[Ian Lord]

3rd - Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Boxing returned to the Puerto Rico, in what has become a regular event, in front of a packed out and knowledgeable crowd, at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez. Local favourite, Carlos 'Sugar' DeLeon topped the bill against heavyweight contender James 'Bonecrusher' Smith. The first round was a quiet, feeling out process, but 'Bonecrusher' came out for the second landing heavy shots which DeLeon had no answer to. DeLeon got into his stride in the third, peppering Smith with shots down and up. Smith took control againand won the next two sessions, with the sixth and seventh being even heats. DeLeon, sensing the fight was close and not wanting to let his fans down, took the next two rounds, the ninth big. Coming out for the last round, Smitth, knowing the fight was close and that he was in his opponents back yard, came out looking for the knockout. He didn't get it but he dominated the round with some hurtful blows, causing DeLeon's left eye to balloon up in the process.
It went to the scorecards and a split decision was announced. Smith got the first vote by 97-95. DeLeon got the second judges card by 97-95, with Smith getting the all important third judges card, and the fight, by 97-95. Smith, who now improves to 11-8 [4], stated that he now wants to challenge for the world title. DeLeon dropped to 4-3-1.

The chief support saw unbeaten Puerto Rican middleweight prospect, Carlos Santos, step up in class and meet unbeaten contender Michael 'Second To' Nunn. It was a clash of the undefeated and Santos started of good, winning the first three rounds comfortably, with Nunn's usually accurate punching way of the mark. However, after some stern words from his corner, Nunn showed why he is a serious threat for world title honours and took the next three rounds with his sound boxing skills, opening up a gash over Santos' left eye in the process. With it seemingly all level going into the seventh, Nunn, not usually known for his knockout power, knocked Santos out cold at the 1.01 mark after a barrage of hurtful punches. Santos was thanfully alright and came round a few moments later, to the cold realisation that he'd lost the fight and his unbeaten record. He drops to 5-1 [3] and after paying homage to Michael Nunn, stated that he will be back and that he still dreams of becoming world champion. Nunn, who now moves to 9-0 [4], looks a strong bet to become champ.

Heavyweight 'Big' John Tate made short work of Marvin Camel, stopping him at the 2.55 mark of the opening stanza after Camel had been down twice. Camel was holding onto the ropes for support when the referee mercifully halted it. Tate improves to 9-7 [7], Camel drops to 2-8.

Middleweight prospect, Julian 'The Hawk' Jackson improved to 4-0 [2] when he disposed of Roggerrio Cacciatore in the second round. The end came at 2.52 when Cacciatore, who had already been down in the round failed to beat the count. Cacciatore drops to 0-9.

Claude Noel knocked out Jorge Monzon at 1.00 of the sixth, after putting him down at the beginning of the round. Monzon was also down in the third. Noel improves to 2-2 [2], whilst Monzon drops to 0-2.

In the opener, Puerto Rican heavyweight Ossie 'Jaws' Occassio lost a six round split decision to Gary 'The Bull' Winmon. The scores were 58-57, 58-56 Winmon, and 58-57 Ocassio in this uneventful fight. The winner got his first pro win and moves to 1-7, whilst Ocassio drops to 1-2. All three Puerto Rican fighters lost on this card, but the crowd loved it.