Danny O`Connor made a triumph return to the boxing ring in front of his hometown crowd as he dominated Andrew “The Doo Man” Framer and then knocked him out at 2:33 in the fourth round from a devastating left hook to the body.
“I was a bit nervous because this was my first fight in a while and I was boxing in front of my hometown fans, but I saw Farmer`s punches really well tonight and successfully counter-punch and landed what I wanted,” said O` Connor. “I wasn’t looking for the knockout punch, but it presented itself and I`m glad I won the way I did for my fans.”
The Monster Brawl boxing event was at the Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts and was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Murphy’s Boxing. It was broadcasted on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes Broadcast.
The former 2008 U.S. Olympic Team alternate control this bout against Farmer from the opening bell. He landed whatever he wanted and was extremely effective in connecting to the body and on power shots. O` Connor landed a powerful right hook in the second round that sent Farmer to the canvas. The southpaw welterweight, continued to pour it on in the third and then later in the fourth round he connected on a powerful shot on Farmer that ended the bout. Farmer didn’t back down in this fight and landed several good punches; however, he wasn’t strong enough to stop O` Connor`s offensive prowess. Both fighters were cut in the third round from an accidental head but.
O` Connor, the Framingham, Massachusetts native improved to 24-2, 8 KOs and got back into the win column after losing an extremely disputed decision in his last outing to Vivian Harris. This was his first bout in over a year as he got healthy and contemplated retirement. O` Connor recorded his first knockout since September 29, 2012 when he stopped Jose Sosa in the third round. Farmer, from Front Royal, Virginia, dropped to 18-3, 7 KOs. He had his five bout winning streak end.
“Right now I don`t want to think about any other boxing bouts; instead I want to spend some quality family time with my beautiful wife and son,” said O` Connor. “After that, we`ll see what the future holds for me.”
The former lightweight World Boxing Organization Champion, Sharif “The Lion” Bogere dominated the experienced veteran, Fernando Garcia, after which he knockout Garcia in the fifth round with a right hook as referee, Mike Marvell halted the bout at 2:30. The Las Vegas, Nevada native by way of Uganda, upped his record to 26-1, 18 KOs and won for the third time. His lone loss in his career came against Richar Abril in 2013 when he challenged for the World Boxing Association Lightweight Title. Garcia by way of Mexico, fell to 30-7-2, 18 KOs. His three fight winning streak ended.
Bogere scored a knockdown in the second round from a left hook and he continued to hammer away at Garcia with sharp jabs, combinations and power punches. Garcia tried to make it a fight as he stood in there and traded punches with Bogere and landed various combinations, but he couldn`t get his offense going and wasn’t as active as he needed to be to turn this fight around.
Irish middleweight standout, Jason Quigley made quick work of late substitute, Greg McCoy as he connected on a destructive left hook that had McCoy out cold at 2:39 in the first round. McCoy got up slowly from the knockout and appeared fine. The former golden medalist at the 2013 European Amateur Boxing Championship and silver medalist at the AIBA World Amateur Boxing Championship improved his record to 3-0, 3 KOs. McCoy, from New Haven, Connecticut, dropped to 3-4-1, 1 KO.
Mark “The Italian Bazooka” DeLuca upped his record to 12-0, 9 KOs as he punished veteran, Ryan Davis, from St. Louis, Missouri, who fell to 24-15-3, 9 KOs. DeLuca scored a knockdown in the second round and three more in the third. He poured it on in the fourth before referee, Marvell stopped the one-sided bout. Middleweight DeLuca displayed an effective jab, great body work, good defense, strong powerful punches and switched from a southpaw to orthodox stance effortlessly.
“I felt great out there. I knew I was the bigger fighter, so I pressured him, went to the body well, connected on the majority of my power shots and combinations,” said DeLuca. “I had to be careful because Davis is a slick and experienced veteran who knows how to fight and I didn’t want to make a mistake that he could capitalize on; however, I fought well and got the victory for my fans.”
Whitman, Massachusetts` DeLuca will be back in action on November 26th at the Quincy Armory in Quincy, Massachusetts against an opponent to be named at a later date. He might fight one more time after that before the end of the year. This was his fourth fight of the year after being out of the sport for the last four years as he fought for the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan.
Paul Gonzales and Sergio Cabrera fought a competitive bout as both fighters landed good punches. Gonzales returned to the venue where he made his professional debut, did a bit more in this bout. He controlled the first two rounds before Cabrera came back and did more in the third round as he landed several powerful shots that staggered Gonzales. Cabrera did well at the start of the fourth before Gonzales came back in the second half of the round and badly hurt Cabrera who barely held on at the end and was extremely close to being knockdown. The judges gave one scorecard, 39-37 to Cabrera and two scorecards of 38-38, for a majority draw. Gonzales, the Hyannis, Massachusetts native is 7-4-1, 4 KOs and was irate at the scoring of the bout because he believed he won. Cabrera, from Somerville, Massachusetts is 0-3-1.
Dorchester, Massachusetts welterweight favorite, Michael McLaughlin made quick work of Paulo Souza as he scored a knockdown in the first and two more in the second round as Paulo Souza couldn`t get up from the last knockdown. McLaughlin, with the second round technical knockout victory, won for the seventh consecutive time and improved his record to 9-1-1, 5 KOs. Souza, by way of Somerville, Massachusetts, took the bout on late notice, fell to 0-4.
Heavyweight Julian Pollard kept his undefeated record intact as he improved to 4-0, 4 KOs with the second round knockout over Kansas City, Missouri native John Orr. Pollard from Bridgewater, Massachusetts controlled this bout and recorded three knockdowns in the first two rounds before Orr retired on his stool at the end of the round. Orr dropped to 1-4.