Shields Wins Close at The Grand Plaza Ballroom
Results from Houston at the Grand Plaza Ballroom
Rock Solid Promotions Thursday Night Fights
By Michael Campbell at ringside
Rock Solid Promotions returned to the Houston Grand Plaza Ballroom for another installment of Thursday night fights. Promoter Cameron Park hosted an evening of testing match-ups for the hometown fighters. Some newcomers to the area were showcased along with a few returnees stepping up their level of competition to see what kind of progress they are making in their training.
Chase “White Tiger” Shields brought his huge fan base back to the venue which has been the location of the majority of his contests to face the very able-bodied competitor Taronze Washington. Shields looked redefined and invigorated to open the match displaying superior boxing abilities, quickly moving in, engaging, and then moving out unscathed. Washington was continually a half step behind the pace for the first few stanzas as Shields showed cat-like quickness.
The third round ended with them facing off and having the best exchange thus far of the fight with both landing flurries and tempers flaring. The 2nd half of the fight saw Washington kick it into gear and take over the momentum landing the more effective power shots as both fighters went for broke without regard for defense. The crowd was pleased and the judges scored the bout near even with a slight edge to the hometown hero.
Alfonso “El Tigre” Lopez continued his unblemished march with a step-up bout versus the locally respected Larry “Hitman” Pryor. After a decorated amateur campaign, Lopez has been impressive in his activity level and performance in his first year as a professional. A workaholic, Lopez has his resting pulse down to an impressive 35 bpm, logging 50+ miles of roadwork each week during training. This possibly makes for his slow starts in fights, and Pryor was able to time and land hooks on Lopez’s entries for the first two rounds.
The bigger man, Pryor had some trouble making the 175 pound weight limit and became drained as the bout progressed. With consistency El Tigre took the bout over landing straights and hooks in combinations wearing out Pryor, who retired on his stool before the 5th round. Pryor, also an amateur standout from the Washington D.C. area, has talent and could be a good prospect if he’d come to fights in shape and translate that to a busier work rate. Lopez looked to be just finding his groove as the bout ended and will be a force at the weight class as he progresses to eight and ten round fights.
Eugene Hill avenged a loss from the amateurs by taking a majority decision over Kirby Gillespie. Gillespie had defeated Hill in February 2001 at the Texas state Golden Gloves. Gillespie used his jab to hold Hill at bay for the first two rounds before Hill was able to penetrate and land the much more powerful punches of the bout in the third and fourth rounds to score a narrow victory.
Crystal “Choo Choo” Delgado in her hometown debut picked up her second win with an impressive performance versus previously unbeaten Maria Rodriguez. These two young ladies matched up well in size and skill which made for an entertaining contest, but Delgado proved to be the quicker of the two and showed more desire to win by finishing the match strong. They stood face to face for the majority of the fight trading power punches, until Rodriguez wore down and Delgado was able to land at a higher percentage in the later rounds and cause swelling over Rodriguez’s eyes.
Tony Valdiva picked up his 3rd victory in as many fights by making quick work of Gerardo Carillo. From the opening bell they faced off toe to toe until a big right hook from Valdiva rocked Carillo dropping him to the canvas. Carillo stood but was on shaky legs and a flurry from Valdiva finished the match in a hurry.
Lanardo Tyner improved to 18-0 twice knocking down and shutting out Wayne Fletcher. Fletcher professed after the bout that Tyner was ready for the likes of Anthony Peterson. Tyner recently relocated his training base from the Motor City to Houston and is under the tutelage of 1984 Olympic Gold medalist and former IBF Middleweight champion Frank Tate.
Results
Super Welterweights
Chase Shields of Houston, TX (25-1-1, 13 KOs) over Taronze Washington of Dallas, TX (9-9, 5 KOs) by by Majority Decision with scores of 58-56, 58-56, & 57-57.
Light Heavyweights
Alfonso Lopez of Cut-N-Shoot, TX (5-0, 4 KOs) over Larry Pryor of Houston, TX (2-3, 1 KO) by TKO at 0:10 of the 5th round.
Heavyweights
Eugene Hill of Dickinson, TX (7-0, 6 KOs) over Kirby Gillespie of Dallas, TX (1-1) by Majority Decision with scores of 40-36, 39-37, & 38-38.
Women’s Lightweights
Crystal Delgado of Houston, TX (2-0) over Maria Rodriguez of Brownsville, TX (2-1) by Unanimous Decision with scores of 40-36 on all judges scorecards.
Super Featherweights
Cruz Valdivia of Houston, TX (3-0, 2 KOs) over Gerardo Carillo of Houston, TX (0-3) by TKO at 0:53 of the 1st round.
Junior Welterweights
Lanardo Tyner of Detroit, MI (18-0, 10 KOs) over Wayne Fletcher of Dallas, TX (5-21-2, 3 KO’s) by Unanimous Decision with scores of 40-34 on all judges scorecards.