Former Heavyweight Champion, Oliver McCall 55-10(37) was crowned the new IBF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion tonight in Hollywood Florida at The Heavyweight Factory’s Backyard Brawl which was co-promoted by Roy Jones Jr ‘s Square Ring, Inc. McCall, faced tough former world contender Fast Fres Oquendo 31-5(21KO), who has been in the ring with a long list of who-was in the Heavyweight division, everyone from Bert Cooper to John Ruiz. Oquendo knocked out a faded Bruce Sheldon, ending his career and he had similar plans with 45 year old, fellow Chicagoan McCall.
That was not the case tonight as McCall was the busier fighter and pushed the pace, a slow pace, of the fight from the opening bell, and through final bell landing occasional big shots. Oquendo landed some meaningful hard right hands on McCalls’ iron chin; however they never phased the former world Champion. Referee Frank Gentile kept busy as the two tied up often. This fight sends McCall closer to a possible title shot and Oquendo, possible retirement after a great career. The cards read 115-113 Oquendo and 115-113 and 116-112 for McCall.
In the Co-Main event WBA International welterweight champion Brad Solomon 15-0(7KO)shined again as he successfully defended his title against rough, tough and tested Anges Adjaho 25-3(14KO). Solomon controlled the pace of this fight throughout with great slick and very fast be-first boxing while creating great punching angles. The fight was largely competitive from the opening bell with the obvious speed and skill advantage going to Solomon. Solomon was a three-time National Golden Gloves champion as an amateur. The cards read 98-92 99-91-97-93
In the first fight of the night former Cuba amateur star Yasnay Consuegra made quick work of Watson Pierre with a dominate second round KO. Consuegra dropped Pierre in round one with a beautiful straight right hand and then a great uppercut at :49 of round 2 that ended the fight with the Haitian Pierre flat out on the canvas for the count.
Former Cuban Amateur standout Inocente Fiz 5-0(3KO) battled hard on his way to a 6th round TKO over tough Anthony Woods 7-14(3KO). Fiz controlled the whole fight with accurate punches and slick footwork. The end came from a flurry of punches at 23 of the 6th round. As an amateur, Fiz won a Bronze medal at the World Championships for Cuba at light welterweight.
Local Heavyweight product Erik “The Viking” Leander improved to 9-1(6KO) with a unanimous decision win over Larry Slayton 1-3-1. Leander had the local crowd behind him as he entered the ring ready for war dressed in full Viking regalia from his long, flowing jacket to his Nordic helmet bearing horns. His hulking presence of the Viking overshadowed his boxing skills as he fought as a brawler rather than a boxer. The Viking knocked Slayton down in the 2nd round and won by a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 40-35.
In a brilliant clash Cuban Yoandris Salinas improved his record to 4-0 (1KO) with a close split decision victory over a very sharp Danny Aquino 5-1(1KO). Both fighters fought valiantly throughout the fight catching each other with crisp clean shots. This fight had the feel of a championship bout while these two warriors fought hard for four rounds. I am sure the crowd felt the same as I did, as I would have loved to seen this fight go another 6 rounds. Great Fight! The cards read 39-37 Aquino and 39-37 twice for Salinas.
Russian Heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov remained perfect at 9-0(9KO) with a TKO win over Jerry Butler 8-9 (8KO). The southpaw Abdusalamov overwhelmed Butler throughout the fight and caught him in his own corner with a number of unanswered shots that prompted referee Sam Burgos to step in and call an end to the beating at 2:39 of round 2.
The Heavyweight Factory’s’ Luis Ortiz 5-0(3KO) stepped up in competition and won by TKO8 over Francisco Alvarez 12-2(10KO). The fight was fought at a very slow two or three punch rate which drew boos from the crowd. Ortiz finally turned up the heat in round eight when he dropped Alvarez and finished the fight with several unanswered shot with referee Sam Burgos stepping in at 1:27. With a 343-19 amateur record, Ortiz took a silver medal at the 2003 World Championships and gold medal two years later. He was trained by legendary Cuban boxing coach Alcides Sagarra for seven years on the national team.
Cedric “The Bos” Boswell (32-1) Captured the NABA Heavyweight title with a KO in the 9th over Owen“What the Heck” Beck (29-7). Boswell who’s only loss came to Jameel McCline via 10th round knockout was coming off a one year layoff and did not look as sharp as he has, Beck was not exactly slick in the ring either. Boswell was by far the more accurate fighter and landed a beautiful left hook that floored Beck at 2:29 of the ninth. These the two heavies 72 pro fights between the two of them.
Notables in the Crowd were Roy Jones Jr., Mike Marrone, Sherman “The Tank” Williams, Joey “Twinkle Fingers” Hernandez, John David Jackson, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Jason Gavern, John “Action” Jackson
