Walsh Reigns Supreme: Edges Williams in Title Fight

MASHANTUCKET, CT – “King” Kevin Walsh (17-0, 9 KOs) vanquished the last of his regional rivals on Saturday night, winning a hard fought 10-round majority decision over Tremaine “The Mighty Midget” Williams (20-3, 6 KOs) at the Premier Theater in Foxwoods Resort Casino. With the win, Walsh added the WBC US Silver Super Featherweight title to his growing collection. 

“Hats off to Williams, he’s a hell of a fighter,” said Brockton, MA’s Walsh, who stopped cross-town rival Irvin Gonzalez in 4 rounds last November to win the New England Super Featherweight title and followed up that impressive win with an electrifying 8th round knockout over Rhode Island’s Ricky de los Santos in February to pick up the WBC US Silver Featherweight title.  “I got the knockdown in round 4, and I think it was the difference.”

It very well may have been.  Other than the knockdown, the bout was fought on even terms over 10 rounds.  The contest began with a battle of the jabs as each man looked to establish ring generalship. 

Walsh began to pressure Williams in round 3, and the former world title challenger from New Haven, CT responded with a counter left hand and several left jabs.  Just when the ‘Mighty Midget’ was settling into the fight, Walsh went on the offensive in round 4, landing a leaping right hand that dropped Williams.  The Brockton native looked to follow up, but the crafty Williams responded with a left hand and a short right hook to stave off further punishment.

The bout became a tense chess match during the middle rounds, with each fighter working angles to gain an edge.  Walsh picked up the pace in round 8, but the southpaw Williams responded with quick left hands before evading the incoming fire.

Walsh likely sealed the deal in rounds 9 and 10, pushing the pace of the fight and desperately trying to hurt his foe.  After 10 hard rounds, the crowd waited tensely as the announcer read the judges’ scorecards, with 2 judges seeing the fight 95-94 and 96-93 for Walsh, overruling the third judge who scored the fight 96-93 for Williams.

‘Savage’ Steven Sumpter stops Janer Gonzalez to win WBC 168-lbs titleIn the night’s co-feature, “Savage” Steven Sumpter (11-1-1, 9 KOs) earned the vacant WBC US Silver Super Middleweight title, knocking out grizzled veteran Janer Gonzalez (23-8-1, 19 KOs) in round 6 of a scheduled 8 round bout.  Sumpter, of Lawrence, MA, took his time in figuring out the Miami based Colombian, patiently stalking him over the first few rounds looking for opportunities to counter. 

“I was trying to bait him in and see what he had,” explained Sumpter after the bout.  “I wanted him to walk into something.”

The southpaw began sitting on his punches in round 5, landing a heavy left hand that Gonzalez shook off.  Attempting to turn the tide, Gonzalez began moving forward in round 6, trapping Sumpter in the corner.  It turned out to be a costly mistake, as Sumpter landed a counter left hand that put Gonzalez on the canvas.  The Colombian beat the count and proceeded to trade, but another left hand dropped him hard, causing the stoppage at 1:42 of round 6.

Other results

Polish prospect Slawomir “The Heavy Hitter” Bohdziewicz improved to 6-0 (5), dropping Russell Harris (6-2, 6 KOs) twice in the 6th and final round for a last-minute stoppage.  The contest began with the taller Bohdziewicz plodding forward behind a left jab and heavy hooks and right hands, while the smaller, stockier Harris looked to counter with looping shots.  Bohdziewicz’s thudding shots began to take effect on the St. Louis native in round 5, as the exhausted southpaw desperately tried to survive Slaw’s onslaught. The Stamford, CT native finally broke through in round 6, dropping Harris with a jab, right hand combination. Harris beat the count, but Slaw dug a piercing left hook to Harris’ body that immediately dropped the Missourian to a knee, causing Harvey Dock to stop the bout at 2:15.

We already knew that Jacob “Lefty” Marrero (9-0, 7 KOs) was talented. Now we know that he can also overcome adversity.  The Bridgeport, CT native took on New York’s Wilfredo Flores (11-5-1, 5 KOs) in a battle of lightweights.  Marrero came out fast, landing quick counter left hands against the New Yorker.  Lefty hurt Flores in round 3, but the Mexican American shook it off and attempted to walk him down in round 4.  Flores almost stuck gold in round 5, staggering Marrero with a left hand.  The Bridgeport native leaned against the ropes, quickly composed himself and began to box, landing sharp counter shots.  Flores was never able to replicate his early success, as the quicker Marrero boxed intelligently while landing stinging lefts and rights.  Scores after 8 rounds were 79-73 (3x).

