Dirrell TKOs Hanshaw!

By Francisco Salazar at ringside
Photos: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME

May 5, 2008

Although Andre Dirrell won a Bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, he turned in a Gold Medal performance in his toughest bout to date.

Dirrell struggled early, but dominated contender Anthony Hanshaw, finally stopping him in the fifth round before a near sell-out crowd of over 1,100 at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, CA.

The bout headlined a seven-bout "Thunder in the Valley" card, presented by Gary Shaw Productions. The card was part of the popular "ShoBox: The New Generation" series.

This was a crossroads bout between the two young fighters. Reporters and hard-core fans would see how Dirrell would react fighting against someone of the caliber of Hanshaw. For Hanshaw, he was coming off a 12 round decision loss to Roy Jones Jr., where he was knocked down in the bout.

It looked early that Dirrell was going to be well over his head as Hanshaw charged out of his corner at the opening bell. In the flurry of punches, Dirrell looked as though he had gone down from a punch, but it was ruled a slip.

Hanshaw controlled the opening round as he went right at his opponent. Dirrell attempted to counter, at times a little off target, but did not back down from Hanshaw.

Dirrell began to get more confidence and began to box Hanshaw as he came right in. Dirrell began to land counter left hooks and would accompany those with right hands to the head.

It all came together for Dirrell in the third round as he used Hanshaw's aggressiveness and bravado to his advantage. Although Hanshaw was the aggressor, Dirrell began to score often and would mock Hanshaw for missing him or himself landing hard to the body. A right hand towards the end of the third punctuated a dominating round for Dirrell.

Towards the end of the fourth round, a right hand by Dirrell hurt Hanshaw. As Hanshaw back up against a corner, a left-right combination dropped Hanshaw to the canvas. As he was down, Dirrell threw and landed a punch at Hanshaw. After referee Pat Russell was done counting as Hanshaw stood to beat the count, he took away a point from Dirrell.

Dirrell dominated the fifth round, landing vicious lead right hands or left hooks to the head, at times toying with Hanshaw. A vicious combination had Hanshaw reeling, going down against the ropes, prompting Russell to immediately stop the fight at 1:13 of the round. Dirrell dropped to his knees and pounded the canvas in excitement.

Afterwards, Dirrell explained his game plan and how he executed it.

"I expected to knock him out in the third round," said Dirrell, who has now knocked out his last three opponents in a row. "I expected him to be Taylor-made for me. He kept coming in and after a while, I just kept landing the left hook. I would roll with his punches. He never hurt me."

His performance was a coming-out party of sorts for Dirrell, but at the same time, he felt very relieved by the victory.

"It was all about redemption for me," said Dirrell, who is managed by Al Heyman. "That is why I celebrated the way I did. After the (Curtis) Stevens fight, I knew I needed to redeem myself."

Asked about his future plans, Dirrell responded, "We feel that we are ready for anybody. I want to fight the top 10 or 20 guys out there. Hopefully by my 19th fight, I could be fighting for a world title."

Dirrell, from Flint, MI, improves to 15-0, 9 KO's. Hanshaw, from Massillon, OH, drops to 21-2-1, 14 KO's.

In the co-feature, Lightweight Antonio DeMarco turned in an impressive performance in stopping previously-unbeaten Juan Castaneda in the fifth round of an eight round bout.

DeMarco has steadily improved as a fighter since making his professional debut almost three years ago. This was the case as DeMarco made Castaneda look like he did not belong in the ring with him.

From the outset, DeMarco controlled the tempo for most of the fight. DeMarco defensively was able to easily duck underneath the wide punches of Castaneda. DeMarco's punches began to take their toll on Castaneda in the second round. Castaneda began to back away from the southpaw DeMarco as DeMarco landed vicious hooks to the body and crosses to the head.

DeMarco scored two knockdowns in the second round, both from a barrage of punches. To his credit, Castaneda got up from taking a knee. In the third round, a left hand staggered Castaneda and another barrage dropped Castaneda again.

Whereas most fighters would give up, Castaneda came back in the fourth round. At times, Castaneda would have DeMarco backing up, landing hard punches to the body.

However, the end came in the fifth as a left hand to the body hurt Castaneda. After turning away from DeMarco, Castaneda was about to take a knee when referee Ray Corona immediately stepped in and stopped the bout at 42 seconds.

"We were prepared for this fight," said DeMarco, who is now unbeaten in his last 12 fights. "He did hurt me to the body. He has a lot of motivation to win. He is a Mexican warrior, who was undefeated and hungry. I was surprised he kept getting back up. I am a young fighter with a good corner. I will continue to improve."

