(Detroit, August 20, 2020) Tonight, in the 10-round main event of “DETROIT BRAWL AT THE LEGENDARY KRONK,” undefeated top-10 super middleweight Vladimir Shishkin (11-0, 6 KOs) dominated and stopped tough Mexican veteran Oscar “El Monstruo” Riojas (21-14-1, 10 KOs) in round nine.
Fighting live via livestream on UFC FIGHT PASS®, WBC #10-rated Shishkin, battered the game Riojas through eight tough rounds before finally crashing home a right hand that Riojas could not withstand. The Mexican tough guy bravely rose, but a follow-up barrage by Shishkin convinced referee Frank Garza to end things 48 seconds into the penultimate round. The result goes into the books as a TKO 9.
Credit goes to promoter Dmitriy Salita for pulling off such a quality show in the most trying times and rigid safety conditions for sports in the past 100 years. Shishkin looks ready for the deeper waters at the top of the 168-lb division.
Russian middleweight Timur Kerefov (9-0, 4 KOs) of Detroit via Shalushka, Russia, put in a workmanlike performance in outclassing a game, but out-gunned, Kansas City, Missouri veteran Calvin “The Great” Metcalf (10-5-1, 3 KOs).
Fighting in the eight-round middleweight co-main event, Kerefov got stronger as the fight wore on, bloodying Metcalf and sending his mouthpiece flying in round six. To his credit, Metcalf never stopped coming forward and deserves credit, but the power differential was too great.
It was a good lesson fight for Kerefov, the former decorated amateur, that sometimes opponents are just too stubborn to know when they’re beaten. The scores were 80-72, 80-72, and 78-74.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, heavyweight Jeremiah “The Night Closer” Milton needed just 75 seconds to win his four-round pro debut against Hale, Michigan’s Dennis “Mighty Oak” Vance Jr. (1-2, 1 KO).
Clearly in shape and with advanced power and skill, Milton caught the long-haired Vance Jr. with a right hand that nearly spun him the other direction, Rocky style. With Vance taking the full 10 count on the canvas, it was a debut that established the 6’ 4″ 230-lb. Milton as a prospect to keep an eye on.
In the night’s only women’s boxing match-up, 2019 Amateur World Champion Danielle Perkins (1-0) of Houston was impressive in her four-round heavyweight pro debut against now-formerly undefeated Monika “Lay Em’ Down” Harrison (2-1-1, 1 KO), also of Houston.
Perkins had too much skill and athleticism for the game and tough Harrison, winning by entertaining four-round decision (scores: 40-35 x 3).
In the raucous third round, the two women went toe-to-toe with both landing their share of bombs. The pace, however, seemed to wear on Harrison and she suffered a knockdown near the end of the round.
Former National Golden Gloves Champion Morris James Young Jr. had a successful welterweight professional debut (1-0, 1 KO), stopping Framingham, MA via Brazil’s Jeader Alves De Oliveira (0-1) via TKO 2.
It took Young a round and a half to figure out the awkward roundhouses of Alves De Oliveira, who doubles as an MMA fighter and was also making his boxing debut. But once he did, Young finished things with several body shots and a sharp left hook that convinced referee Gerard White to stop the contest at 1:59.
In the opening middleweight four-rounder, Detroit’s Marlon “Savage” Harrington (now 2-0, 2 KOs) ruined the pro debut of San Antonio’s Ricardo Medina (0-1) by demolishing him in 62 seconds of the first round. Harrington landed several impressive bombs, scoring three knockdowns in the abbreviated contest. “He signed up for the wrong blind date,” said Harrington of Medina, pre-fight. Excellent prediction by a fighter who deserves another look.
