Antoine Douglas Beats Up Cornflake: Barroso, Odom Win

By Cliff Rold

22-year old Middleweight prospect Antoine Douglas (17-0-1, 11 KO) of Burke, Virginia, scored three knockdowns in round six to earn a stoppage over previously undefeated 23-year old Thomas LaManna (16-1, 7 KO) of Millville, New Jersey, in the main event Friday night at The Space at Westbury in Westbury, New York.

Douglas came into the bout weighing 159 ¾, LaManna 157 ¾.

The start of the main event was delayed, with both fighters in the ring, as the ring doctor was not at ringside for some reason. Once the action got underway. It was the quicker and heavier handed Douglas who took control. LaManna boxed respectably and landed some decent shots but couldn’t land anything to deter Douglas in the first four rounds.

Finally in the sixth, a short left inside sent LaManna to a knee for the first knockdown of the fight. Douglas pressed the advantage and LaManna courageously fired back. Another left in the round dislodged the mouthpiece of LaManna and dropped him hard as they approached the final minute. Still firing back, LaManna had little resistance left. A single right hand dropped him for a third time and referee Harvey Dock halted the fight at 2:44 of round six.

32-year old lightweight Ismael Barroso (17-0, 16 KO), 134, of El Tigre, Venezuela, kept his undefeated mark intact, scoring a fifth-round knockdown en route to a sixth-round stoppage of 27-year old Burkina Faso native Issouf Kinda (17-3, 7 KO), 133 ½, of The Bronx, New York. 

The first two rounds saw flashes from both men, Kinda boxing while the southpaw Barroso looked for power shots. A clash of heads in round three opened a cut over the right eye of Barroso. The blood did nothing to slow his attack. With seconds left in the round, a break was called to move a cameraman away from the ring; something one doesn’t see every day.

The ring doctor was called to look at a fresh cut in round four over the left eye of Barroso and allowed the action to continue. Barroso responded by rocking Kinda at the bell and picking up where he left off right way. In round five, a left dropped Kinda. He beat the count and bravely survived the follow-up attacks to make it out of the round.

He wouldn’t make it into another. Claiming he couldn’t see straight, Kinda was kept in the corner ate the start of the sixth. The official time of the stoppage was :03 of round six. The referee was Pete Santiago. 

A rematch of Super Middleweights turned out much different in the sequel than in their first installment. 22-year old Jerry Odom (13-1, 11 KO), 168, of Washington, DC, avenged a disqualification loss in his last outing with a first round stoppage of 29-year old Andrew Hernandez (8-1-1, 1 KO), 167 ¾, of Phoenix, Arizona.

Odom hurt Hernandez with a right behind the ear. Trapped on the ropes, Hernandez ate a succession of clean shots and referee Harvey Dock halted the action at 2:47 of the first. Hernandez protested furiously while Odom celebrated his revenge. 

In the televised opener, 24-year old Adam Lopez (10-0, 5 KO), 121 ½, of San Antonio won a battle of unbeaten Texans against 28-year old Pablo Cruz (11-1, 3 KO), 120 ¾, of Houston with a second round stoppage.  After a competitive first round, Lopez dropped Cruz twice in the second. The final shot sent Cruz to the floor unconscious, a vicious clean knockout at 1:42 of round two. The referee was Pete Santiago.

The card was broadcast on in the US on premium outlet Showtime as part of its “ShoBox” series, promoted by GH3 and Gary Cohen Promotions.

In the televised opener, 24-year old Adam Lopez (10-0, 5 KO), 121 ½, of San Antoniowon a battle of unbeaten Texans against 28-year old Pablo Cruz (11-1, 3 KO), 120 ¾, of Houston with a second round stoppage.  After a competitive first round, Lopez dropped Cruz twice in the second. The final shot sent Cruz to the floor unconscious, a vicious clean knockout at 1:42 of round two. The referee was Pete Santiago.

The card was broadcast on in the US on premium outlet Showtime as part of its “ShoBox” series, promoted by GH3 and Gary Cohen Promotions.

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com