DeMarco, from Tijuana, Baja California Norte, México, improves to 19-1-1, 14 KO's. Castaneda, from San Antonio, TX by way of Baja California Sur, México, falls to 12-1, 9 KO's.

In an upset on paper, Antonio Ojeda scored a six round unanimous decision over Nick Casal.

The bout was originally scheduled for eight rounds, but was shortened to six rounds. The bout was shortened to not interfere with the scheduled televised fights that were to take place after the Casal-Ojeda fight.

A counter right hand to the head by Casal hurt Ojeda to close the first round. Casal and Ojeda exchanged solid combinations and counter right hands in the second round.

A counter left uppercut to the head of Ojeda dropped him to the canvas in the opening moments of the third round. Rather than capitalize on the knockdown, Casal allowed Ojeda to come right at him and control the tempo of the fight.

Ojeda controlled the latter half of the fight by being more aggressive and out hustling Casal during most exchanges. Casal at times looked lethargic and without energy as Ojeda took the initiative and closed the fight strong.

All three judges scored the bout 57-56 in favor of Ojeda, as did Fightnews.com.

"After I got knocked down in the third round, the crowd started chanting my name," said Ojeda, who has now won his last two bouts in a row. "That really motivated me. The right hands kept landing, so I kept throwing them."

Ojeda, from nearby Santa Maria, CA by way of Michoacán, Mexico, improves to 16-6-3, 9 KO's. Casal, from Niagara Falls, NY, falls to 17-3-1, 13 KO's.

Featherweight Jose Magallon scored an upset victory over Frankie Leal, winning a hard-fought six round unanimous decision.

Leal controlled the early rounds of the bout. Leal was momentarily stunned by a counter right hand to the head by Magallon at the end of the first round. Both fighters had their moments as both fought in spurts to the head and body.

Magallon controlled the latter half of the fight. Magallon was busier, where he landed hard shots to the body and even harder shots flush to the face of Leal. Magallon had solid defense as he finished the fight strong.

All three judges scored the bout 59-55 in favor of Magallon. Fightnews.com scored the bout 58-56 in favor of Magallon.

Magallon, from Las Vegas, NV, improves to 8-5, 3 KO's. Leal, from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, falls to 13-3, 8 KO's.

Bantamweight Chris Avalos won a tactical four round unanimous decision over Ernie Marquez.

Avalos was the more aggressive and polished of the two fighters. Taller and stronger, Avalos attempted to impose his will on Marquez, who boxed from the outside and would rush right in.

Marquez did find success in landing straight and lead right hands to the head of Avalos. Undeterred, Avalos attempted to counter and would work well to the head and body. The crafty Marquez would finish strong, using angles to make Avalos miss and successfully countering to the head of Avalos.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Avalos, with scores of 40-36, 40-36, and 39-37. Fightnews.com scored the bout 38-38.

Avalos, from San Diego, CA, improves to 3-0, 2 KO's. Marquez, from Pueblo, CO, falls to 6-4-1, 3 KO's.

Said El Harrak won a sloppy and lopsided four round unanimous decision over Trenton Titsworth.

Although Titsworth was tall and awkward, he did not use those attributes to his advantage. El Harrak, who was making his professional debut, used his jab to size up Titsworth, hoping to land right crosses to the head.

El Harrak, who hails from Santa Clarita, CA, began to land more frequently to the head and body, beginning in the third round. Titsworth began to bleed from the mouth in the final round and was in survival mode, grabbing and holding as El Harrak pressed the action.

All three judges scored the bout in favor for El Harrak by scores of 40-36, 40-36, and 39-37. Fightnews.com scored the bout 40-36 in favor of El Harrak.

Titsworth, from Omaha, NE, drops to 2-2-1, 2 KO's.

Featherweight Abraham Lopez scored a one punch knockout over Tomas Bernal Gatica, prompting an immediate first round stoppage. A strong right cross to the head by Lopez dropped Gatica immediately to the canvas. Referee Pat Russell immediately called a halt to the action at 2:15 of the round.

Lopez, from La Puente, CA, improves to 2-0, 2 KO's. Bernal Gatica, from Los Angeles, CA, falls to 3-7-2, 2 KO's.

Notes: - Junior Middleweight Alfredo Angulo and former contender Alex Ramos took the action in from ringside.

- Gary Shaw Productions is eyeing a November or December return to the Chumash Casino Resort.

- Nick Charles and Steve Farhood called the action from ringside for Showtime.

- Jimmy Lennon, Jr. was the ring announcer for the two televised fights, while radio announcer Marc Lichtenfeld was the ring announcer for the non-televised portion of the card.