Cummings Upset in Woodlawn!

At one point in his 14-year career, Greenville, SC light heavyweight Barry “Killa Bee” Butler had a record of four wins and seven losses. Those days seem to be long gone.

At Martin’s West in Woodlawn, MD, Butler notched one of the biggest wins of his career defeating previously undefeated Cory “Black Ice” Cummings of Baltimore via 10-round split decision. The win was Butler’s ninth straight.

Cummings, who came into the bout ranked number 10 by the WBO, initiated the action using a powerful right hand to back Butler up. In the second round, the pressure put on by Cummings made Butler stumble and almost fall out of the ring.

But in the fourth round, Butler used a very experienced jab to keep Cummings at bay. At the midway point of the contest, Cummings tried to pressure and land shots inside, but Butler showed a strong chin.

Butler’s chin might have turned the battle in his favor because although Cummings landed solid shots towards the end of the battle, Butler took them well and returned solid body shots of his own.

“I think I discouraged him because I was taking his best shots,” Butler said. “He was loading up so I had to box. I boxed okay.”

Judge Kenny Chevalier scored the bout 97-93 for Cummings, but Judges Don Risher and John Gradowski saw the bout for Butler, 96-94.
“This may actually be good for me. Maybe I can get some fights,” said Cummings who fought for just the second time in 11 months. “Maybe when people see this loss, I may actually get people to fight me.”

Both fighters had eight-bout knockout streaks stopped in this contest. With the win, Butler raises his record to 21-12, 18 KO’s while Cummings falls to 15-1, 12 KO’s.

In the co-feature, undefeated Pasadena, MD light heavyweight Mike “The Persecutor” Paschall won a six-round unanimous decision over William “The Thunder” Gill of Newark, NJ.

Paschall showed patience as he waited to land his shots. As the bout progressed, Paschall used his feet and danced around the ring waiting for his opponent to strike. In the fourth round, Paschall landed a left hand that staggered Gill but he didn’t fall and Paschall didn’t take advantage. By the time Gill started to really fight, it was the sixth round and too late for Gill to grab a decision victory.

Judge Malik Waleed said Paschall pitched a shutout at 60-54, the same as Fightnews. Judge Gradowski saw the bout 59-55 while Judge Gary Camponeshi scored the contest 59-56.

Paschall’s record is now 10-0, two KO’s while Gill is 3-11, two KO’s. The bout was a rematch of a June 21 contest won by Paschall by six-round majority decision.

In other bouts on the card, light heavyweight Willie “For Real” Williams of Baltimore scored a workmanlike six-round unanimous decision over Andre “The Heat” Hemphill of Philadelphia.

Williams landed some solid body shows throughout the contest. The shots took their toll on Hemphill and by the end of the contest, Hemphill looked tired. He still tried to land shots despite pressure put on by Williams.

Williams is now 4-1, one KO while Hemphill is now under .500 at 4-5, two KO’s.

Undefeated Pasadena, MD middleweight Jesse “The Beast” Nicklow won a fifth-round technical decision over James “The Mighty Burner” Shedrick of Philadelphia, PA.

Nicklow landed some power shots early in the first round, but Shedrick, who is trained by his father, former 1970’s Philadelphia lightweight product Jimmy Shedrick, came back with good activity in the third round. Nicklow regained the advantage by round five before the two bumped heads, creating a nasty cut around his eye. Nicklow was also bleeding from a cut on the back of his head. Dr Doug Frankel of the Maryland State Athletic Commission took a look at Shedrick’s eye and decided he couldn’t continue.

Nicklow’s win makes him 6-0, three KO’s. Shedrick falls to 3-6, two KO’s,

In the curtain-raising contest, “The People’s Champion” Johnathan Felton stopped the debuting Dalante Marshall of DC in the second round. Felton is now 2-4, one KO.

The promoter was Jake Smith (Baltimore Pro Boxing). The matchmaker is Josh Hall.

I'll be back later today with some random thoughts on this card.