LOS ANGELES — Jonas Sultan started his fight against Sharone Carter with frenetic energy, so much so that as he kept charging forward, his counterpart was compelled to drag him down.
Sultan’s start ultimately mirrored his finish, as the Filipino bantamweight knocked out Carter at 2:29 of round 7 with a blistering combination -- a series of shots that were unanswered.
Sultan (17-5, 11 KOs) carved Carter (12-5, 3 KOs) the entire evening by coming forward.
Seemingly a bit gassed, Carter’s mouthpiece had already dropped in the middle of round two.
In the third round, Sultan swatted Carter with a crushing overhand right hand, and Carter stumbled back as his left glove nearly touched the canvas. He immediately hugged and seconds later was saved by the bell.
Carter was docked a point in the fourth round by referee Ray Flores when he dragged Sultan down for the second time in the fight. Soon after, Carter was caught with a right hand and went face-first into the ropes, but Corona didn’t rule it a knockdown.
Sultan carried the momentum from the previous round and started the sixth with a blinding combination that wobbled Carter.
Carter was catching Sultan in between as well with a stiff jab as both of his eyes began to swell.
As the fight went on, Sultan’s sense of urgency seemingly increased, and it was the blistering combination that ended bid a demoralized Carter goodbye.
Sultan had previously fought against world-class competition and has a win over John Riel Casimero in 2017, and a loss to Jerwin Ancajas in 2018, both of whom are fellow countrymen.
Carter suffered his second consecutive loss. In February, he dropped a unanimous decision to Rau'shee Warren.
The fight took place Saturday night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The non-televised bout took place on the Showtime card headlined by WBO bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero and challenger Guillermo Rigondeaux.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com
