HANOVER, Md. – Two Jordans in two fights at very different places in their respective careers.
For lightweight Jordan White, he needed to rebuild – and regain his footing – months after his second professional defeat.
Jordan Roach, meanwhile, easily picked up another victory in the young bantamweight’s career at an event promoted by his father Friday at Maryland Live Casino.
White, a 28-year-old from Washington, D.C., won a unanimous decision against Willie Shaw but did not look like the conquering hero in the way that many of his regional peers did elsewhere on the card.
White had lost a decision to an overweight Rene Tellez Giron this past September. Nearly five months later against Shaw, White was confident in his skills but preferred not to be overly assertive.
White boxed patiently in the early rounds from just out of range, countering when Shaw would try to come in, and he would jump in himself when the openings presented themselves. Shaw, a 33-year-old from Vallejo, California, was less successful when it came to catching White on the way.
But there also were stretches in which White allowed Shaw to work, as ineffective as that work was, when it might have been wiser for White to open up more on offense. In the fifth, White briefly had Shaw along the ropes but wasn’t able to do much before the fighters tied up.
White had much more success in the sixth, hammering Shaw along the ropes, then taking a half-step back before returning to land more. Shaw did land a nice counter right uppercut during one of those exchanges, earning a return to the center of the ring. As the sixth came to a close, Shaw jumped in with a couple of quick combos before exiting, though he did leave himself vulnerable for a left hook from White as the bell rang.
In the eighth, White caught Shaw coming forward with a good right hand followed by a jab. He soon scored with a left hook to the body, and not long after that with a three-punch combination. Yet Shaw continued to come forward, scoring with a solid right hand upstairs, then a thudding right to the body seconds later.
White scored a knockdown in the ninth off a lead right hand. Shaw rose quickly and protested the call, to no avail. Shaw was also visibly bothered when the fighters clashed heads in the 10th, though he did not appear to be cut and the action promptly resumed. White remained the more effective man as the fight came to an end.
The referees recognized that, seeing White the unanimous winner by scores of 99-90, 98-91 and 97-92.
White is now 20-2 (12 KOs), while Shaw is now 15-7 (10 KOs).
Jordan Roach, the bantamweight younger brother of Lamont Roach Jnr – both sons of promoter Lamont Roach Snr – scored two knockdowns en route to a dominant shutout decision victory over Juan Hinostroza. All three judges had it 60-52.
Roach’s significant advantages in hand speed, power and overall skill were evident from the outset, as he cut off the ring and tore into Hinostroza. Toward the tail end of the first round, Roach dropped Hinostroza with a beautiful counter right uppercut. Hinostroza was up by the count of eight and fortunate that the bell then rang to give him a minute to recover.
Roach scored another knockdown early in the second round, flooring Hinostroza with a right to the body. This time Hinostroza was up at five and took a deep breath before reentering the fray. Roach went right back to the body with another right and followed soon with heavy blows upstairs.
As Hinostroza had no physical advantages, he needed to time Roach. But he absorbed a lot while seeking his own openings. Still, in a third round that again belonged to Roach, Hinostroza did land a couple clean shots amid exchanges. He was game, and he took a lot of punishment. Roach pummeled Hinostroza against the ropes in the fourth, pot-shotted him from midrange in the fifth and drove punishing hooks to the body in the sixth.
Roach, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, moved to 7-0 (2 KOs). Hinostroza, from Miami, Florida, dropped to 12-13-2 (2 KOs).
In other undercard action:
Welterweight prospect Benjamin Johnson shined while breaking down Mario Meza for a third-round TKO win.
Johnson, at 150.2lbs in this over-the-limit bout, got Meza’s attention early with sharp combinations, including a three-punch combo at one point in the first round, and a left hook to the body followed by a right hand to the head shortly afterward. Meza (149lbs) threw back but didn’t land anything of consequence. He repeatedly invited Johnson forward, and Johnson obliged with landed jab after jab after jab, plus an occasional left hook or right cross.
