By Cliff Rold

Returning from defeat can be tough for some fighters. 27-year old Light Heavyweight Chris Henry (22-1, 18 KO) of Houston, Texas apparently isn’t one of them as he showed on Wednesday night in his hometown’s Grand Plaza Hotel, stopping 32-year old veteran Rubin Williams (29-5-1, 16 KO) of Detroit, Michigan in six brutally one-sided rounds.

Both men came in well over the Light Heavyweight limit of 175 lbs., Henry at 183 and Williams at 181.

Henry came out tight, perhaps a bit dry, but with bad intentions in each shot.  From the outset, his left jab was being launched with authority and the cry of “hah” followed each wide hook to the head and body.  Williams, looser, attempted early to jab and pace the bout but soon found himself forced to cover up.  In the closing seconds of the first, Henry followed Williams to the ropes and attempted to go to the body.  Williams pulled his hands and arms tight, attempting to block with his elbows but leaving his head exposed and eating a big right hand that forced him to lurch forward.  Holding Henry around the waist to stay up, Williams was shaken off and ate another flush right well after the bell.

The local favorite continued to pursue at the start of the second, a round that played out much as the first.  Williams would occasionally jab, often move, and then find himself against the ropes blocking enough to stay alive, taking enough to linger on the edge of defeat.  Another big Henry right caught and wobbled Williams along the ropes with a minute to go but Henry wasn’t putting finishing combinations together, selecting to work the body and resolve of his man.

Williams got a reprieve at the start of the third as Henry’s assault slowed just slightly.  His left jab made better contact and he opened up with a more effective right counters.  None of that stopped Henry from again dominating the frame, stalking forward with vicious body hooks and yet another nasty right hand that landed high, even a little behind, on Williams head just before the bell.

Shots behind the head got a warning from the referee early in the fourth but Henry was undeterred.  A flush left hook sailed off the chin of Williams late in the round and the clubbing right to the temple continued to find the mark.  As the fifth round wore on, the battle was becoming a study in redundancy, Williams unable to muster any effective offense and playing to stand up more than stand over.  With each landed Henry shot, the question of how much longer the bout need continue became more obvious.

Obvious became reality in the sixth.  Following yet another round where Williams played more heavy bag than heavy obstacle, a final Henry right, uppercut rather than hook, brought a burst of blood from Williams’ mouth as the result of a deep gash and his corner stepped to the apron in surrender for their charge.  The referee acknowledged the request and brought a halt to the bout at 2:15.

Henry returns to the win column following his first career loss in April of this year, a competitive decision defeat against the undefeated Adrian Diaconu for the interim WBC Light Heavyweight belt.  Henry’s win against Williams should at least secure his #4 rating from that organization.  Henry is rated ninth by Ring Magazine.

Williams drops his third straight, second by knockout and has not posted a win since 2006.  His only other bout going back to January 2007 was an entertaining draw against Antwun Echols, originally aired live on Maxboxing.com

Henry’s aggression almost made up for an underwhelming undercard.  The featured undercard contest highlighted undefeated 22-year old Jr. Middleweight Austin Trout (15-0, 11 KO) of Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Trout, 152 ½, extended his unbeaten streak behind an effective southpaw right jab, movement, and long lefts against fellow unbeaten Byron Tyson.  The 29-year old Tyson, 153 ½, fighting out of Los Angeles, California, could do little to inside Trout’s jab and fell to unanimous eight-round shutout scores of 80-72.

Other Televised Action

Heavyweights: Eugene Hill (12-0, 10 KO) WUD 6 Arron Lyons(9-4, 7 KO)
Women’s Jr. Featherweight: Crystal Delgado (6-0, 1 KO) WUD 4 Tammy Franks (2-5-1)

The card was broadcast live on ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fights.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com