By Ryan Burton
The Palms Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada- J'Leon Love (18-1) lost his perfect record as Rogelio "Porky" (33-6) pulled off a major upset in the main event of Showtime's latest edition of ShoBox. The stoppage occured at the :39 mark of the third round.
After a feeling out process, Love went on the attack early in the 2nd round. Love got caught towards the end of the round which was a sign of things to come as Medina caught Love with a huge left hand that he could not recover from. He hit the canvas and had lost control of his legs. Medina had lost his previous fight to Love's stablemate Badou Jack.
Super middleweight contender Badou Jack (17-1-1) bounced back from his shocking February 1st round knockout loss to Dereck Edwards by out pointing Jason Escalera (15-3-1). Jack started out slow but dominated the middle and late rounds.
The pace of the fight started out slow as both fighters felt each other out. Both men picked up the pace in the 2nd and the fight was fought on relatively even terms with Jack landing the crisper shots. Jack landed several hard shots early in the 4th that reenergized the crowd that was listless by that point. Escalera landed a hard shot at the end of the round but he didnt land much else in the round.
Jack started to break down Escalera in the 6th as he landed several combinations to the head and body in the second half of the round. The rest of the fight was more of the same as Jack's advantage in speed and overall ability was more than the game but limited Escalera could handle. Both men exchanged combinations during the final 10 seconds but unfortunately there wasn't a lot of action prior. The final scores were 100-90 twice and 99-91.
Ronald "The Thrill" Gavril (10-0) made a statement battering Thomas Falowo (12-3) over 7 rounds in the opening fight of the latest edition of ShoBox. The Mayweather Promotions promoted fighter floored Falowo in the third round and hurt him several times throughout the fight.
Gavril showed his versatility by dividing his attack to the head and the body. He also displayed an excellent jab. Gavril stunned Falowo early in the 7th and unloaded a flurry of punches that were unanswered, forcing referee Robert Byrd to stop the fight at the 2:14 mark.
Undefeated cruiserweight prospect Andrew Tabiti (7-0 7 KOs) kept his knockout streak intact by stopping Eric Cason (2-2) in 3 rounds. Tabiti stunned Cason in the first round and never let his foot off the gas. The time of the stoppage was 2:18.
Luis "Cuba" Arias (10-0) came out fast and survived a bad cut over his right eye to beat Angel Martinez (6-7) by unanimous decision. Arias went to the body early and often to wear down Martinez. The final tallies were 80-72 and 78-74 twice.
Ashley Theophane (36-6) won an un unanimous decision over Daniel Calzada (10-11-2). Calzada has been a tough out for many prospects but Theophane was able to pick up his third win in a row since dropping a split decision to Pablo Cesar Cano this past September. The final scores were 80-72 twice and 79-73.
Cortez Bey improved to 10-1-1 by edging out Jacinto Quintana in their welterweight fight. The final scores were 58-56, 56-57, and 57-56. Bey's brother Mickey takes on IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez on the ppv undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana rematch on September 13th.
Ladarius "Memphis" Miller (4-0) kept his undefeated record intact by winning an unanimous decision over Eddie Diaz (0-2) in their junior welterweight fight. The tallies read 40-36 twice amd 39-37.
Lanell Bellows (9-1-1) dominated Codale Ford (4-4) over 6 rounds to win an unanimous decision in their super middleweight bout. All three scorecards read 60-54.
