Stevenson, Coleman win in Baltimore; Jargal remains undefeated; Harrison wins Junior Golden Gloves

July 27, 2:12 AMDC Boxing ExaminerGary Williams

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Baltimore welterweight James "Keep 'Em Sleepin' Stevenson remained undefeated and captured the WBF US Welterweight and NABC Welterweight titles with a third-round TKO over Ken Dunham of Rock Hill, SC at Du Burns Arena in Baltimore on July 25.

Buoyed by a large and vocal contingent of supporters, Stevenson went on the offensive early as he did the first time he faced Dunham and stopped him in the second round in March of this year in nearby Woodlawn, MD. However, Dunham was a little more elusive and managed to stay away from Stevenson's punches.

Eventually, however, Stevenson caught up to Dunham and began to swarm him, finding a home for his left hand. In the third round, Stevenson started a barrage of punches with a right hand that dropped Dunham three times before referee Kenny Chevalier stopped the contest at 1:31 of the third.

With the win, Stevenson is now 10-0, nine KO's and has won three regional titles this year. Stevenson captured the East Coast title in January. Dunham falls to 6-9, four KO's.

Baltimore welter Tim "Pit Bull" Coleman won an eight-round unanimous decision over "Magnificent" Martinus Clay, now fighting out of Norristown, PA. This was a rematch of a December 2007 10-round contest that ended in a draw.

This bout was fought at close quarters throughout and Coleman fought very well inside against the always-tough Clay. As the bout wore on, Coleman seemed to get a little stronger despite suffering a welt above his left eye early in the contest. Judge Dave Greer scored a shutout for Coleman 80-72. Judge John Gradowski saw the bout 78-74 and Judge Gary Camponeschi saw the bout 79-73, the same as BATB.

Coleman raises his record to 16-1-1, four KO's while Clay falls to 13-21-4, five KO's.

In other bouts on the card, Baltimore cruiserweight Steve "Show Stealer" Wheeler made short work of late sub Lamar Foreman of Wilson, NC, scoring a first-round knockout at 50 seconds. Wheeler remains undefeated at 3-0, two KO's. Foreman is 0-2.

DC heavyweight Maurice "Freight Train" Byarm suffered an injury to his right arm but managed a four-round majority decision win over Maurice Winslow of Wilson, NC. Byarm started off very aggressively but in the second round, Winslow was able to trap the rookie against the ropes. Byarm won the bout with timely and hard uppercuts that did enough to keep Winslow at bay. Byarm told BATB that he had no idea when he hurt his arm during the contest.

Byarm is now 3-0, two KO's while Winslow is 3-9-1, three KO's.

And in a rather ugly-looking contest, Vero Beach, FL cruiserweight Daniel Kooij won a six-round unanimous decision over Rodericka Ray of Paris, TN. Kooij (pronounced KOY) is now 5-0, two KO's while Ray is 2-3, one KO.

In amateur action on the card, Greg Wright of Baltimore Boxing RSC-2 over Old School Boxing's Richard DePhillip in a 135-pound bout. In another 135-pound contest Zachary Teele of Baltimore Boxing won a decision over Bryan Thompson of Old School Boxing. Also at 152 pounds, Edgar Llivachuzcha of Baltimore Boxing won by decision over Paul Jerry of Old School Boxing.

During the card there was a 10-count tribute to former boxing champions Alexis Arguello and Arturo Gatti as well as former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, who played part of his career in Baltimore and local ringside doctor Karl Hammonds.

Also there was an interesting bit of family unity during the card. Maryland referee/judge John Gradowski was not only joined by his son Joe, who regularly serves as the timekeeper, but was also joined by daughter Emily, who gave a beautiful operatic-style rendition of the National Anthem. Supporting them all was proud wife and mother, Elaine.

The win for Stevenson was the second WBF title win for Beltway Boxers during the week.  On July 24, Smithsburg, MD's Dean "Pit Bull" White captured the WBF USA Junior Welterweight title with an eight-round majority decision over Ryan Belasco last night at Dover Downs in Dover, DE.  The win broke White's five-bout losing streak and Belasco's six-bout winning streak.  With the victory, White improves to (15-10-1, 7 KOs), while Belasco saw his record slip to (11-3-3, 3 KOs).

Undefeated Arlington, VA lightweight "The Mongolian Mongoose" Bayan Jargal remained undefeated with a fifth-round TKO over previously undefeated Josh Durden of Aiken, SC last night in Hilton Head, SC. According to reports, Jargal eventually broke down Durden and stopped him in the fifth.

With the win, Jargal is now 13-0-1, nine KO's while Durden is now 6-1, four KO's.

In Mesquite, NV, amateur standout Dusty Harrison of Temple Hills, MD won his third straight National Junior Golden Gloves championship. Harrison boxed at 138 pounds.  Harrison was the DC Boxing Hall of Fame's Amateur Boxer of the Year in 2008.
 

In upcoming fight news, Baltimore Pro Boxing promoter Jake Smith announced that Maryland State Light Heavyweight champion Henry "Hurricane" Mayes will defend his title against Mike "The Persecutor" Paschall on Friday, September 11 at Du Burns Arena in Baltimore.   This is a rarity because boxers who win state titles don't usually defend them.  Mayes (8-6-3, five KO's) is coming off one of the best knockouts of the year as he stopped fellow Baltimore boxer Willie "For Real" Williams in the 10th round of their third bout to win the Maryland title on April 10 at Du Burns.  Paschall (19-2-1, four KO's) lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Jesse Brinkley in his last outing on July 10 in Reno, NV.

Also slated to appear on the card are the returning "Golden Greek" Elias Boulabassis and "The American Dream" Mike Dietrich.