(Photos by Kent Green)
Baltimore, MD cruiserweight Travis "Seveer" Reeves scored an eighth-round technical knockout over Frederick, MD's Larry "Hitman" Pryor to win the vacant Maryland State Cruiserweight title in the main event of the Shawstyle Promotions/Shabazz Brothers card at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.
Reeves was very aggressive throughout the contest repeatedly pushing Pryor up against the ropes. Reeves, however, was smothering his punches in the early part of the contest. In the seventh round, Reeves received credit for a knockdown as he found his distance and landed a crushing overhead right to Pryor's face. The punch made Pryor stumble against the ropes. Referee Brent Bovell ruled a knockdown for Reeves as the ropes kept Pryor from hitting the canvas. Finally, Reeves landed a series of right hands that forced Pryor into a neutral corner. Pryor could not defend himself and Bovell stopped the contest at 42 seconds.
Reeves registered his ninth straight win and third straight knockout to raise his record to 12-2-2, six KO's. Pryor's record falls to 9-13, five KO's.
In an outstanding co-feature bout, Washington, DC flyweight Tyrieshia "Lady Tiga" Douglas won an eight-round unanimous decision over a very tough Anahi "Pantera" Torres of Mexico City, Mexico.
The bout was fought at extremely close quarters throughout as the two ladies traded jabs and body punches. Douglas's speed and accuracy proved to be the difference in the contest as she would land three punches to Torres's one on a regular basis. Despite the phone-booth style contest, there were very few head clashes. When one did take place in the seventh round, the two ladies stopped punching, Douglas wiped away any sweat away from Torres's forehead and the two ladies embraced in an incredible display of sportsmanship.
Douglas, the older sister of middleweight contender Antoine "Action" Douglas, won by scores of 80-72 (twice) and 78-74. Douglas is now 11-1, four KO's while Torres is now 13-14-1, two KO's.
Rookie Baltimore light heavyweight Stephon "The Surgeon" Morris scored a third-round TKO over the debuting Brian "Prime Time" Stevens of Jeffersonville, IN. Morris broke down Stevens throughout the contest, eventually landing a series of left and right hands to Stevens's head late in the third round, forcing referee Kenny Chevalier to stop the contest at 2:45. Morris, who sold $25,000 worth of tickets to the event, raises his record to 2-0, two KO's.
In an all-Baltimore welterweight matchup, James "Keep 'Em Sleepin'" Stevenson registered a fifth-round TKO over Kevin "The Scarecrow" Womack, Jr. when Womack suffered an injury to his right eye. Both men landed consistent punches throughout the awkward bout before an accidental thumb to the eye caused Womack's eye to blur. Ringside doctors observed the injury and deemed Womack unfit to continue. The bout was stopped at 2:36 of the fifth. Stevenson is now 23-2, 16 KO's while Womack falls to 7-11-3, five KO's.
In a minor upset, veteran Philadelphia, PA light heavyweight Taneal "Spider" Goyco won a six-round split decision over previously undefeated Devin Butcher of Baltimore. Butcher had an early offensive advantage as he landed solid shots with his right hand. But Goyco eventually wore down Butcher with constant pressure. Butcher lost a point in the sixth round for holding which may have been the difference on the judge's scorecards. Judges Brent Bovell and Don Risher scored the bout for Goyco 57-56 while judge Paul Wallace saw the bout for Butcher by the same score. With the win, Goyco evens his record at 8-8-1, three KO's while Butcher drops to 5-1, three KO's.
DC super welterweight Shynggyskhan Tazhibay won a four-round unanimous decision over the debuting Ahmet "The Turk" Kayrelti of Fairfax, VA. Tazhibay spent the bulk of the round chasing Kayrelti around the ring as Kayrelti used tremendous foot speed to try and avoid Tazhibay's onslaught. Tazhibay did land his share of solid punches to win the bout by shutout on two of the judge's scorecards, 40-36. One judge saw the bout 39-37 for Tazhibay, who remains undefeated at 4-0, two KO's.
Owings Mills, MD heavyweight Colby Madison won a four-round unanimous decision over Baltimore heavy Lonnie Kornegay. Madison, whose pro debut lasted 30 seconds, did a solid job fending off the constant pressure of the veteran Kornegay. Madison used good footwork to put himself in position to land punches to Kornegay's face. Madison also dealt well with a cut along his left eye caused by an accidental head butt from Kornegay. Madison won the bout 39-37 on all judge's scorecards. Madison is now 2-0 while Kornegay is 1-13-3.
Las Vegas, NV based super welterweight Cody "The Crippler" Crowley won a six-round unanimous decision over Corey McCants of Douglasville, GA. Crowley dominated the bout offensively against the durable McCants and won the bout by shutout (60-54) on all scorecards. Crowley remains undefeated at 8-0, five KO's while McCants falls to 2-15-2, one KO.
The opening contest saw Seat Pleasant, MD featherweight James "Too Slick" Early win a four-round unanimous decision over Tyshae Ferguson of Danville, VA. Early was indeed too slick for Ferguson as he was able to combine movement with solid shots against Ferguson to gain a shutout win (40-36) on all cards. Early is now 2-0 while Ferguson remains winless at 0-6.
After the card, we conducted one of the classiest interviews heard on this blog in quite some time as we spoke to both Travis Reeves and Larry Pryor after their cruiserweight title bout. Please listen:
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