Tevin Farmer is not known as a puncher, but he needed power to secure a win in his return to the ring.

The former IBF world junior lightweight titleholder returned to action this past Saturday night, dropping Avery Sparrow once en route to a unanimous decision victory at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Scores were 95-94, 95-94, and 97-92 for Farmer, who improved to 31-5-1, 6 knockouts.

Saturday marked Farmer’s first fight since January 2020, when he lost by unanimous decision to Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz, thus losing the IBF title. Despite being out of the ring for almost three and a half years, Farmer mostly looked sharp against Sparrow. 

The southpaw Farmer mostly moved in and out of Sparrow’s punching range, outboxing the taller Sparrow. The 32-year-old Farmer mixed his attack well in an attempt to keep Sparrow flat-footed and on the defensive.

Both fighters stood in the pocket more during the fifth round. During an exchange, Sparrow was dropped by a left hand-right hook combination to the head. Sparrow beat the count, and to his credit, continued to be game.

Sensing he was down on the scorecards, Sparrow was more on the attack. The 29-year-old Sparrow looked winded and mostly threw arm punches, but continued to press forward as Farmer was content to box from distance and counter.

After beginning his pro career a 7-4-1 record, Farmer had a resurgence, becoming a legit contender that resulted in him winning the vacant IBF title in August 2018, defeating Billy Dib by unanimous decision. Farmer would make four successful defenses of th IBF title before the loss to Diaz.

Sparrow falls to 11-5 1 NC, 4 KOs. He has now lost four of his last five fights, including losses to Abraham Nova, Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, and William Foster III. 

Both Farmer and Sparrow reside in Philadelphia. 

In junior middleweight action, Elijah Vines (6-0, 6 KOs), who also resides in Philadelphia, stopped Dazmond Lucas in the second round.

Like Farmer, Vines was returning from a long layoff - almost six years.

A right hand dropped Lucas towards the end of the round. Lucas did beat the count, but a ringside physician entered the ring to check Lucas. While referee Eric Dali thought Lucas was okay to continue, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission ordered for the fight to be stopped at 2:52. 

Lucas, who resides in The Bronx, New York, falls to 6-2, 3 KOs. 

Junior featherweight prospect Romuel Cruz improved to 9-0-1, 4 KOs, stopping Nicaragua’s Jenn Gonzalez (9-20-1, 5 KOs) at 22 seconds of the fourth round. 

Cruz is originally from Arecibo, Puerto Rico and currently lives and trains in Philadelphia. 

Bantamweight Trinidad Vargas of Grand Prairie, Texas defeated Florida’s Luis Rivera Irizarry, who was making his pro debut, by decision over four one-sided rounds. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Vargas, who goes to 3-0, 1 KO. 

In welterweight action, Efrain Cruz snapped a six-fight losing streak, defeating Puerto Rico’s Luis Gonzalez Colon (5-2, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision. Scores were 39-36, 39-36, and 38-37 for Cruz, who goes to 5-6-1, 1 KO and was making his return to the ring for the first time in over four years.

Promoter of the card was Manny Rivera. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing