By Keith Idec

Glenn Dezurn Jr. defeated Leroy Davila in what was a step up in competition for both boxers Friday night in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Dezurn won their eight-round, super-bantamweight bout by unanimous decision. Each of the three judges – Lynne Carter, John Gradowski and Don Risher – scored their competitive match the same, 78-74, at MGM National Harbor.

Baltimore’s Dezurn, 29, improved to 9-0 by winning the opener of a “ShoBox: The New Generation” tripleheader broadcast by Showtime. The 28-year-old Davila, a decorated amateur from New Brunswick, New Jersey, fell to 5-1.

Before Friday night, neither fighter had boxed beyond four rounds.

By the third round, the stronger Dezurn’s pressure seemed to start affecting Davila, who was tiring and looking to hold later in the round. Davila boxed well out of his usual southpaw stance during the first two rounds, but fought at times from a right-handed stance starting in the third round.

Dezurn continued to apply pressure in the fourth round and kept Davila near the ropes enough to do effective work to Davila’s head and body. The fifth round was more competitive and featured a spirited exchange just before it ended.

Davila landed a solid combination with about two minutes to go in the sixth round, most of which Davila and Dezurn spent trading from close distances. The seventh round was more of the same, with Davila and Dezurn drilling each other to the head and body without much room between them.

Davila appeared to hurt Dezurn with a body shot just after the two-minute mark of the eighth and final round. Davila tried to follow up, but Dezurn eventually regained his composure and connected with a terrific left hook to Davila’s head near a corner.

They went toe-to-toe right up until the final bell, after which Dezurn intentionally head-butted Davila.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.