Galarza, Khytrov, Derevyanchenko Grab ShoBox Wins

By Francisco Salazar

Frank Galarza seems to be living up to his nickname of 'Notorious.'

Those highlight-reel knockout wins are making him a must-see fighter.

Galarza knocked out Sheldon Moore in the third round on Friday night before a partisan crowd at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, N.Y. The bout headlined a DiBella Entertainment card.

Galarza became well-known to boxing fans in January of last year when he scored a devastating second round knockout win over John Thompson. Moore was unbeaten in 11 out of 12 bouts entering his bout against Galarza.

Moore, who hails from Belgium, came to fight and did find some success landing counter right hands to the head in the first round.

Galarza pressed the action in the second round, letting his lands go more with each passing moment. Moore did not back down, but was getting tagged more repeatedly.

Midway through the third round, Galarza hurt Moore with a left hook to the head. Galarza followed up with a right to Moore's stomach, dropping him to the canvas. Moore remained on the canvas as referee Benji Esteves counted him out at 1:41.

Galarza improves to 17-0-2, 11 KOs, while Moore falls to 13-3-1, 9 KOs.

 Middleweight Ievgen Khytrov was taken the distance for the first time as a pro, winning an eight round unanimous decision over Aaron Coley.

It was a battle between unbeaten fighters, but Khytrov had faced the better opposition, including an eighth round stoppage win over Jorge Melendez in his last bout on March 6.

Khytrov was able to effectively walk the southpaw Coley down, taking control of the action after the first round. Beginning early in the second round. Khytrov found a home for a counter right hand to Coley's head. To his credit, Coley took the punches well, including back-to-back right hands towards the end of the third round.

Midway through the round, Khytrov began attacking the body of Coley. As the bout progressed, Coley's punch output dropped, content to throw one punch a time. He was able to catch Khytrov at times, but the punches had little impact on the Ukrainian fighter.

Khytrov looked like he tried to go for the knockout in the final round, but Coley was able to hold on until the final bell.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Khytrov, 79-73, 79-73, and 78-74.

Khytrov improves to 10-0, 9 KOs, while Coley drops to 9-1-1, 5 KOs. 

Super middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko scored an impressive fourth round technical knockout over Alan Campa.

After a slow first round, Derevyanchenko began to aggressively walk Campa down. The plan worked as Derevyanchenko dropped Campa with a right cross to the head near the end of the second round. Campa was able to make it out of the round.

Derevyanchenko landed at will throughout the third round. Whether it was left hooks or right crosses to the head of Campa, Derevyanchenko seemed to take more out of his opponent with each punch.

Early in round four, Derevyanchenko dropped Campa with a combination to the head. Campa got up, but offered little resistance, prompting referee Ricky Gonzalez to stop the bout at 1:17.

Derevyanchenko improves to 5-0, 4 KOs, while Campa drops to 13-2, 9 KOs.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Salazar also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing