By Cliff Rold

The untelevised portion of the undercard for tonight’s non-title showdown between World Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and Bernard Hopkins provided a look at some potentially thrilling faces in Boxing’s immediate future as well as the latest from a rising Jr. Middleweight contender.

Currently rated in the top ten at Jr. Middleweight by the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO, Belarusian 28-year old Yuri Foreman (26-0, 8 KO), 155, of Brooklyn, New York did nothing to lose his position, easily outboxing 33-year old Vinroy Barrett (22-7, 11 KO), 153, of Kingston, Jamaica. Barrett was a contestant on Season Two of the Contender reality series and was making only his second start since September of 2006.  All three judges turned in obvious scores of 100-90 for Foreman who used deft footwork, a consistent left jab and strategic combination punching to control the action throughout.

Only 20 years old, and highly touted, Jr. Welterweight prospect Danny Garcia (8-0, 8 KO), 143, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania maintained his perfect knockout mark, dropping 30-year old Deon Nash (5-6, 1 KO), 143 ½, of Lutcher, Louisiana twice in round three before a series of blows rendered Nash defenseless along the ropes and forced a referee’s stoppage.  Dominant with lead lefts to the head and body from the start, the first knockdown would come on a whipping right hand, followed by the second off of a stiff left jab.  Nash rose on both occasions but with no offense of his own, finally undone by a final right hand.  The official time of the stoppage was not announced.

Finally, in the opening bout of the night, a pair of young Jr. Bantamweights earned the respect and approval of the early entering fans over almost four rounds of coarse action.  19-year old local Qa’id Muhammad (3-0, 3 KO), 115, of Atlantic City proved a fighter worth keeping an eye on, weathering some heavy back and forth in the second round before scoring a standing stoppage game 20-year old Sammy Gutierrez (3-4), 114, of Saltillo, Mexico with a flurry of shots along the ropes.  Muhammad displayed a range of offensive weapons behind a quick, hurting left jab and exceptional hand speed.  The official time of the stoppage was 2:29 of the fourth.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com