By Paul R. Jones! – Demond Nicholson (24-4-1, 20 KOs) and highly-regarded prospect Jordan “Shortdog” White (12-1, 10 KOs) cruised to victory in separate bouts on Saturday night’s Jeter Promotions card at Live! Casino & Hotel in Maryland. Nicholson’s win came by way of a wide unanimous decision over Victor Darocha (9-6-1, 6 KOs) in Super Middleweight bout, while White’s victory came via technical stoppage of Super Featherweight Joe Perez (15-6-2, 10 KOs).
For Nicholson, the Darocha bout marked his first fight since coming up short against Edgar Berlanga (18-0, 16 KOs).
And, given that Darocha had only been stopped once as a pro, by Steven “So Cold” Nelson (17-0, 14 KOs), the Brazilian served as a fitting stress test for Nicholson to ensure that the Marylander had put the Berlanga loss behind him physically and mentally.
In the opening round, Nicholson jumped on Darocha, landing heavy shots to the head and torso with regularity. The strategy proved to be effective, and helped Nicholson build an early lead on the scorecards.
In the second round, Darocha returned the favor, bullying Nicholson into the ropes and firing off thudding punches to Nicholson’s gut. Nicholson took the blows in stride, however, even managing to buzz the Brazilian later in the round.
During the middle rounds, Nicholson switched up his attack and became more of a counter puncher, picking off many of Darocha’s punches and making the Brazilian pay for his mistakes with heavy leather. It was also at this point that Darocha’s gas tank started to empty, and his punches began to lose some steam.
In the later rounds, Nicholson reverted back to a more aggressive style, stalking Darocha and pounding his foe’s body in close quarters.
When the final bell sounded, there was no doubt that Nicholson was the victor, having marked up Darocha’s body and face, including a nasty gash over Darocha’s right eye.
The final scorecards confirmed this fact, with Nicholson winning by a comfortable margin (79-73, 78-74 [twice]).
Equally important, Nicholson’s performance put any lingering concerns about potential carryover effects from the Berlanga fight to rest.
“Coming off the Berlanga fight, I didn’t want to put this fight in the hands of the judges,” Nicholson said at the post-fight presser.
“Darocha is no pushover. . . [And] I really wanted to get the stoppage,” Nicholson added. “I hurt him damn near every round. But it’s boxing, and things happen. I’m not complaining.”
Overall, Nicholson gave his performance a “B-minus,” and he made it clear that he’s still a work in progress.
Team Nicholson also made it clear that the Marylander is done with 8 round fights.
“The thing I realized is that I’m a 10 to 12 round fighter,” Nicholson said. “And it showed for me tonight. In the 8th round, I still had a whole lot left in me to go.”
Moving forward, a 10- or 12-round fight against Steven Nelson would be a solid step-up fight for Nicholson. Let’s hope that fight can be made.
***
The card’s headliner, Jordan White, also made it clear from the opening bell of his bout that Joe Perez was in for a long night.
In fact, White, of Washington, DC, wasted little time against Perez, catching the San Diego native with a head shot in the 1st round that badly wobbled him, forcing a standing 8-count from the referee.
Perez survived the round, but it was downhill from there.
Rounds 2 through 5 saw Perez fight back in spots, but his brand of resistance was no match for White’s onslaught. White put Perez on his wallet in the third and fifth rounds, banking both rounds with ease.
By the 6th round, a cut over Perez’s eye was pumping blood into his face, and White continued to pounce. At this point, most of White’s punches were stopping Perez in his tracks, and Perez was drawing a long look from the referee and ringside doctor as he returned to his corner to end the round.
White closed the show with a barrage of shots in the 7th round, which ultimately forced a referee’s stoppage. After 4 knockdowns and a cut over Perez’s eye, this stoppage was not only warranted, but likely saved Perez from serious damage.
“We knew [Perez] was a game dog who was coming to win,” White said.
“The game plan was to go in there and control the pace, and we executed the game plan great,” he added.
When asked about his future plans, White said, “What God has in store for us, that’s where we gonna [sic] go.”
At 24, and having already impressed on SHOWTIME’s ShoBox Next Generation series with a win over Misael Lopez (11-1, 5 KOs) in March, the sky is the limit for White. And given his upside, there’s no reason why he can’t make considerable noise at 130 pounds in the next 12 – 24 months.
***
Other notable results from on the card:
Otero UD6 Jawara: Christian Otero (4-0, 2 KOs), of New York, was all gas and no brakes versus Ebrima Jawara (4-2, 1 KO), beating Jawara with relentless pressure and aggressive infighting. Otero is a prospect worth keeping an eye on.
Williams UD6 Becerril: Anthony Williams (5-1, 2 KOs) easily outpointed Ricardo Becerril (2-10-1, 2 KOs) in a bout for a vacant minor ABF Super Middleweight title. Scores were 60-57 and 59-55 (twice).
Chambers SD6 Quintana: In arguably the fight of the night among young unbeatens, Brandon Chambers (6-0-1, 3 KOs) edged Blake Quintana (4-1, 1 KOs) in a bout that could have gone either way. Both fighters gave as good as they got. And although my unofficial scorecard had the fight scored as a draw, the judges at ringside ruled in favor of Chambers, awarding him a split decision win and a vacant ABF Super Bantamweight strap.
Veazey KO4 Rice: Another prospect to watch is 23-year-old Joseph Veazey (5-0, 3 KOs), of Baltimore, who put on a dominant performance against Chameir Rice (1-4-1, 1 KO) on Saturday night. Veazey dropped Rice early, and later stopped the South Carolinian in the 4th round of a lopsided affair. “Bazooka Joe” has the size (5’10”), talent, and potential to move up the Super Bantamweight ranks with more fights under his belt.
■ About Paul R. Jones!
Paul R. Jones! is a boxing writer and ringside photographer for East Side Boxing. Follow him on Twitter @boxingepicenter or e-mail him at prjones1@hotmail.com.
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