By Cliff Rold

27-year old interim WBA Featherweight beltholder Jesus Cuellar (26-1, 20 KO) of Jose C. Paz, Buenos Aires, Argentina, defended his stake in the division for the third time Saturday night at the Little Creek Casino and Resort in Shelton, Washington, with a fifth round stoppage of Ruben Tamayo (25-5-4, 17 KO) of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. 

 

Tamayo came in at the division limit of 126, Cuellar at 124 ¾. The referee was Mark Nelson.

 

The southpaw Cuellar dropped Tamayo twice in the fourth, Tamayo in big trouble after the second.  There was little time left in the round and Tamayo survived.  The ring doctor took a long look at Tamayo before the start of the fifth and allowed the fight to go on.  Tamayo returned to the fray on his bicycle as Cuellar stalked.  A body shot near the ropes sent Tamayo down again and Nelson leapt in right away to halt the beating at 1:48 of round five.

 

Cuellar could be in line for a crack at WBA Featherweight titlist Nicholas Walters (25-0, 21 KO) in the year ahead.

Gary Russell Jr. UD10 Christopher Martin

Bouncing back from a lopsided defeat to Vasyl Lomachenko, 26-year old 2008 US Olympian Gary Russell Jr. (24-1, 14 KO), 126 ½, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, won an easy ten-round unanimous decision over 28-year old Christopher Martin (28-5-3, 9 KO), 126, of Chula Vista, California.  Martin won a single round on one judge’s scorecard.

The referee was Jack Reiss.

 

The fight was all about Russell’s edge in hand and foot speed as he patiently tallied rounds. Martin had some success aiming to the body but he couldn’t stay in range long.  

At the end, scores came in at 99-91 and 100-90 twice. 

Julian 'J-Rock' Williams TKO8 Jamar Freeman 

24-year old emerging Jr. Middleweight contender Julian Williams (18-0-1, 11 KO), 153 ¾, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, continued his steady rise with a clinical eighth-round stoppage of 29-year old Jamar Freeman (13-4-2, 7 KO), 153 ¾, of Wilson, North Carolina. 

Williams scored two knockdowns in round seven and sent Freeman to the floor a final time as the fight was stopped.  The unbeaten Philadelphian picked up a sub-title affiliated with the WBC for his work. The referee was Robert Byrd.

 

Williams had control of the fight from start to finish, patiently outboxing and outfighting Freeman.  Displaying hand speed and smart punch selection, Williams won every round before stepping up to end matters beginning in the seventh.  The finish came in the corner, Williams crushing Freeman with a final right hand as Byrd waved it over at :29 seconds of round eight.

 

Williams is currently unrated by the major sanctioning bodies but that should change shortly.

Julius Jackson TKO9 Jonathan Nelson

In the SHO Extreme televised opener, the son of former Jr. Middleweight and Middleweight Julian Jackson showed flashes of the family punch in the Super Middleweight division.  27-year old 2008 Olympian Julius Jackson (19-0, 15 KO), 168, of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, scored knockdowns in rounds one and eight en route to a ninth-round stoppage of 28-year old Jonathan Nelson (19-2, 9 KO), 167 ½, of Little Rock, Arkansas.  The referee was Jack Reiss.

 

Jackson scored a knockdown in the first.  What followed was an odd bit of refereeing.  Reiss got to eight and stopped to ask Nelson if he was going to get up.  One would assume the referee might want to keep counting.  Reiss for some reason felt otherwise.  Nelson used the extra ticks to get up and weathered the round.

 

Slowly, Nelson worked his way back into the fight, having a particularly strong sixth.  The power of Jackson couldn’t be overcome in the end.  Another knockdown in the eighth, which featured another quick break of the count so Reiss could ask questions, saw Nelson rise with little fight left.  Moments into the ninth, a Jackson assault has Nelson in big trouble and Reiss stopped the contest at :28 seconds of round nine.

 

The card was broadcast in the US on Sho Extreme, promoted by Goossen Promotions.

  

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com