In the main event of the Showtime Extreme telecast for the WBO light heavyweight title, defending champion Nathan Cleverly (25-0, 12 KO’s) of Cefn, Fforest,Wales in his second and most significant appearance on U.S. soil would maintain his belt, as well as keep his undefeated record intact with the KO victory over a game but overmatched challenger in Native American Shawn Hawk (22-3-1, 16 KO’s) of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The official end came at 1:53 of round 8.Straight out of the Joe Calzaghe school of letting his hands fly, Cleverly would reduce Hawk to a punching bag, landing perhaps at a 3 to 1 clip if not more to redden Shawn’s face early on. With Hawk hanging in to land a blow here and there in the face of what amounted to an onslaught, the Welshman would begin to find success downstairs towards the midway point.
Initially stunning his opponent with body shots, Cleverly would on two separate occasions follow up on those body shots with quick-fisted combinations to drop Hawk once, and then a twice in round 7. Smelling blood in the water, Nathan would pick up where he left off in the ensuing round, depositing his adversary on the canvass yet again which would prompt the referee to intervene on behalf of the visibly worn Shawn Hawk.
With the win Cleverly is expected to have a mandatory title defense perhaps in Germany, where upon if he is successful, a match up with the legendary Bernard Hopkins in the Champion’s native United Kingdom may be on the table.
Undercard Bouts
In welterweight action, the slightly taller Danny Escobar 8-2, 5 KO’s of Riverside, California would give up that height, wading in to shorter undefeated opponent Antonio Orozco 16-0, 12 KO’s of San Diego, California where Orozco would get the better of it in exchanges all night long.
In the end Antonio would finally stop the game Escobar at 2:06 of round 6, initially stunning the Riverside fighter with a left hook to the jaw, to then back Danny to the ropes where he would become further victimized with hard right hands, finishing matters with a another smashing left hook that would drop Escobar in a heap.
In a scheduled four-rounder in the lightweight division, the lengthier, harder hitting, and more offensive minded Robert Easter of Cincinnati, Ohio in his pro debut would stop outgunned opponent Eddie Corona of Omaha, Nebraska who drops to 0-2. The end came at 2:38 of the second round as Easter moves to 1-0.
Bantamweight’s David Reyes of Montebello, California 2-2-1 and Isaac Torres of Mission, Texas 2-0-1, 2 KO’s would go at it in as evenly matched a bout as possible, so that the final verdict over the course of four semi-busy rounds would result in a majority draw. The scores by fights end would read 39-37 Torres, and 38-38 twice.
At welterweight, a more versatile and mobile Zachary Wohlman 4-1-1, 1 KO of Hollywood, California would out-box, and run into shots opponent Alonso Loeza 3-7-1, 3 KO’s of Gilroy, California over the first 2 and ½ rounds, only to get caught dropped at the end of round 3. An out on his feet Wohlman would be allowed to return to his corner, only to come out in the fourth and final round to be immediately pounced upon by Loeza who would seal the deal with a KO at 0:17.
In a scheduled 6-round middleweight bout, undefeated up-and-comer and Al Haymon managed Chris Pearson 6-0, 5 KO’s of Trotwood, Ohio would make short work of opponent Jeremy Marts 8-13, 6 KO’s of Ottumwa, IA, landing a fight finishing right hook at 0:44 seconds of the opening round.
To begin the day’s action, super middleweight Luis Arias 1-0 of Las Vegas, Nevada in his pro debut would over the course of four rounds outwork and out-do Cincinnati, Ohio’s Joshua Thorpe 1-2, resulting in a unanimous decision victory.
