Fox, Bates, Ferhadi Victorious; Pllana Battles To Draw In Philadelphia!

Overall, a good night for Beltway Boxers on Friday at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA.  In the main event, Forestville, MD welterweight Mykal "The Professor" Fox put on another solid boxing performance winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Johnny Arellano of Austin, TX.  Although Arellano came the closest to matching Fox's 6'4" height (Arellano is 6'2"), he couldn't match Fox's foot speed and boxing ability.  Fox was able to knock Arellano down in the fifth round with a sneaky left hook to the body and right to the head.  Fox would go on to the relatively easy win, gaining the victory by scores of 78-73 and 80-71 (twice).  Fox, who is ranked 14th in the world by the IBF and 15th by the WBA, is now 22-1, five KO's while Arellano drops to 10-2, nine KO's.

In the co-feature, Hagerstown, MD super middleweight "The Sexy Albanian" Genc Pllana and Kalvin "Hot Sauce" Henderson of Fayetteville, AR battled to an eight-round draw.  Pllana's unorthodox style paid dividends against the undefeated Henderson as he was able to land shots continuously from distance.  However, while one judge scored the bout for Pllana, 79-73, the two other judges somehow scored the bout a draw at 76-76.  Pllana is now 7-1-1, four KO's.  Henderson is now 12-0-1, eight KO's.

Washington, DC super bantamweight Marcus "Dreamcrusher" Bates won an eight-round unanimous decision over Francisco "Rayito" Pedroza of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.  Bates's speed and power proved to be the difference throughout the contest.  In the eighth round, Bates nailed Pedroza with a sweeping left hook to drop him.  Pedroza got right back up and finished the bout.  Bates would win by scores of 80-71 (twice) and 78-73.  Bates, who is ranked 10th in the world by the WBA, is now 11-1-1, eight KO's while Pedroza falls to 13-9-2, seven KO's.

Frederick, MD super middleweight Devar "The Warrior" Ferhadi made a successful return after a three-year absence by scoring a fifth-round TKO over previously undefeated Vincent Baccus of Okmulgee, OK.  Ferhadi knocked down Baccus with a double left jab in the third round and was able to stop Baccus on his feet in the fifth to gain the victory.  The bout was stopped at 1:45 of the fifth.  Ferhadi remains undefeated at 8-0, seven KO's and gains his first win against an over-.500 boxer. Baccus is stopped for the first time in his career and he is now 4-1-1, three KO's.