By the third round, Johnson was in pursuit and picking his spots. When Meza stopped moving, he ate a pair of rights and a left from Johnson that all looped around his guard. Soon Johnson dropped Meza with a left to the body. Meza got up, and Johnson wisely attacked with a mix of blows to the head and body. Meza wound up taking a knee for the second knockdown of the round. After Meza got up and walked to his corner, the referee decided that he had seen enough at the 53-second mark.
Johnson, from Washington, D.C., improved to 7-0 (7 KOs). Meza, from Monterrey, Mexico, fell to 4-2 (3 KOs).
David Whitmire scored a third-round technical knockout against Jarrod Tennant, flooring him twice en route to the win.
Whitmire, who came in just shy of 150lbs, hurt the 152.2lbs Tennant in the first round with a right to the side of the head. In the second and third rounds, Tennant fell into a bad habit of stopping along the ropes or in a corner, where Whitmire would hammer away.
The first knockdown came in Round 3 as the result of a big Whitmire right hand. Tennant was clear-eyed but barely beat the count and rose on unsteady legs. Whitmire came forth with an onslaught, and when Tennant fell in a heap, the referee waved things off just before the bell.
Whitmire, of Washington, D.C., is now 11-0 (8 KOs). Tennant, from Los Angeles, is 9-8 (4 KOs).
Travon Marshall, who is both rebuilding from his first loss and continuing his professional development, notched a sixth-round technical knockout over Eduardo Diaz. Both men weighed in at 149.8lbs. The end came with 19 seconds remaining in the final round.
Marshall improved to 13-1 (10 KOs) and has now won five in a row since suffering a second-round TKO loss to Gabriel Maestre in 2023. Diaz is now 9-5 (3 KOs).
In a highly competitive battle of unbeaten welterweights, Thanjhae Teasley beat Elijah Flores by split decision. Two judges had Teasley ahead 78-74, while the third saw Flores winning 77-75.
Teasley, from Allentown, Pennsylvania, came in at 148.8lbs. He is now 14-0 (6 KOs). Flores, from Redlands, California, came in at 150lbs. He is now 10-1 (4 KOs).
In an enjoyable six-rounder, junior lightweight Jeffrey Yu won a majority decision over Brandon Gutierrez. The scores were 60-54, 59-55 and 57-57. Yu, of Oakton, Virginia, improved to 9-2 (6 KOs). Gutierrez, from San Antonio, fell to 5-4-2 (2 KOs).
Junior featherweight Ervin Fuller III won a six-round unanimous decision while facing a good test from the very experienced Erik Ruiz. All three judges scored it 59-55.
Ruiz held his own in the first two rounds. But Fuller clearly got the better of the third, forcing Ruiz to hold at one point. Fuller took advantage of the proximity with a nice right uppercut. He dedicated plenty of attention to Ruiz’s body in the fourth and also laced in strong hooks to the head.
Ruiz was able to get back on his front foot in the fifth, and found more success as a result. Both men concentrated on the body, trying to drain their opponent and therefore gain an advantage for the final minutes of the fight. The sixth and final round was also competitive, though it was Fuller who boxed well and landed the more eye-catching shots.
Fuller, of Fort Washington, Maryland, moved to 12-0 (6 KOs). The durable Ruiz, from Oxnard, California, is now 17-13-1 (7 KOs). He has been in with a number of recognizable names – including Jessie Magdaleno, Daniel Roman, Rico Ramos, Diego De La Hoya, Angelo Leo and Alan David Picasso – and never been stopped in any of his losses.
In the show’s opener, junior featherweight DWayne Holmes defeated Nestor Robledo via technical knockout when Robledo’s corner pulled their fighter after the third round. The official time of the stoppage was one second into the fourth round.
Holmes, from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was dominating the action with combinations to the head and body. Robledo was game but outgunned, and the Mexican journeyman’s circumstances were made even more difficult after he suffered a cut over the left eye early in the first round from an accidental clash of heads.
Holmes is now 11-0 (6 KOs), while Robledo is 9-16-2 (3 KOs).
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
