McKart defeats Ornelas in Thriller!

August 11, 2007

By Rick Scharmberg and Kurt Wolfheimer at ringside

36-year old Bronco McKart (51-7, 31KO’s) kept his hopes alive for one last run at a world title with a razor thin split decision victory over Enrique Ornelas (25-4, 15KO’s) for the vacant NABF middleweight title.

McKart 159½ lbs. of Monroe, Michigan controlled the opening round from the outside with nice counters and stiff right jabs to both the head and body of Ornelas. The pace changed in round two as Enrique Ornelas 160lbs. began to beat McKart to the punch with four and five punch combinations as he moved in and out of punching range.

Round three was more of the same, until ten seconds to go in the round when southpaw McKart unloaded a picture perfect right hook up top which sent the Ornelas crashing to the canvas. Ornelas was able to get to his feet and the bell sounded before any further damage could be inflicted.

Rounds three through six were very close, but Ornelas appeared to outwork McKart and land the more effective combinations. McKart began to find his range again in round seven, with heavy bombs on the inside. Late in the round, a right uppercut by Ornelas opened a deep gash under the left eyebrow of McKart. The blood streamed from the eye of McKart in round eight but did not affect his vision.

By round nine McKart found his range again as he pressed forward with heavy combinations. Both Combatants traded vicious combinations that had the crowd roaring with appreciation as the bell sounded. The momentum changed again in round nine as Enrique Ornelas attacked with veracity which pushed McKart backwards. An accidental clash of heads opened a bad cut on the hairline of Ornelas, which bled profusely as the fight progressed. McKart looked to be dead tired but showed why he has the will to become a world champion as he threw several big shots and only a few of which landed.

Ornelas appeared to be ahead on the scorecards entering round eleven and let off the gas which allowed McKart to outwork him in the final two championship rounds. The arena became quiet with anticipation as the boxing commission took several minutes to check the official scorecards. One judge had the bout in favor of Ornelas 114-113 while the other two had the bout in favor of McKart by scores of 114-113 x 2.

“I knew it was going to be tough, but I didn’t think it would be that tough,” McKart said afterwards. “I knew a lot of the rounds were close, especially the middle rounds, but I thought that in last ten seconds of each round I was landing one or two big shots to take the round.”

McKart commented on the bad cut over his left eye. “I heard someone in the crowd scream “Uppercut! Uppercut” and pow, he got me [with an uppercut]! I thought to myself, was that comment meant for me or him?” laughed a relieved McKart afterward.--Kurt Wolfheimer

Lopez decisions Marks

David Lopez, the WBC’s #5-ranked middleweight, combined a sustained body attack with a stiff southpaw right jab to take a ten round unanimous decision over a game Larry Marks in the co-feature to the Bronco McKart – Enrique Ornelas main event.

Lopez (31-13, 21 KOs), of Nogales, Mexico opened the bout with some nice body work, as Marks (29-9, 16 KOs), of Wilmington, Delaware steadily applied pressure. Lopez attacked the body with hard right hands, and a left-right combination to both sides. Marks landed two rights to the body of Lopez while missing with a left hook to the head.

Lopez, a heavy-handed southpaw, worked his right jab in round two, as Marks established his own jab. Lopez’ jab landed with more frequency, while Marks landed a left hook, but was wide with several others. Lopez was outweighed by 6 pounds, but was able to negate the weight difference with his height. He was able to reach Marks, who owns a pretty good jab, with his own.

Lopez went back to the body in round three, working both hands to the sides of Marks, who was trying to get his offense in gear. Larry turned lefty in round four, and won the round with a series of left hands to the head. Lopez came on with a hard right to the body followed by a left to the head, and then with a right-left combination as the round ended.

Lopez went back on the attack in round five, and cut Marks on the left eye with what looked to be a straight left. Larry’s jab was working but David was more consistent with a greater assortment of shots. Round six was similar with Marks jabbing and Lopez bringing his right hook into play. Cut man Joey Eye did a nice job with the cut near Larry’s left eye in between rounds.

Marks had a strong seventh round, which he was able to dominate with his left jab. Lopez had a slight puffiness under his left eye, as he went back to the body. Marks won the round, but one had to wonder where the lead right hand against the lefty was.

Marks hurt his right hand in the eighth. He blocked a punch from Lopez and then winced in pain. He went back to jab, as did Lopez. Larry still used his right hand, landing an overhand right and another right near the end of the round. This round was close.

Lopez upped his attack in round nine, opening with power jabs, and then mixing in body shots and straight rights to the head. Marks tried to keep him off with the jab, and missed with his left hook.

Marks went back to southpaw in the tenth round, and landed a nice straight left and then a right hook. Turning back to conventional, Marks missed with two left hooks, and then traded jabs with Lopez until the bell. Game to the end, Marks was out-punched but not outclassed.

The final scores were 98-92, 99-92, and 99-91, all for David Lopez.--Rick Scharmberg

Wilson takes Gray to class

Undefeated welterweight Kaseem “The Nightmare” Wilson (9-0-1, 3 KOs) opened the show with a workmanlike six round unanimous decision over “Classy” Chris Gray (4-4, 1 KO), of Miami, FL.

