By Ryan Bivins

Parx Casino, Bensalem, PA - In the final bout of the night, Jerome Conquest (9-3, 1 KO) was stopped in the first round by Tyrone Luckey (9-8-3, 7 KOs) at 2:43 in lightweight contest scheduled for 6 rounds. Conquest was initially floored by right hands and left hooks and was never able to recover. Conquest hit the canvas one more time before the referee stepped in to stop the fight while Conquest was taking a beating. That being said, Conquest was defensively responsible at the time of the stoppage, which he protested. It was arguably premature.

In the main event of the night, Avery Sparrow (10-1, 4 KOs) knocked out Jesus Serrano (17-6-2, 12 KOs) in a junior lightweight bout scheduled for 8 rounds. Sparrow pushed the action early in round 1 but was very inaccurate, especially with his right hand.

That being said, everything changed for Sparrow in round 2 when he buckled Serrano’s knees with the same right hand that he was so frantically searching for earlier. Sparrow scored a knockdown with a left hook moments later, sitting Serrano on the second rope from the canvas.

Shortly after the referee administered the standing 8-count, another accumulation of punches had Serrano holding on before Sparrow threw him down to the canvas to secure the second knockdown. Serrano was stopped on his feet seconds later. The fight was officially stopped at 2:17 into the 2nd round.

In the co-feature of the night, John Joe Nevin (10-0, 4 KOs) outboxed Alex Torres Rynn (6-1, 3 KOs) in an 8-round lightweight bout. Nevin promised to knock his opponent out in the lead-up to the fight and pushed Rynn back with body shots immediately. Nevin often dispensed with the job and loaded up on power shots. Rynn was given ample opportunities to counter but was in survival mode early on. Rynn later dug deep in round 4 and stopped allowing Nevin to bully him.

Nevin continued to land most of the better shots, but at least Rynn put himself into the fight. By round 5, Rynn was actually the effective aggressor. Be that as it may, Nevin was able to continuously pick Rynn off while circling away. Fighters touched gloves at the ends of round 4 and 5 out of mutual respect, contrary to their feelings toward each other during the promotion.

By the end of round 6, Rynn caught Nevin pulling out with his hands down and appeared to hurt him. Nevin smiled in acknowledgment that Rynn got him, and the fighters touched gloves again to close the round. Rynn continued to back Nevin up in the 7th but was soundly outmaneuvered. Both fighters embraced each other to begin the 8th and final round; then Nevin danced away for the duration and was booed by the crowd.

It was easily Rynn’s best round. Nonetheless, Nevin was too far ahead and the judges gave him the fight to by unanimous decision, 79-73, 80-72, and 80-72.

Anthony Prescott (8-8-2, 2 KOs) upset Isaiah Wise (6-2, 3 KOs) in a middleweight bout scheduled for 6 rounds. Prescott weighed in well within junior middleweight limit but Wise was slightly over. Both fighters came packing heat in the initial round but struggled with their accuracy. However, Wise showed the better body work, as he continued to do throughout the fight.

Unfortunately for Wise, his defensive holes time and time again betrayed him from the second round onward. Prescott dropped Wise with a right hand early in round 2 and continued to land it enough to win the third. Wise didn’t find defense for the right hand in the 4th round but he was able to mitigate Prescott’s success by landing the bigger shots. Prescott may have been saved by the bell when he got a taste of his own medicine at the end of rounds 4 and 5.

With the fight apparently even and on the table going into the final round, both fighters came out and gave it their best. Wise was the aggressor and bossed Prescott around the ring, however, he was unable to land the cleaner, more effective punches. Prescott had the better defense and walked Wise in multiple bombs. Ultimately Prescott was awarded a split decision. The scorecards were announced as 57-56 Prescott, 57-56 Wise, and 59-54 Prescott.

Marcel Rivers (4-0, 3 KOs) stopped Rafael DeJesus (0-2) in a welterweight contest scheduled for 4 rounds. The fight heated up fast when Rivers rocked DeJesus with a left hook, followed by a right hand, followed by another left hook in round 1. However, DeJesus came back in round 2 and rocked Rivers with a right hand of his own. Nonetheless, just as it appeared the momentum of the fight had shifted, Rivers dropped DeJesus with body shots and battered him into the ropes for the remainder of the round. DeJesus did not come out for round 3 and Rivers was awarded the victory by TKO.

Gerardo Martinez (2-1, 1 KO) was upset by Vinnie Denierio (3-4, 1 KO) after both fighters waged war on each other from start to finish in a 4-round junior welterweight bout. Martinez weighed in within the lightweight limit while the much taller Denierio was 1.2 lbs over. Body work appeared to the difference in the fight as Denierio was often bent over and looking for moments of respite. Nonetheless, Denierio was awarded the victory by split decision. The official scorecards read 39-37 Martinez, 39-37 Denierio, and 39-37 Denierio. This was not a popular decision with the crowd or press row.

In the opening bout of the night, Nahir Albright (3-1, 1 KO) defeated Sidney Maccow (4-8, 3 KOs) in a 4-round welterweight contest. Albright and Maccow each weighed in within a pound of a junior welterweight limit. After a back and forth war that saw Maccow dropped twice in the first round, Albright was awarded the decision 40-34, 40-34, and 39-35 on the scorecards.

xcite