Tough Night for Locals in New Jersey!

It wasn't a good night for Beltway Boxers near Salem, NJ. Baltimore heavyweight Bernard "Bad Ass" Brown was disqualified in the first round of the main event against hometown Mark "Oak Tree" Brown.

Here's how my Fightnews colleagues Rick Scharmberg and Kurt Wolfheimer described the action:

Late in the opening round, Bernard Brown 249, lunged at Oak Tree with a wild right hand, which forced the second rugged clinch of the fight. Both fighters wrestled and punched in the clinch before referee Allen Huggins was finally able to force himself in between them. Before he could wave the bout on again, Bernard Brown attacked an unprepared Mark " Oak Tree" Brown with a right hook up top that just missed and forced a wild MMA style-wrestling melee. Referee Allen Huggins immediately disqualified Bernard Brown who continued to fight while he tried to break them. Mark "Oak Tree" Brown a former state wrestling champion finally slammed him to the canvas and began to ground and pound, MMA style as both fighters swung away until their corners were able to separate them after the fight was over. After a few tense moments as the crowd chanted, "Let them fight!!" it was announced that Bernard "Bad Ass" Brown was disqualified for his tactics and Mark "Oak Tree" Brown was declared the winner late in round one. No time of the stoppage was available after the fight.

Brown is now 5-3-2, three KO's. Mark Brown is now 11-1, four KO's.

In another bout on the card, Salem, NJ rookie super middleweight "Dazzling" Desmond Bolden stopped DC's Jessie Horton after two rounds when Horton retired in his corner. According to Fightnews, Horton opened the bout with a couple wild flurries, but Bolden weathered the early shots and set down with a nice upper cut and a couple of straight rights to capture the opening stanza. Round two became a brawl as both fighters swung away, but Bolden won most of the exchanges with straighter combinations. Late in the second round a right hook appeared to buckle the knees of Horton and forced a clinch. Horton tried to fight back, but the continual exchanges zapped the energy from most of his punches late in round two. In his corner between rounds, Horton told referee Brian O'Melia, he was too tired to continue and the bout was waved off between rounds.

Horton is now 0-3 on his career. Bolden won his pro debut.