Highly touted heavyweight prospect Ali Feliz (6-0, 5 KOs) survived a scare, appearing to injure his knee after trading punches with Brandon Carmack (8-8-2, 5 KOs) in round 1 of their 6-round contest.  The bout continued after a few anxious minutes, with Feliz launching a series of head shots that dropped Carmack.  The Missouri native rose only to continue absorbing punishment, taking a knee later in the round from a big right hand.  Danbury, CT’s Feliz went in for the finish in round 2, dropping Carmack twice more, the second with a right uppercut to the stomach that dropped Carmack for good.  Time was 1:31 of round 2. 

With boyhood hero Peter Manfredo Jr. looking on, Will Guilmette destroyed Tymar Miles (0-6) in his highly anticipated debut, dropping the New Yorker 3 times for a first-round knockout. The Coventry native wasted little time in making a statement, dropping Miles seconds into the fight with a left hook.  Miles beat the count, but a right to the body put him back on the canvas.  The New Yorker rose to his feet again, but the follow up assault dropped him a third time, causing referee Bryan Miner to halt the bout at 1:08 of round 1. 

In an all-out war, Victor Reynoso (11-0, 7 KOs), of Providence, RI, outslugged Florida’s Chris Puryear (5-3) over 6 vicious rounds.  Reynoso launched a sneaky counter right uppercut in round 3 that dropped Puryear to his knees.  The Floridian beat the count and responded by launching his own attack in round 4, stunning Reynoso with an overhand right.  The pugilists continued to trade punches in rounds 5 and 6 before a massive right hand dropped Puryear a second time.  Puryear again beat the count, and the bloody fighters resumed trading power shots until the final bell.  Scores were 58-54 (3x).   

Someone’s ‘0’ had to go when unbeaten middleweights Douglas Marroquin (6-0, 3 KOs) and Tremaine Jones (3-1, 3 KOs)collided in a 4-round slugfest.  Marroquin, a Guatemalan and Mexican fighter based in Stamford, CT, slowly broke down Jones, launching a body assault in round 1 and walking down his taller opponent behind intelligent pressure and short shots beginning in round 2.  Marroquin hit paydirt in round 3, staggering the Louisiana native with a huge right hand to the head and following up with a relentless assault.  A right to the body doubled Jones over, but he bravely absorbed the shot and survived to see the final bell.  Scores were 40-36 (3x). Joseph Chisholm (5-0, 5 KOs)continued his string of first round knockouts, blasting out Markist Taylor (1-2)in quick succession. “J-Elite” was too much for Taylor, landing a 3-punch combination punctuated by a right hand to the body that dropped the St. Louis native for the count.  Time of the stoppage was 1:09 of round 1. 

New Haven, CT’s Carlos Perez (4-0) kept his perfect record intact, pounding out a 4-round decision over Florida’s Shaquille Rushing (0-4-1).  After 2 competitive rounds, “Carlito’s Way” took control of the fight, landing 3 and 4 punch combinations to Grant’s head and body to secure the jr. welterweight bout by scores of 40-36 (3x).Kevante Wineglass (2-0, 1 KO) picked up his first knockout, detonating a huge right hand to the head to drop debuting LaTraveon Grant (0-1) in round 2 of their jr. welterweight bout.  Grant survived the round, but the bout was stopped after round 3 on the doctor’s recommendation.    

In his pro debut, Norwalk, CT based Venezuelan Victor Guerra (1-0, 1 KO) knocked out Lucien Hannah (0-4) in 3 rounds of their jr. middleweight scrap.  The boxers took turns hurting one another with right hands in round 3, Hannah early in the round and Guerra towards the end.  Guerra, of Wilmer Mendez Boxing, took advantage of his hurt opponent, following up with a two-fisted assault to the head and body that had the exhausted Hannah reeling. The New Yorker wisely chose not to continue after round 3. David Marshall Jr. (1-0, 1 KO) made his pro debut a successful one, stopping Gabriel Costa (4-9-1, 4 KOs) in round 2 of their heavyweight bout. “Marshall Law” stunned Costa with a right hand in round 1. The Bristol, RI native dropped Costa twice in round 2, the first with a blistering left hook to the body, and the second with a heavy left hook to the head that convinced referee Harvey Dock to wave off the bout at 2:25 of round 2.

Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.

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