(MIAMI, Fla.)  An opening bout loss at home could not discourage the Miami Gallos as they reeled off four straight wins Wednesday night to earn the easy victory against the Memphis Force and maintain their undefeated home record.

The Gallos and Force squared off at AmericanAirlines Arena in the first World Series of Boxing (WSB) bout of 2011 and the Gallos were able to reverse an earlier season loss to the Force the last time the two teams met.  Once again, the home team was dominant in their home ring, a common theme throughout the first four weeks of the season, with the home team losing just once in nine contests thus far.

Starting off the evening, Ernesto Garza (Saginaw, Mich.) of the Memphis Force erased memories of a tough opening-night loss back on November 19 with an unanimous decision over Paulo Carvalho (Gandu Bahia, Brazil), the first boxer to sign a participation agreement for the WSB.  The high-paced bantamweight bout didn't come easy for Garza, with Carvalho getting Garza in trouble at least twice during the bout. Garza would prevail in the end with a majority decision victory, 48-47, 47-48, 47-48.

Lightweight (61 kg/134 lbs) Leonid Malkov (Nikolaev, Ukraine) came into the bout against Elian Dimitrov (Burgas, Bulgaria) of the Memphis Force looking to avenge his loss from Mexico City on December 17.  Malkov came out strong, attacking Dimitrov with a constant barrage of punches, and continued to dominate until the referee stepped in and stopped the bout at 1:10 in the fourth round to give Malkov the technical knockout victory. 

Middleweight (73 kg/160 lbs) William Williams (Conyers, Ga.) got off to a strong start against Memphis Force Terrell Gausha (Cleveland, Ohio), but started to succumb to Gausha's brawling style in rounds three and four.  But after Head Coach Pat Burns gave Williams the order that he had to win the fifth round, Williams came out in the fifth determined to win, landing straight, clean punches to Gausha's head.  Demonstrating tremendous heart, Williams was able to secure a majority decision victory, 47-48, 48-47, 48-47).   

"In the first round I felt strong, but then I got a little caught up in his style," said Williams.  "I knew it was a close fight and I had to pull it out in the fifth.  Coach Pat told me to just throw straight punches, and stick to the game plan, and it worked." 

Light heavyweight (85 kg/187 lbs) Sijuola Shabazz (Las Cruces, N.M.) and Robert Brant (St. Paul, Minn.) were brought together in a rematch from their bout at the 2009 USA Boxing National Championships that saw Brant continue on to win the light heavyweight title.  Both were ready to go the distance tonight, and Brant started off the bout creating more angles and moving out of Shabazz' reach.  But Shabazz remained patient and picked up his pace throughout, taking advantage of Brant as he tired.  All three judges would award Shabazz with the victory, 48-47, 48-47, 48-47. 

"Tonight I came out more aggressive and was looking to hurt him," said Shabazz.  "After I fought Robert at the USA Boxing nationals and lost a close fight, I told him that the next time I would knock him out.  I didn't get a knockout tonight, but the win still feels great."

Interestingly, after Brant beat Shabazz at the 2009 USA Boxing Championships and continued on to win the light heavyweight title, he would qualify to compete at the AIBA World Championships in Milan.  It was there Brant found out about the WSB, and the first person he recommended as a perfect fit for the WSB was Shabazz.  Shabazz said that he was grateful Brant had recommended him, and after the win tonight it looks like Shabazz is finally finding his stride after suffering two losses at the start of the season.

Heavyweight (91+ kg/201+ lbs) Donovan Dennis (Davenport, Iowa) closed the evening with a bang as he found the first knockout victory in the WSB Americas against Danny Calhoun (Chicago, Ill.).  After Calhoun was called for throwing a blow below the belt during the third round, southpaw Dennis came back clearly determined to end the fight, where nearly 30 seconds later he set-up the jab and landed a right hook, straight left to the head that took Calhoun down at 2:10 in the third round.  

"He was faster than I expected," said Dennis about Calhoun.  "I got caught dropping my hands, and then after he threw the low punch I was mad and I wanted to come back right away.  But I listened to my coaches telling me to take as much time as I needed, and that helped me to regain my composure and come back to get the knockout."  

"I was very happy with the conditioning our fighters displayed tonight," said Miami Gallos Head Coach Pat Burns.  "They listened very well, and that, along with the conditioning were able to give us the close victories."

The LA Matadors lead the conference standings with a 3-1 team record, with 10 points overall after taking 15 of their first 20 bouts overall.  The Matadors face the Mexico City Guerreros Friday in a matchup of the league's two top teams to close out week 5 of the inaugural WSB season.  The Gallos now sit at 3-2 on the season while the Force drop to 1-4 having lost four straight matches since their home win November 26

The Gallos will next travel to Los Angeles for a January 13 showdown with the Matadors while the Force return to the DeSoto Civic Center in Southhaven, Miss., to take on the Guerreros January 15.

Recap compiled with help from Miami Gallos event recap.

Memphis Force vs. Miami Gallos, January 5, 2011 - Match Results

 

Bantamweight/54 kg: Ernesto Garza, Memphis Force, UD Paulo Carvalho, Miami Gallos, 48-47, 47-48, 47-48

Lightweight/61 kg: Leonid Malkov, Miami Gallos, TKO-4 (1:10) over Elian Dimitrov, Memphis Force

Middleweight/73 kg:  William Williams, Miami Gallos, UD Terrell Gausha, Memphis Force, 47-48, 48-47, 48, 47

Light Heavyweight/87 kg:Sijuola Shabazz, Miami Gallos UD Robert Brant, Memphis Force, 48-47, 48-47, 48-47. 

Heavyweight/91+ kg:  Donovan Dennis, Miami Gallos KO-3 (2:10) Danny Calhoun, Memphis Force