By Rick Reeno
It was deja vu for Wayne "Big Truck" Braithwaite (21-2-, 17 KOs) in Cleveland, Ohio's Gund Arena as he lost his second consecutive fight. Guillermo Jones (33-3-2, 25 KOs) scored an exciting upset win when the referee Jim Villers called a halt to the action in the fourth round as Jones was pummeling Braithwaite against the ropes.
At the start of the first round, Jones jumped on Braithwaite and battered him all over the ring with big right hands. Braithwaite was unable to adjust in the round and the right hand of Jones was landing almost at will. Braithwaite was to come back in the second and third rounds by turning southpaw and using his boxing skills to confuse the larger Jones. In the fourth round, another blistering right hand sent Braithwaite wobbling around the ring as Jones back him against the ropes. The referee Jim Villers was instructing Braithwaite to "show him something" as Jones was throwing big punches on what appeared to be a defenseless Braithwaite.
When Braithwaite did not throw any punches in return, referee Jim Villers jumped between both men and stopped the fight. Jones picks up a big fourth round TKO win and earns a mandatory title shot at IBF cruiserweight champion O'Neil Bell.
In another upset, hometown heavyweight Ray Austin (23-3-1, 15 KOs) out-hustled Owen "What The Heck" Beck (24-2, 18 KOs) to win a close split decision. As a result of the win, Austin jumps to the number two position in the IBF heavyweight rankings. The scores were 115-113-Beck, 117-111-Austin and 115-113-Austin. The loss marks the second consecutive defeat for heavyweight prospect Owen Beck. A huge round eleven for Austin, proved to be the difference in the scoring. Beck was hurt baldy by an Austin left hand that had him out on his feet. Beck was able to survive the round, but appeared to be shaken until the end of the fight.
On the undercard:
Cruiserweight Steve Cunningham (18-0, 9 KOs) defeated Kelvin Davis (21-4-1, 16 KOs) by a unanimous decision. The scores wee 117-111, 117-111 and 118-110.
Bantamweight Tim Austin (26-1-1, 23 KOs) defeated Reynaldo Hurtado (36-8-1, 27 KOs) by way of fifth round TKO. Austin knocked Hurtado down three times in the bout, two of the knockdowns coming in the final round.
Middleweights James Toney (20-1-1, 18 KOs) (not to be confused with the heavyweight) and Randy Griffin (22-1-2, 11 KOs) fought to a twelve round draw. The scores were 114-112-Toney, 114-112-Griffin and 113-113.
Heavyweight Donnell "Real Touch of Sleep" Holmes (23-0-1, 22 KOs) overcame adversity by coming off the deck in round one and stopping Stacy Frazier (14-4, 13 KOs) in round eight.
Heavyweight Corey Cummings (14-0, 11 KOs) defeated Tim Bowe (14-13-1) by way of a tenth round TKO.
