PHILADELPHIA – On his biggest stage to date, Tahmir Smalls scored his highest-profile victory yet.
Smalls, a Philadelphia-based welterweight, overcame Puerto Rico’s tall, tricky Jose Roman Vazquez to win a unanimous decision Saturday at Wells Fargo Center in his hometown. The scores were 98-91, 96-93 and 95-94, all for the 26-year-old Smalls, who improved to 16-0 (11 KOs).
The fight was part of the DAZN broadcast undercard of the Jaron Ennis-Uisma Lima card.
Smalls, who stands five inches shorter than his 6ft2ins opponent, had a hard time getting in against the mobile Roman, who was coming off a high-profile split decision victory over Jalil Hackett in December. Smalls finally found the opening he was looking for in the third round, when a right hand and left hook along the ropes dropped the 31-year-old Roman hard to the canvas. Smalls became overly aggressive after the knockdown, rushing some of his offense, which made it easier for Roman to survive the minute remaining in the round.
Roman rebounded afterwards, getting his feet underneath him and boxing well in the fourth and fifth rounds – though another right hand late in the sixth hurt him once more.
Just as he had earlier, Roman was able to re-establish his rhythm in the seventh and eighth, while Smalls picked up the pace in the final two rounds.
Smalls, who was decked out in ring attire inspired by the Philadelphia Eagles’ jerseys, scored his fourth win of the year with the points victory.
Earlier in the card, Dennis Thompson, a junior featherweight prospect who is promoted by Ennis, overcame his toughest test so far, defeating the previously unbeaten Sean Diaz by a six-round split decision. One judge had Thompson winning going away, 60-53, while another had it 57-56 for Diaz, and the third had it 57-56 for Thompson, meaning that a fifth-round point deduction against Diaz for holding was the difference between a draw and a split decision.
The test was not just physical for Thompson but mental as well, as he had to keep his composure against an awkward southpaw who looked to work on his opponents’ nerves with almost constant teasing in between potshot counters. Philadelphia’s Thompson, who improved to 8-0 (5 KOs), had a hard time with the southpaw style of the Guadalajara, Mexico, native Diaz, also 20. Thompson often came barreling in, leaving him open for the slapping counters of Diaz.
Thompson began getting the better of it by the fourth as Thompson’s pace began to wear on Diaz, who began to wither under the constant pressure from Thompson. Thompson continued to land clean shots in close against Diaz, whose constant holding led to a deduction in the fifth round.
Thompson continued to pour on the punishment against Diaz, who had lost any snap on his punches by the middle rounds and was eating punches regularly, which led to swelling on the right side of his face.
Junior lightweight prospect Zaquin Moses went the full six rounds for the first time as a pro, shutting out Antonio Dunton El Jnr by unanimous scores of 60-54 to improve to 5-0 (3 KOs) as a professional. Moses, a cousin of multiple-time world champion Shakur Stevenson, was in control throughout against the 6-5-2 (2 KOs) Dunton El, hurting multiple times in the fight but being unable to get the finish.
Giorgio Visioli, a sharp southpaw from Aldershot, England, had little trouble winning his professional debut, dominating the final seven rounds to win a unanimous decision over New Yorker James Wilkins in an eight-round lightweight bout. The scores were all 80-72 in favor of Visioli, 9-0 (6 KOs), while the 29-year-old Wilkins dropped to 13-4 (6 KOs) with his most one-sided defeat yet.
After an interesting first round, in which both fighters landed hard shots upstairs, the 22-year-old Visioli was in complete control, sharpshooting Wilkins from distance while making him pay whenever he overreached to land his own shots. Although Visioli was putting together punches from distance, landing chopping lefts to the head and right hooks to the body, Wilkins was content to throw one punch at a time before falling into clinches.
The fight began to get ugly in the fifth as Visioli pinned Wilkins to the ropes and landed big shots, but Visioli seemed content to settle in for the distance after Wilkins survived the onslaught.
Harley Mederos, 8-0 (7 KOs), a heavy-handed junior welterweight from New York, had barely an opportunity to showcase how good of a prospect he was, as he dropped the backsliding former prospect Hylon Williams Jnr, 16-6-1 (3 KOs), with virtually every punch before Williams’ corner pulled the plug after the first round. Mederos, 25, of Brooklyn, is managed by Keith Connolly and was an amateur standout, winning the 2020 USA National Championships prior to turning pro.
The night kicked off with a minor upset, as Naheem Parker ended a three-fight losing streak with a unanimous shutout over the previously unbeaten Justin Palmieri in a six-round bout. All three judges scored the fight 60-54 in favor of Parker, a Camden, New Jersey, native who improved to 6-3 (3 KOs).
Palmieri, 5-1 (3 KOs), of Maple Shade, New Jersey, appeared the larger of the two and had success early on, but he was too inviting a target as he walked in without a jab, giving the 31-year-old Parker counterpunch opportunities, particularly with uppercuts.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
