Premier Boxing Champions Card Highlights Future of Sport
By Eric Kelly
Yesterday, at the first sporting event held at the Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk in Brooklyn, fans in attendance and on NBC and NBCSN caught a glimpse of the potential the sport has to energize new fan bases.
From the Errol Spence – Leonard Bundu title eliminator to the first televised women’s fight on PBC between Heather Hardy and Shelly Vincent, and everything in between, the entire card lived up to hype.
I was ringside, and here I’m gonna break down a few of the fights I liked.
Chordale Booker (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Brandon Phillips Black (1-2)
Chordale Booker vs. Brandon Phillips Black / Photo: Brooklyn Boxing
In the opening bout, Chordale Booker (3-0-2KOs; whose story we featured on this site a few weeks back) made easy work out of Brandon Phillips Black last night on the Coney Island Boardwalk.
From the opening bell, it was obvious that Booker was just too strong and too game for Black. Booker walked Black down behind the jab and just imposed his strength on him with vicious shots to the body and head.
There was a couple of occasions where Black would try to fight Booker off of him, but his best wasn’t enough. It became evident that Black’s goal was just to survive the Booker’s wrath and not get knocked out.
At only 5’9″, I feel that Booker may be a tad short for the 160lbs middleweight division. Meanwhile coming off of a Daily News Golden Gloves and National Championship victory as an amateur, it’s obvious that he has the skills and the power to be a force at whatever weight fits him best. Personally, I like Booker at 154lbs.
Claudio “The Matrix” Marrero (21-1, 15 KOs) vs. Luis Hinojosa (28-10, 17 KOs)
Marrero vs Hinojosa – Ryan Greene / Premier Boxing Champions
In a thrilling 10 round fight last night, the once beaten Claudio Marrero made short work of his opponent Luis Hinojosa last night in another thrilling performance. The two gladiators went right at one another from the sound of the bell and rocked one another with powerful shots. It was evident from the get-go that Marrero came to make it a short night as he floored his game opponent in the opening frame, but Hinojosa was not going to stay down. He gave Marrero a taste of his own medicine a couple times with some clean shots to the nose, but that didn’t help, and Marrero managed to drop Hinojosa in each round. It was evident that Marrero was just not going to allow him self to lose. Marrero turned it up another notch and got Hinojosa out of there with a 4th round TKO and moved himself up a bit to #15 in the Super Featherweight world rankings, where he has an array of boxings best champions and contenders ready to square off.
Heather “The Heat” Hardy(18-0, 4 KOs) vs. Shelly “Shelito’s Way” Vincent (18-1, 1 KO)
Hardy vs. Vincent: New York/Coney Island/Ford Amphitheater
/ Ryan Greene / Premier Boxing Champions
WOW, what a war! Last night the Coney Island Boardwalk belonged to two women boxers, Brooklyn’s Hardy and Rhode Island’s Vincent.
From the opening bell, these two ladies went straight at each other with blistering lefts and rights to the body and head. Hardy, the taller of the two fighters, was able to keep Vincent at a distance with her jab and uppercut. Vincent needed to resort to plan B and she did. She began to move her head from side to side as she was able to slip some of The Heat’s punches and punish The Heat to the body. Hardy became less mobile and that’s exactly where Vincent wanted her. They began to trade fierce combinations from close range that surly would have knocked out you or me.
With Hardy being a Brooklyn native, you would think that the crowd was all hers, but Vincent had a good amount fans in there and they let it be known that they was there and didn’t come to lose. Meanwhile, The Heat was just too hot for Vincent to stand. Heather made her much needed adjustments and managed to out-fight AND out-box the game Shelly Vincent. From the outside, Heather popped her with lightning rod jabs and thunderous rights. On the inside, they both traded vicious body shots and hooks for 10 rounds. In an all out war from beginning to end, neither of the girls took a deep breath or showed that they were tired. With Clarissa Shields winning an Olympic gold medal in Rio, and Hardy vs Vincent putting up a fight of the year candidate, it looks as if the sport of boxing may have a new face, and it’s wearing makeup.
Errol “The Truth” Spence, Jr. (21-0-, 18 KOs) vs. Leonard “The Lion” Bundu (33-2-2, 12 KOs)
Spence vs Bundu / Ryan Greene / Premier Boxing Champions / New York/Coney Island/Ford Amphitheater
He did it again! The Texas native and 2012 USA Olympic Boxing Team member put on yet another masterful display of pugilism last night on the Coney Island Boardwalk.
Errol Spence made easy work out of the game Leonard Bundu. Bundu put forth a good effort and didn’t come to lay down; he came to fight and win. However, Spence was just too sharp and too powerful for his more experienced foe. Bundu was able to land a few good shots, but nothing that was clean or forceful enough to grab Errol’s attention. Errol was a man on a mission who came to seek and destroy. Blistering body and head shots crashed on Bundu, one after the other, flooring him twice for a 6th round TKO.
Spence improved to 21-0 (18 KOs) and is now the number one contender for the IBF 147lbs champ, Kell Brook (36-0-25KOs). Spence called out Brook last night in his post-fight interview and is ready to stake his claim as the future of the welterweight division. Is Spence ready for the more experienced and dangerous Kell Brook, or does Spence need one or two more tune up fights?
My advice to Spence would be to incorporate a little more footwork and movement to his arsenal and then he will be the total package!