Kenneth Sims Jnr UD6 Luis Rodriguez
Unbeaten Chicago light-welterweight prospect Kenneth Sims Jnr ran out a convincing winner tonight over game Puerto Rican novice Luis Rodriguez, winning everything but one round on the three scoring judges cards.
The Illinois native bossed the bout in the early stages unsettling his opponent with a solid looking lead right hand from the southpaw stance. He didn’t have it all his own way however, providing openings for his aggressive opponent with his constant switch hitting, which seemed to have him disorganized.
By the 3rd and 4th rounds, Sims Jnr appeared to have got the message and boxed well behind his right jab, utilising his smooth movement to lead Rodriguez around the ring and control the action from distance.
The 21-year old appeared to tire in the 5th giving us the closest round of the fight. Both men stood and traded, with southpaw Rodriguez having his first real success, landing a number of decent lead right uppercuts and straight lefts. However, much like the rest of the fight it was Sims Jnr who landed the memorable, cleaner work.
Sims Jnr landed a huge right hook on the final bell that seemed to stagger Rodriguez, but that aside the stoppage was never on the cards. It was a decent performance from Sims Jnr, against a fair opponent for in only his 6th fight.
The judges scored it 59-55 and 60-54 twice, moving Kenneth Sims Jnr to 6-0 (2KO’s).
Iago Kiladze TKO4 Rayford Johnson
Ukrainian cruiserweight Iago Kiladze destroyed the over matched American Rayford Johnson over 4 one-sided rounds to the delight of the fevered Eastern European fans packed into The Garden.
Kiladze controlled the action behind his long left jab and upright stance, spearing the bobbing and confused Johnson at will as he tried in vain to avoid the punishment, which had his name all over it.
The 3rd round gave us the road map to the ending as Johnson was rocked on numerous occasions from Kiladze’s dangerous looking right hand.
Kiladze put Johnson out of his misery in the 4th round, detonating a thumping right hand that robbed him of the lot. When it was followed with 3 equally chilling shots the referee brought the beating to a close.
The fight was stopped 2:59 into the 4th round, moving Iago Kiladze to 23-1 (16KO’s).
Charles Martin TKO1 Tom Dallas
Charles Martin improved to 21-0-1 (19KO’s) with a straightforward stoppage of British heavyweight Tom Dallas, whose punch resistance has eroded beyond all repair.
The first meaningful punch of the fight decided it, when southpaw Martin connected with a decent lead right hook that had Dallas all over the place. What was impressive was Martin’s collected demeanour that saw him patiently stalk the Brit, before finishing the job with a hard straight left.
It was hardly a test for Martin, but fundamentally, he looked controlled and composed with much more to come.
