By Minnie Larry
Robert Easter Jr. (20-0, 14 KOs) retained the IBF lightweight World Championship with a twelve round unanimous decision over Denis Shafikov (38-3-1, 20 KOs) at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. In the early rounds, Easter used his stiff jab to keep Shafikov at a distance. Easter would follow up the jab with strong right shots; digging into the Russian’s upper body. In the middle rounds, Easter abandoned his jab and chose to go toe- to- toe with the much smaller Shafikov. However, a hungry Shafikov relied heavily on his left arm, never allowing Easter Jr. to use his reach or spatial positioning to his advantage.
The Champ was forced to trade blows with Shafikov for twelve grueling rounds, and in the end the judges awarded Easter a unanimous decision, with scores of 120-108, 120-108, and 116-112.
Julian “J Rock” Williams (23-1-1, 15 KOs) defeated Joshua Conley (14-2-1, 9 KOs) by TKO in the middleweight contest. Williams for his part, tried to make the bout eventful, but his opponent Conley was more content in playing the role of sparring partner. Conley took a knee early in the seventh round as Williams advanced forward. Conley’s corner seeing defeat, threw in the towel in round seven.
Super welterweight Jamontay Clark (12-0, 7 KOs) defeated Ivan Golub (13-1, 11 KOs) in a controversial unanimous decision. Golub pushed the action for most of the fight. However, the judges seemingly awarded Clark for his ring generalship. The scores were: 79-73, 77-75, 77-75.
