By Jake Donovan
Regis Prograis managed to pick up right where he left off following a stellar 2015 campaign. The unbeaten super lightweight prospect capped a night of knockouts with a 1st round knockout victory over Aaron Herrera in their Showtime-televised main event Friday evening at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.
The matchup didn't quite present the same potential for a competitive fight as was suggested in previous - and eventual lopsided - wins over unbeaten prospects Amos Cowart at Abel Ramos, both of which also came on Showtime's Shobox: The New Generation series. As such, Prograis picked up one of the quickest wins of his young career.
Herrera came in on the heels of a lopsided points loss to undefeated Pedro Campa last December and has historically fallen well short when stepping up in class. It held true in Friday's televised headliner, with Prograis wasting little time in forcing an aggressive pace.
The brief power punching display was capped by a right hook body shot that put Herrera down and eventually out. The blow knocked the wind out of the 27-year old from Mexico, who remained on the canvas for the full ten count.
The official time was 2:17 of round one.
Prograis advances to 17-0 (14KOs) with the win, picking up his fourth 1st round knockout in the process. Herrera suffers his second consecutive defeat - and the quickest loss of his career - as he falls to 29-5-1 (18KOs).
UNDERCARD
Ivan Baranchyk continues his run of blasting through opposition as if' he's double-parked. The latest hit for the Brooklyn-based Russian prospect came in a quick blitz of Kalamazoo's Nicholas Givhan in the early seconds of their matchup of unbeaten super lightweights.
A total of three official punches were thrown in the fight, two offered by Baranchyk. A jab to the body was patiently followed by a driving left hook that put Givhan (16-1-1, 10KOs) down and out.
The entire bout lasted all of 0:21, stunningly only good for the second-quickest knockout of Baranchyk's young career. The 23-year old registered a three-second knockout last June, another highlight reel moment that came courtesy of his potent left hook.
With his latest conquest, Barancyhk - aptly nicknamed "The Beast" - improves to 10-0 (9KOs), registering his 7th consecutive knockout. Six of his nine career stoppages have come in the opening round, having now scored three in less than one minute.
A lot was made of super welterweight prospect Justin DeLoach joining forces with former welterweight champ Paul Williams ahead of his Showtime-televised clash with Dillon Cook. By fight's end, DeLoach made the highlight reel on his own explosive efforts, delivering an early candidate for Knockout of the Year in drilling Cook in four rounds.
Williams remains in a wheelchair following a horrific car accident in 2012 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He has now turned to training young fighters in efforts to remain active in the sport. His first client is DeLoach, who hails from Williams' original hometown of Augusta, Georgia.
DeLoach jumped out to a strong start in the opening round, the fight playing according to their resumes as he is the far more experience fighter while the unbeaten Cook - who hails from nearby Joplin, Missouri - was stepping up in class. The necessary adjustments were made by the regional favorite in round two, with Cook closing the gap and landing the cleaner shots in round three.
A competitive fight dramatically ended in the blink of an eye, with DeLoach timed Cook (16-1, 8KOs) coming in and landed a flush right hand to put his opponent down for the count. Cook's mouthpiece was dislodged as he remained on the canvas for the full ten count, the end coming at 2:47 of round four.
DeLoach improves - in every sense of the word - to 14-1 (8KOs). The 22-year old has now claimed four straight wins following the lone loss of his career - a 3rd round knockout defeat of Cesar Villa last February, in a fight where he was winning every moment before suddenly suffering a shocking stoppage.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
