one.

- 23-year old Lightweight Zachary Ochoa (7-0, 4 KO), 134 ½, of Brooklyn, New York, scored knockdowns in the fourth and fifth rounds en route to a stoppage in the latter over 30-year old Hector Marengo (6-8-4, 4 KO), 140 ¼, of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. 

Ochoa went to serious work in the fourth, landing an assortment of blows before an overhand right put Marengo on the floor.  Marengo beat the count and lasted the round but took a pasting until the bell.  Hands down around his waist, Ochoa came out to test Marengo early in the fifth.  An explosive series of blows in the corner finished with a left to the body, Marengo forced to a knee for the second knockdown of the bout.  Marengo rose again, but his end was near.  The corner raised the white towel as he took shots along the ropes, referee Joseph Cooper halting the bout officially at 1:32 of round five.

- 25-year old 2008 US Olympian Sadam Ali (18-0, 12 KO), 146 ¼, of Brooklyn, New York, kept his undefeated mark intact at Welterweight with a sensational left hook in the first round, sending 40-year old Michael Clark (44-10-1, 18 KO), 144, of Columbus, Ohio.  It was Ali’s first opening round stoppage since his professional debut.  The fight opened at a measured pace but Ali’s left sent Clark to the deck, struggling to rise as referee Joseph Cooper halted the action at 2:06 of round one.

- 23-year old 2012 US Olympian Marcus Browne (10-0, 7 KO), 174, of Staten Island, New York, continued his steady ascent in the Light Heavyweight division but it wasn’t pretty against 36-year old Otis Griffin (24-16-2, 10 KO), 176 ½, of Troy, Alabama.  Browne managed a knockdown in round five en route to a shutout decision in eight rounds.  The referee was David Braslow.

Browne rocked Griffin in the first but remained composed, staying behind his southpaw right jab and picking spots to let his hands go.  A series of left hands punished Griffin along the ropes early in round two but Browne didn’t continue to press, pecking away and sometimes tying up Griffin inside.

The next two rounds passed with Browne maintaining a tedious control, Griffin escaping both without much injury.  Perhaps hoping to catch Browne asleep, Griffin came out with extra energy in the fifth.  Browne clinched to stem the rally before returning to his jab.  Late in the round, a straight left put Griffin on the seat of his trunks and took away what might have been his best chance at a winning round.

Browne boxed in the sixth and opened the seventh strong, digging to the body.  Griffin returned fire, turning Browne to the ropes and getting a couple of his own to the ribs.  The fight immediately returned to its meandering norm.  Three more minutes passed meekly by to bring the match to a close.

Browne took the fight by easy scores of 80-71 across the board. It was Griffin's sixth consecutive defeat.

- Super-middleweight prospect D’Mitrius Ballard (167 pounds) scored a bizarre second-round technical knockout over Quincy Miner (165.2 pounds), who appeared to suffer both a physical injury and a mental breakdown.

In the second round, after Ballard landed a good shot that had Miner momentarily stunned. Miner indicated that he had been hit behind the head, and Ballard soon came in and landed a good uppercut. Miner looked as if he then head butted Ballard and then tackled him, with both crashing to the canvas.

Miner indicated that he hurt his arm, pointing to his left elbow on more than one occasion. The referee allowed the bout to continue. Ballard landed a pair of right hands, then pushed Miner down. Miner remained on the canvas, complaining and pounding the canvas with his good arm. The referee then waved it off.

The time of the stoppage was 2:35.

Ballard, 21, of Temple Hills, Md., improves to 5-0 with 4 KOs. Miner, 38, falls to 3-6 with no knockouts and 1 no contest (or 3-5, if you go by the official bout sheet). This was his third bout of 2014, marking a return from a layoff of more than five years, with his last win coming in February 2008.

- Dominic “Lights Out” Wade (163 pounds) brought an ending befitting, stopping the usually sturdy Marcus Upshaw (157.4 pounds) in the second round with the latter portion of a one-two combo.

The time of the stoppage was two minutes 11 seconds into the round. Upshaw rose at about the count of seven, but he was wobbly enough on his feet that the referee waved the bout off, to Upshaw’s displeasure.

Upshaw’s record showed him to be a measuring stick opponent who has faced numerous recognizable names, with some of his losses coming against David Lemieux, Marco Antonio Rubio, Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez, Lamar Russ, Patrick Majewski, Osumanu Adama, Tarvis Simms and Edwin Rodriguez. He had only been stopped twice before this — by Adama in 2011 and Phil Williams in 2008.

Wade, 24, of nearby Largo, Md., is now 15-0 with 11 KOs. Upshaw, 33, of Jacksonville, Fla., is now 15-12-2 with 7 KOs and 1 no contest.

- Before the show’s opening bout got underway, ring announcer introduced Jose Valderrama — the designated opponent who would be facing lightweight prospect Chrisshawn “The Dentist” Alexander — as having a “deceiving” record of 3-7 with 3 knockouts.

You would’ve had good reason to laugh, given that all seven of Valderrama’s losses had come consecutively over the past three years. But some of Valderrama’s defeats had come against up-and-coming prospects such as Robert Easter, Jamel Herring and Zachary Ochoa. And it quickly became clear that Alexander was not on those prospects’ level.

Valderrama (138.6 pounds), who had not won since December 2010, broke that streak with a unanimous decision win over Alexander (135.2 pounds). All three judges scored if 38-36.

That means it would’ve been a draw if not for the two knockdowns Valderrama scored in the third round. He had already been landing his left hook with regularity, and in the third he drilled “The Dentist,” hurting Alexander and then followed with several right hands that put him down. Valderrama continued to batter Alexander, flooring him again. Alexander rose with about 20 seconds left and survived until the bell. Alexander then came out looking more refreshed in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough for him to overcome the deficit on the scorecards.

Valderrama, of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, is now 4-7 with 3 KOs. Alexander, 21, of Norfolk, Va., falls to 4-1 with 4 KOs.