By Cliff Rold

The final preliminary prior to the start of the televised broadcast featured 25-year old lightweight Dravontay “Speed” Rawls (12-1-1, 8 KO), 134 ½, of Glenarden, Maryland controlling most of eight rounds en route to a unanimous decision over 32-year old Jonathan Perez (38-24, 30 KO), 134, of Colombia. Perez came into the bout off a win but was 3-10 in his previous 13 fights. Rawls won his fourth straight.

24-year old Jr. featherweight Stephen Fulton (16-0, 7 KO), 120 ½, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania took a serious step towards contention, scoring a knockdown and going twelve rounds for the first time in a shutout unanimous decision over 38-year old former WBO bantamweight titlist Paulus Ambunda (27-2, 11 KO), 122, of Namibia.

The victory was punctuated by the knockdown in the eighth round, a big shot over the top bringing the crowd alive. Ambunda beat the count on shaky legs and stayed afoot to the bell. Fulton never threatened to stop him again but maintained the advantage through the later rounds and cruised to three matching cards of 120-107. With the win Fulton picked up Ambunda’s IBO belt at 122 lbs. The referee was Michelle Meyers.

Hopes of one more title shot for 33-year old former WBA flyweight titlist Luis Concepcion (37-8, 26 KO), 115, of Panama City, Panama, took a hit on Saturday’s undercard. Concepcion celebrated at the final bell but it was 27-year old Alexandru Marin (18-0, 11 KO), 114 ¾, of Bethesda, Maryland who had his hand raised in a ten round unanimous decision by scores of 97-93 and 96-94 twice.

27-year old Aaron Anderson (5-0, 4 KO), 154 ¼, of Baltimore, Maryland stayed undefeated and added another knockout to his early ledger with a blazing first round stoppage of 38-year old Carlos Galindo (1-10), 152 ¼, of Lima, Peru. The official time was 2:00 of round one. The referee was Wayne Spinola.

In the non-televised opener, 30-year old journeyman Kevin Womack Jr. (9-17-4, 7 KO), 155 ¼, of Baltimore, Maryland scored a vicious second-round knockout of 32-year old Mark Duncan (3-2, 3 KO), 156 ½, of Clarksburg, Maryland. It was Womack’s second straight loss. Womack halted a three-fight losing streak. The official time of the stoppage was 1:39. The referee was Brent Bovell.

The televised portion of the card was carried in the US on Fox Sports as part of the Premiere Boxing Champions series.

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