By Evan Korn

Yesterday evening marked the return of Curtis Stevens, one half of Lou DiBella’s Brooklyn-bred “Chin Checkers” (the recently KO’d Jaidon Codrington being the other).  Just like Codrington, Stevens’ chin did not pass the test, as journeyman Marcos Primera knocked out Stevens in the eighth and final round.

Considering Stevens’ thorough domination throughout the first five rounds of the contest, it made the result all the more shocking.

By the second round, Primera’s right eye was cut, and he was reduced to little more than a punching bag.  By the fifth, the only question appeared to be whether Primera would survive to see the final bell.

In the sixth round, as Primera mounted his first rally of the evening, Stevens uncorked a vicious right hand south of the border.  It was a blatant cheap shot from a man who sensed the tide was starting to turn.

After Primera took the full five minute recovery, he charged out of his corner like a man possessed. Stevens immediately transformed from the hunter to the hunted, eating numerous combinations.  In the final round and well ahead on the scorecards, Stevens was knocked down by a vicious uppercut. When he rose to his feet, Primera continued the assault, tagging Stevens with short, concise punches.  With 1:36 remaining in the bout and Stevens desperately holding on to Primera, referee Randy Neumann called off the contest.  What occurred in the immediate aftermath of the stoppage was an absolute abomination.

Members of Stevens’ entourage stormed the ring in protest.  Other supporters tossed beverages into the ring, and for a brief moment, it appeared as if a riot would occur.  Thankfully, the security inside the Manhattan Center quashed the conflict before any spectators were seriously injured.   To Stevens’ credit, he accepted the loss like a professional, congratulating Primera on the victory while the chaos continued.  For Primera, who has come up short against the likes of Jermain Taylor and Joshua Clottey, it was the biggest victory of his career.   

Now, all Stevens can do is hit the comeback trail.  The first step back is rumored to be a rematch against Primera on the October edition of “Broadway Boxing.”

In the main event, Dmitriy “Star of David” Salita (25-0-1 15 KO’s) was originally supposed to face James Wayka.  One problem: Wayka was arrested, which almost ended the fight before it began.  On less than a day’s notice, Shad Howard (12-8-3 6 KO’s) came to the rescue.  Little was expected of Howard, who had touched down in New York only a couple of hours before he was scheduled to enter the ring.

Unlike Stevens, Salita did not overlook his opponent.

From the opening bell, Salita used a sustained body attack to open up combinations to the head.  Eventually, those bodies shots hindered Salita, as he was deducted a point in the fourth and warned again in the fifth.

“I was concerned after I had a point taken away from me,” Salita said after the fight.  “A lot of those blows were not low.”

By the sixth round, Salita was in cruise control, hitting his beleaguered opponent at will. Eventually, Howard’s corner had seen enough, throwing in the towel before their charge could be seriously injured. 

After the bout, Salita talked about moving on to bigger and better things, mainly a bout against 140 pound beltholder Juan Urango.  

In the opening bout of the evening, Brooklyn native Jamelle Hamilton butchered Delbert Sommerville (1-1) en route to a first round TKO.  The time of the stoppage was 2:25.

 In a match of fighters making their professional debuts National Golden Gloves champion Prentice Brewer, 136.5 pounds, had a much tougher night than expected, fighting to a draw against game Puerto Rican native Roberto Acevedo. 

One question for Brewer’s management:  why put a guy with such an established amateur pedigree against a tough hombre like Acevedo?  It would be like a pitching prospect making his professional debut in the World Series.  Most ringside observers believed Brewer was lucky to escape with a draw.  Those doubts, however, might be silenced, when the two square off in a rematch on the Sept. 20 “Broadway Boxing” card.

Undefeated Medford, N.Y heavyweight Derrick Rossy (12-0 7 KO’s) pounded out a six-round unanimous decision against Demetrice King (9-14 7 KO’s). Rossy knocked down King in the third round with a crushing overhand right, but the rugged, experienced King only came on stronger, pounding the fatigued Rossy to the body. 

Bleeding from his nose, Rossy had just enough to stumble and bumble his way through the final rounds.   The best thing that can be said about Rossy, a former Boston College linebacker, is that he showed more grit and determination than most of the heavyweight pretenders masquerading as fighters.  The judges scored the contest 58-55 (2X) and 59-54.  Boxing Scene at ringside scored the contest 58-55.