By Mike Coppinger

Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City - In an exciting welterweight slug fest, unbeaten prospect Wale "Lucky Boy" Omtoso got off the deck to defeat Calvin Odom via fifth round stoppage, albeit controversially.

Odom (15-11, 11 KOs) dropped Omtoso (19-0, 17 KOs) in the opening stanza with a big left hook off the ropes. Omtoso beat the count, but was on rubbery legs, but Odom let him off the hook.

Round two was a big bounce-back round for Omtoso, as he began to pour it on his opponent.

Omtoso of Lagos, Nigeria returned the favor in the fourth with a big straight right down the pipe, sending Odom to the seat of his pants.

In the fifth, Omtoso began pouring it on, as referee Sparkle Lee curiously halted the contest, as the boos rained down from the crowd. Odom didn't seem to be in any apparent danger at the time of the stoppage, which came at 33 seconds of the fifth.

In a bizarre ending, featherweight Jorge Diaz defeated late-replacement Rafael Lora via third round TKO.

Diaz (16-1, 10 KOs) dropped Lora (11-7, 5 KOs) in the first round. In the third, Diaz appeared to hit Lora in the back of the head as Lora crumpled to the canvas holding his head in pain. He stayed on the mat for minutes before referee Sparkle Lee called the fight and awarded Diaz the TKO victory, her second curious decision of the night

In a comprehensive shellacking, Luis Cruz defeated veteran trial horse Antonio Davis via sixth round TKO. Cruz (19-0, 15 KOs) dropped Davis twice earlier in the bout and then ended matters in the sixth with a dazzling right uppercut that put Diaz flat on his back, as the referee immediately called the fight.

The 25-year-old Cruz of Las Piedras, P.R. is a prospect to watch in the 130-pound division.

Undefeated Miguel Cartagena improved his record to 3-0 with 2 KOs, stopping Cristian Cruz (3-3-0, 3 KOs in the second round. Cartagena of Philadelphia dropped his foe with a single left uppercut. Cruz of Santo Domingo, D.R. beat the count, but was on unsteady legs, as referee David Fields stopped the action at 2:20.

In the opening bout of the untelevised undercard to Yuriorkis Gamboa-Daniel Ponce de Leon, Terrance Crawford (15-0, 11 KOs) laid an eight round beating on Angel Rios (9-7, 6 KOs) in super lightweight action. Crawford of Omaha, Neb. prevailed by scores of  80-72 twice and 80-71 for the unanimous decision.