Wilson controlled the opening round behind his piston-like right jab and movement. In round two Wilson stepped up the pace with small two and three punch combinations. Gray 148½ lbs., who is known in Philadelphia for his upset of hard punching Gabriel Rosado, threw a couple of nice counters to keep Kaseem on his toes but had trouble solving the difficult southpaw all night.

Late in round two, a short chopping left on the chin had Gray temporarily stepping in potholes. However, he recovered quickly and Wilson 147 lbs. went back to the one and two punch combinations. Behind on the scorecards, Gray stepped up the pressure on Wilson in the sixth and final round with wild hooks on the inside. Wilson, however, got on the bicycle and stayed out of danger until the final bell.

The fight went to the scorecards with all three judges scoring it in favor of Wilson by scores of 60-54 59-55 and 58-56 respectively. --Kurt Wolfheimer

Rivera upsets O’Donnell

“Slick” Simon O’Donnell, of Galway, Ireland, came into the scheduled six round middleweight bout with Danny “The Invader” Rivera as a quick handed, baby-faced crowd favorite. At 21 years of age, and standing 6’3” tall, O’Donnell was six years younger and four inches taller that Rivera.

O’Donnell dominated the first two rounds with his hand speed, as he fired right hands to the head, and hard left hooks to the midsection of Rivera.

The tide turned in round three, after O’Donnell and Rivera traded left hooks midway through the round. Rivera, who hails from Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, seemed to get energy from the crowd, which contained a large contingent of Puerto Rican fans.

In the fourth, Rivera exploded from a crouch and landed a hard left hook-right hand combination that rocked O’Donnell. A hard right hand sent Simon back into the ropes, and another left-right combination from Rivera sent O’Donnell reeling into his own corner. He would have gone down, but was saved from falling by referee Blair Talmadge, who then waved the bout off at 2:25 of the fourth round. With the upset win, Rivera improves to 6-3, with 3 KOs, while O’Donnell drops to 4-1, with 2 KOs.--Rick Scharmberg

Poore shows new wrinkles in stopping Craig

Former Tough man and heavyweight knockout artist John Poore (18-2, 18 KOs) used some newfound skills in his game en-route to a scintillating 5th round TKO of Cincinnati, Ohio’s Dione Craig (4-10, 1 KO).

Poore 212lbs of Upper Darby PA opened the bout boxing behind a left jab and combinations on the outside with new found boxing and movement. Craig 228lbs tried vainly to keep the fight on the inside by pushing Poore against the ropes where he could land inside. Poore showed his maturity and didn’t get flustered as he threw counters out of a tight defense before continually slipping of the ropes.

Finally, in round five, the movement and heavy jabs by Poore helped him gain distance so that he could unload the heavy right hook, which stunned Craig against the ropes. Poore attacked like a tiger after his wounded prey, unleashing twelve unanswered punches, which forced referee Art Bayless to stepped in and call a halt to the bout at 2:11 of the fifth round.--Kurt Wolfheimer

Garcia stops Arroyo

Tommy Garcia, of Hartford, CT stopped Felix Arroyo, of Philadelphia, PA at 2:36 of the third round of a scheduled four round junior lightweight bout. Both fighters were making their pro debuts. Arroyo (0-1) took the first two rounds by working his right hand to the head and body of Garcia.

Garcia (1-0, 1 KO), came alive in round three. After landing several jabs, Garcia hurt Arroyo with a series of left hooks and rights to the head. Three right hands followed by a left –right combo to the head sent Arroyo to the ropes. Although hurt, Arroyo might have been able to continue, but when he didn’t fire back, referee Blair Talmadge stopped the contest at 2:36 of round three. --Rick Scharmberg

Vasquez defeats McCuiston

The most entertaining bout of the evening, other than the main event, pitted Victor Vasquez (3-1, 3KO) of North Philadelphia, PA against Bronx, New York native Thomas McCuiston (1-0) in a four round lightweight clash. Vasquez has a particularly large local and vocal fan base, who cheered him on throughout.

Both fighters unleashed heavy combinations that had the crowd oohing and aahing. McCuiston did his best work on the inside in the middle rounds, while Vasquez fought well on the outside. The power by Vasquez rocked McCuiston, and eventually wore down the visiting New Yorker. Vasquez went on to capture the unanimous decision by scores of 39-37 x 2 and 40-36, respectively. --Kurt Wolfheimer

Robinson halts Williams

Larry Robinson (8-3, 6 KOs), of South Philadelphia knocked North Philly’s David Williams (5-1, 2 KOs) from the ranks of the unbeaten on what appeared to be a quick stoppage by ref Art Bayless in a scheduled four round cruiserweight battle.

Williams out-worked Robinson over the first three rounds by being the busier fighter. Williams was cruising along on the fourth, seemingly on his way to a hard fought decision, when Robinson landed two left hooks that staggered Williams. Referee Bayless immediately jumped in and stopped the fight at 1:17 of the fourth round. --Rick Scharmberg

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The eight bout card, which lasted nearly five hours, was presented by Peltz Boxing, Joe Hand Promotions, and Golden Boy Promotions. The main and co-main events were televised live by Telefutura.

Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins was on hand, and he reiterated his desire to fight world super middleweight champ Joe Calzaghe. He also expressed an interest in fighting the winner of the upcoming Evander Holyfield – Sultan Ibragimov bout, after “some time to beef up the right way with the great Mackie Shilstone.” Also in the crowd was world cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, and light heavyweight contender Prince Badi Ajamu.