By Rick Scharmberg at Ringside Photos: Courtney Gale Photography
Dante “The Comet” Cox (9-2, 6 KOs) won the ABF lightweight title with a destructive second-round TKO over the game, but outpointed Raekwon Butler (5-3, 3 KOs) in the eight-round main event scheduled for Saturday night at Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, DE.
In the co-feature, Jessica “The Cobra” Camara (10-3, 2 KOs) also had an early night, stopping Maria Vega (9-5, 4 KOs) 20 seconds into the first round of a scheduled bout of six rounds at lightweight. . A brutal left hook from Camara knocked Vega flat on his back and the fight was stopped without a count.
The entertaining seven-fight card was promoted by Dee Lee Promotions in association with Family Legacy Finest. This was the first card held in Delaware since 2018.
It was a battle of southpaws, with Raekwon Butler having a height advantage. Dante Cox used his short stature to his advantage, digging in under Butler’s longer shots, and landed against rights, which began to land low as the first round wore on. Butler was busy and landed several two- and three-punch combinations. Butler stood his ground and took the round close.
In the second round, Butler shot to the body, but Cox finished with his right hook and began to collect his punches. A four-punch combination rocked Butler, and his follow-up attack dropped him for a short count. It was the beginning of the end, as Butler bravely responded, but Cox focused. He fired short, powerful shots that included straight lefts, right hooks and right hooks that left Butler a mess. A right hook visibly stunned Butler, and referee Eric Dali made a timely stop at 2:58 of the second round.
Camera stops Vega
World-ranked Jessica Camara struck like a cobra. After a brief trial and error, Camara unwound a big left hook that left the smaller Vega flat on her back. She bravely got up, but the fight was immediately stopped.
Camara, from Canada, is making noise in his division. She lost a split decision to her stablemate Kali Reis in a title challenge, and has a win over Heather Hardy, who was 26-1 at the time.
Owusu gets by Williams
Eslih Owusu (8-1, 4 KO) won the ABF middleweight belt with a narrow unanimous decision over Philadelphia’s Dewayne Williams (3-5, 1 KO) in a thrilling six-round battle that contained some good action from two ways. After a close first round narrowly won by Williams, Owusu, a southpaw, started working his left hand in the second round. He landed left hooks and straight lefts to the head and body. Williams went down early in the round, which was ruled a slip. A straight left, followed by a right hook, forced Williams to hang on. Owusu landed a booming right hook at the bell, but Williams absorbed it well.
Owusu got to work in the third round, continuing to work his left to the head and body. Just when it seemed like Owusu was taking over, Williams responded with a great left-right combination as the bell rang. Williams went to work on the body to start the fourth, but a big right hook followed by a left from Owusu dropped Williams for a short count. This knockdown would prove to be the difference in the fight.
Knowing he was down on the cards, Williams roared out and outclassed Owusu to take the final two rounds. The scores were 57-56 (twice) and 58-55, all in favor of Owusu.
Gerula Schools Holler
41-fight veteran Olivia “The Predator” Gerula (19-19-3, 3 KOs) had something to prove against Logan “Golden Girl” Holler (9-2-1, 3 KOs) in a four-way middleweight fight. assaults. Gerula has fought everyone from Amanda Serrano to Hall of Famers Brooke Dierdorf and Kathy Collins (twice) and pretty much everyone else.
Originally scheduled for eight rounds, the fight was cut to six and then four rounds. Gerula, who usually starts slowly, knew that he had to get to work immediately. Logan Holler had the flashiest record and the snazziest outfit, but Gerula had the guts. He stood right in front of Holler from the start, countering Holler’s punches with short, slicing right hands from the gate.
In the second round, Holler punched and feinted, but Gerula didn’t blink. This round was very close, with the advantage for Gerula. The third round was huge for Gerula. In addition to continuous right hands, both to the head and body, Gerula landed her left hook, which caused swelling over Holler’s right eye. The round closed with Gerula landing a great combination of power punches at the bell.
The lesson continued in the fourth round, where a big right hand made Holler’s nose bleed. Gerula continued the charge until the final bell. The decision was never in doubt. Gerula took the fight with scores of 40-36 (twice) and 39-37.
The Pennsylvania boxing commission takes a hard look at fighters over 40, both male and female, and Olivia Gerula is no exception.
“The fight was originally eight rounds and it was cut down to six,” Gerula stated afterwards. “Then it was cut down to four rounds because of my age. I had to prove myself to the commission. This was a heavier weight for me, but I felt stronger and had more power. If I had had two more rounds, I would have stopped her.”
Holden dominates Clark
Local favorite Jalique Holden (2-0, 1 KO) pleased the crowd with a one-sided decision over elusive veteran Charles Clark (3-13-1, 1 KO) in a four-round fight at junior lightweight.
After losing his mouthpiece early in the opening round, Holden began throwing a quick jab to Clark’s head and body. He also worked Clark’s body with his right hands. Clark was in survival mode already in the second round. He was able to make Holden miss with right hands and rode the punches that landed to minimize any damage.
Clark stayed elusive in the third but was reluctant to punch. Holden charged in and dominated the final round with a body attack in a last-ditch attempt to finish him off, but Clark stayed cautious until the end and survived. All three judges favored Holden 40-36.
Gonzales destroys Lucaine
Carlos Gonzales (2-0, 2 KOs) stopped Antonio Lucaine (0-6) 21 seconds into the first round of a scheduled four-round featherweight bout. It was a damn defense for Lucaine. He charged up and began negotiating with Gonzales from the opening bell. He was crying. Gonzales took full advantage and dropped him with a three punch combination. He dropped Lucaine again seconds later with a big right hand and the fight was immediately stopped.
Green Decisions Rezene
In the opener, Philadelphia favorite Tariq Green (2-1) took a unanimous decision over debuting Yohannes Rezene (0-1) in a four-round light heavyweight contest. Green displayed methodical boxing with good movement in the ring and comfortably won the first two rounds. Some trash talking to open the third seemed to turn Rezene on. Green seemed to tire, but still won the round. Green opened the final round with a flurry of punches and then worked Rezene’s body. Green also won this round, as well as the fight, by three scores of 40-36.
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Cox’s post arrests Butler in Delaware first appeared on fightnews.com.
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