By Evan Korn at ringside

When Russell “Spiderman” Jordan entered the ring against Oscar Diaz, the Rochester, N.Y. native was making his national television debut.  Diaz was used to the bright lights, having become a staple on the “Friday Night Fights” broadcasts.  In the end, experience toppled youth, as Diaz scored a fifth round technical knockout.

Jordan fought effectively when using his long jab to keep Diaz at bay, but the San Antonio native used a concerted body attack to sap the energy of the heavy handed Jordan.  Jordan, who was tagged with plenty of power shots during the first two stanzas, started to slip and move more during the third round. 

In the fourth round, a Diaz right hand stunned Jordan, which was a harbinger of things to come.

The fifth stanza saw Jordan pumping his piston-like jab into Diaz’s face, only to see Diaz come back to floor “Spiderman” with a jarring right-left combination.  Jordan rose to his feat, as Diaz charged after his wounded prey with reckless abandon.  Jordan, who still appeared to be wobbly on his feet, had his head snapped back by another Diaz blow.  Referee Ken Zimmer stepped in to stop the assault 1:56 into the round. 

Jordan dropped to 12-3, while Diaz, who might be in line for a big money fight in the near future, improved to 24-1.

Lou Duva had been hyping Mike Marrone (13-0 10 kos) of Vero Beach, FL as his next great heavyweight prospect.  After watching Marrone’s performance against Zack Page (10-5 5 kos), you have to wonder whether the venerable Mr. Duva has gone senile.

 After knocking Page down in the fifth and sixth rounds, Marrone appeared to have had the fight in the bag.  In the opening seconds of the seventh, Page caught Marrone with a scorching overhand right, sending Duva’s undefeated meal ticket to the canvas.  Marrone got up, only to stumble around like a drunk after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  Marrone survived the round, if only for the fact that Page appeared to punch himself out. 

When the dust settled, Marrone squeezed out a majority decision.  Don Ackerman scored the bout 74-74, Tom Schreck had a tally of 75-74, and Joe Ware had it 76-75.  BoxingScene.com disagreed with the official judges, giving Page the nod, 76-75.

Lightweight Patrick Lopez upped his record to 5-0 with a first round knockout of Christian Lozada (10-3-2 3 kos), knocking the Mexico City native down twice.  A jarring left hand finished the job for Lopez, who has won all of his contests via the short route.

 Rochester, N.Y. product Duane Hall pounded out a unanimous decision over John Lipscomb.  Hall, who upped his record to 3-1, was in control the entire fight, pitching a 40-36 shutout on the all of the official scorecards. 

In a four round heavyweight contest that resembled a drunken brawl, Wayne Hampton (3-1) scored a unanimous decision of Lujwane Henderson (1-2).  Hampton knocked Henderson down in the final seconds to punctuate the victory. 

Utica, N.Y. product Jamar Patterson (5-0 3 kos), who has fought all five of his professional contests at the Turning Stone Casino, gutted out a gutsy majority decision against Sheldon Rudolph (4-4 2 kos).  It was a see-saw battle fought in phone booth quarters.  Patterson dominated the opening stanza, only to see Rudolph come back stronger than ever.  The final round was time capsule stuff, as both men exchanged hellacious power blows.  To paraphrase Jim Lampley, there was no pretense of defense.  Score totals were as followed: 38-38 and 39-37 (2X).  BoxingScene.com scored the contest in Patterson’s favor, 39-37.

In a contest of two surprisingly skilled pugilists, Richard Pierson (3-0 2 kos) knocked out Rochester, N.Y. product James Singleton (0-1) in the fourth and final round.  It was another enthralling affair, as Singleton appeared to have Pierson hurt in the fourth round, at one point throwing a sixty punch combination.  Pierson weathered the onslaught and caught his foe with a devastating right hand that ended matters.  ESPN2 analyst Joe Tessitore, who was prepping for the broadcast, could be seen lustily applauding the performance of both men.  One question for the manager(s) of Singleton:  why put him in so rough in his pro debut?