Welterweight Prospect Javier Flores Shines In Hartford

Though not rife with outstanding talent, Bulldog Cartel Promotions first installment of “The New Generation Boxing Series” was certainly a step in the right direction. The idea behind “The New Generation Boxing Series” is a simple one: take local fighters, put them in the ring at local venues, expose them to the public and hope the fighters perform well enough to start creating a buzz. On the whole, I believe the card succeeded in it’s task. It produced enough exciting fights to get people interested and it’s main event fighter, Javier Flores, certainly earned some fans with his TKO of the game Shakha Moore.

Flores, of Hartford, CT is a solid looking welterweight up and comer who has appears to have a following already despite having only a handful of fights. Moore, of Norwalk, CT was by far the best opponent Flores has yet faced and despite being TKO’d, was able to more than give the public their money’s worth. Flores opened up the scheduled 8 rounds guns blazing; strafing Moore with straight left hands and right hooks. By round 2, Flores began to dial in and really connect solidly on Moore’s chin. Much to the crowd’s appreciation, Moore attempted to answere every landed punch with one of his own. Though not as hard or numerous as Flores’s shots, Moore was able to get through with a number of punches and helped to keep the fight exciting. By round 6 Moore had eaten a ton of hooks and Flores began to unleash a nasty uppercut that spelled the beginning of the end for the game Moore. Late in round 7, Flores connected on a right hook, left hand, right hook combo that dumped Moore to the canvas. Though Moore rose, his corner had seen enough and threw in the towel. Time of the stoppage was 2:59 of round 7. Flores may have gained a few new fans and runs his record to 6-0 6Kos. Shakha Moore, who should be commended for his brave performance, falls to 11-16-3 2Kos.

In what can best be described as a glorified sparring session, cruiserweight Harvey Jolly cruised to a unanimous decision over fellow journeyman Joshua Harris. Both Jolly and Harris seemed uninspired and content to cruise though the 8 rounds. Jolly was the busier fighter by a wide margin but his punches lacked snap and appeared to do little damage. Harris’s punches on the other hand affected Holly when they landed, but were so few and far between that it was only when Jolly took a round off that Harris was able to pick one up. The fight plodded this way until the end when Jolly was announced the winner by scores of 77-75, 77-76 and 79-73. Jolly improves to 12-17-1 6Kos while Harris slides to 7-5-1 5Kos.

New Haven, CT native Luis Rosa Jr. just managed to keep his record unblemished in a sloppy 6 round junior featherweight bout against Lakewood, CA’s Shawn Nichol. The fight had little drama simply because both fighters, when not clinching, where swinging wildly and hitting little. Neither appeared able to land a solid shot though not for lack of trying. Both Rosa Jr. and Nichol threw plenty of punches; it just seemed that neither could dial in the accuracy. Nichol was credited with a knockdown in round 2 when a glancing right hand caught Rosa Jr. off balance and caused him to touch his left glove to the canvas. Despite this, Rosa Jr. seemed to be the slightly busier fighter throughout most of the rounds and when he did land, his shots appeared slightly heavier than those of Nichol. It was most likely these factors that caused two of the judges to give the fight to Rosa Jr. by scores of 58-55 and 58-56. The third judge had it a draw at 58-58. Rosa Jr. was lucky to have escaped with a close win and is now 7-0 5Kos. Nichol drops to 5-5 5Kos.

Junior welterweight Javier Calderon of San Juan, Puerto Rico, overcame a lackluster first round to stop his New Haven, CT opponent Christian Lao just 26 seconds into the second round. Lao, at least initially, appeared the vastly superior fighter. He utilized the entire ring and kept Calderon at bay behind a quick, crisp jab. Caldron simply followed and ate shots, looking lost and out of his depth. All that changed in the second round when Calderon suddenly cut off the ring and began to unload on Lao. Clearly shaken, Lao tried to dance away but was again caught on the ropes where Calderon unloaded close to 20 unanswered shots before referee Danny Schiavone jumped in and called a halt to the bout. It was a shocking turnaround for Calderon who remains unbeaten at 2-0 2Kos. Lao drops his first fight and is now 2-1 1KO.

Debuting New Haven, CT lightweight Oscar Bonilla used the strength of his left hook to cruise to a unanimous decision over Cleveland OH’s Corey White. The fight was largely unexciting as White took every opportunity he could to tie Bonilla up; creating frustration on the part of Bonilla as well as the audience. Bonilla showed poise though and despite his lack of experience made the most of every opening he had. He managed to find enough of them to pile up points and by the end of round 3, the outcome was all but assured. White did finally begin to open up at the end of round 4 but it wasn’t nearly enough to win him the round, never mind the fight. All three judges agreed it was a shutout, scoring it 40-36 across the board and handing Bonilla his first pro win. White drops his second fight and is now 1-2 (1KO.)

In perhaps the best fight of the night, debuting junior featherweights Josh Crespo (New Haven, CT) and Frankie Garriga (Bronx, NY) swapped hooks and knockdowns en route to a 4 round split draw. Crespo started the bout as the aggressor, working behind the jab and coming forward to good effect. Garriga didn’t have much success with countering and got outpunched in perhaps the only clear cut round of the fight. Changing up his strategy for round 2, Garriga came out swinging and had success early with left hooks, forcing Crepso to fight off the back foot. Toward the end of the round Crespo launched an assault of his own and managed to land enough hard shots to put the winner of the round in question. Round three began wildly as Crespo waded in and caught Garriga off balance with a right hand, causing his gloves to touch the canvas and give Crespo credit for a knockdown. Not to be outdone, Garriga surged forward with an assault of his own and dropped Crespo hard with a 1-2. Seemingly unfazed despite the nature of the knockdown, Crespo beat the count and immediately began firing back. Both men ignored defense and traded shots, only stopping when the bell sounded to end the round. Perhaps fatigued but the firefight in round 3, round 4 was subdued and the two fighters only occasionally traded shots; once again producing a tough round to score and leaving the outcome in question. When the scorecards were read, all three judges saw a different fight. One had it 40-37 for Crespo, another 39-37 for Garriga and the third had it a draw at 38-38. Though the audience seemed disappointed, the verdict was fair and left both fighters unblemished at 0-0-1.

In a four round super middleweight tilt, New Haven CT native Charles Foster picked up his first professional victory while at the same time handing his opponent, Worcester MA’s Ralph Johnson, his first pro defeat. Foster was the sharper, faster and more effective fighter throughout the bout and he repeatedly hammered Johnson with a hard straight left hand. Late in the first round Foster worked his way out of a clinch and sunk a left hand to Johnson’s midsection, causing him to double over and take a knee. The bell ending round one saved Johnson from being stopped but ultimately only prolonged the beating. Foster battered Johnson for the entirety of round 2 until Johnson trapped and helpless along the ropes, was finally saved by referee Michael Ortega at 2:36 of round two. Foster is now 1-0(1KO) while Johnson stands at 0-1.

In the opening bout of the evening, New Haven, CT junior welterweight Carlos Hernandez picked up his first win by outpointing Springfield, MA’s Barrington Douse in a 4 rounder. The fight was a wash. All three judges had it 40-36 for Hernandez who is now 1-2. Douse remains winless at 0-2.