Night of Knockouts in Springfield, VA!

Rising cruiserweight prospect Emmanuel “Chukwu” Nwodo scored an easy first-round knockout over Ron Krull during a night of knockouts at the ABC Sports Complex in Springfield, VA.

Nwodo, a native of Enugu, Nigeria, now fighting out of Baltimore, MD overwhelmed the overmatched Krull, fighting out of Panama City, FL, from the opening bell. About a minute into the round, Nwodo dropped Krull to one knee with a left hand. Moments later, Nwodo delivered a body shot that dropped Krull for the second time. Referee Chris Wollesen immediately stopped the bout at 1:35 of the round.

“I tried to see what he had, but I saw he didn’t have anything, so I ended it,” said Nwodo, who raised his record to 19-4 with 15 knockouts. Krull’s record falls to one listed during the card as 7-9, four KO’s. However, Boxrec.com lists Krull’s record at 6-26 with five KO’s.

Krull was the fourth opponent selected for Nwodo to battle on this card. Three others passed up the opportunity to take the bout, a situation that has become increasingly frustrating for the Nigerian, who saw his first action since December of 2005.

“It’s like the people up there (in the rankings) don’t want to fight,” said Nwodo, who is ranked number five by the USBA and number eight by the NABA. “It’s so frustrating that I cannot get someone of my talent to fight. I guess no one wants a loss to me.”

The Nwodo knockout was one of four delivered during the five-bout card. The co-feature bout showcased the prettiest knockout of the night as Woodbridge, VA light heavyweight Andre “Da Heat” Hemphill made short work of Alan Snyder of Gary, IN.

About 40 seconds into the opening round, Hemphill unleashed a picture-perfect left right combination that dropped Snyder heavily to the canvas. Snyder got up from the combination, but moments later, a short right hand finished the job and referee Rick Ellis stopped the contest at 1:08 of the first.

The victory broke a two-fight losing streak for Hemphill in which he lost two straight majority decisions. Based on those losses, Hemfill said he came into this bout with a definitive attitude.

“I knew I couldn’t let this go into the hands of the judges,” Hemphill said. “They call me ‘Da Heat’ and that’s what I bring to them.”

Hemphill raised his record to 4-3, three KO’s. Snyder falls to 0-2.

In the only bout that went the distance, Falls Church, VA middleweight “Money” Mike Sawyer won a tough, yet dominant four-round unanimous decision over Montez Wilson of Philadelphia, PA.

Sawyer, a graduate of George Mason University, gained the advantage early by using a solid body attack. But while Sawyer focused on the body, Wilson defended himself by catching Sawyer with counter shots. Wilson also caught Sawyer with head butts that opened cuts around Sawyer’s face.

Sawyer kept his composure and in the third round, took complete charge of the bout. Instead of staying inside, Sawyer picked his shots and worked well from the outside, frustrating his opponent. In the final round, Wilson displayed his frustration by delivering another head butt, drawing blood over Sawyer’s right eye. Sawyer overcame the cut and went on to win convincingly. All three judges said Sawyer pitched a shutout with judges Phil Kornberg and Jerry Payne scoring the bout 40-36. Judge Laura Catuska saw the bout 40-35. I scored the bout 40-37.

“I was very wary about his head after the first head butt in the second round,” Sawyer said. “I didn’t want to lean in and I couldn’t get my shots off like I wanted to, not because I was tired, but because I didn’t want to get head butted again.”

Sawyer remains undefeated at 2-0, one KO. Wilson remains winless at 0-3.

The card opened with two Washington-area prospects making successful pro debuts. Welterweight Ali Shah of Centerville, VA scored a third-round TKO over Shane Gierke of Columbus, OH.

While Gierke never hit the canvas during the bout, Shah battered him throughout the contest, causing referee Chris Wollesen to deliver two eight-counts in the second round. In the third, Shah landed a left-right combination that caused Gierke to do enough of an unintentional dance to force Wollesen to stop the bout at 1:46 of the round. With the loss, Gierke falls to 1-8, one KO.

In the curtain-raising bout, Gaithersburg, MD heavyweight Calvin Riley made short work of Philadelphia’s Mike Needling, scoring a first-round TKO. Riley jumped on his opponent early landing numerous right hands. Needling withered under the assault and dropped to the canvas. Needling beat the count, but referee Rick Ellis deemed him unfit to continue and stopped the contest at 2:22 of the first. Needling’s record is 0-8.

Sugar Han Promotions, led by former boxer Han “Sugar” Kim, promoted the card and Kim served as matchmaker.

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS: This was maybe the quickest card I have ever covered. The card got underway a little after 8 pm, had a 20-minute intermission and was STILL over before 10!!

Every now and then, a promoter needs a card like this to build a following for the local fighters involved. Hopefully, though, this will not be a habit, but it is a good way to get people in the seats on a regular basis.

There was a good crowd on hand for this card, a sign of good things to come in Northern Virginia. The crowd was extremely vocal for the Virginia boxers, Sawyer, Hemfill and Ali Shah.

Zain Shah, Ali's brother, was scheduled to participate on this card, but his bout with Jason Champion was cancelled because Champion just recently fought and won in Pikesville, MD.

Interesting sponsor for this card, Angel's Bail Bonds, a local company. Ring announcer Terrence "TNT" Crawford was very creative in advertising the company.