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kenyan_cheena · 04-08-2008, 10:36 PM

(continuation of post #1717)

BELL CENTRE UNDERCARD HIGHLIGHTS

* In the evening's opening contest Cleveland native Deutron Shelby proved too aggressive and determined for favoured New Yorker Marco Santino, Shelby winning by unanimous decision (59-56, 58-56, 59-56). It was something of a surprise result as Santino had been the more impressive of the two last month, scoring a 6th round TKO of Leonidas Jaskucionis while Shelby had climbed off the canvas to take a split decision against the Russian Yevgeny Semshov. Shelby had experienced a disrupted preparation for his debut as his mother had been injured in a car accident. There were no such problems leading into tonight's bout, Shelby showing some fantastic skills and potential.

Shelby started strongly in round one, catching Santino with a hard right at the midpoint before the Catskill native fired back in the final minute, a left hook and a three-shot combo backing Shelby up. Some effective body work in the closing seconds swung the frame in Shelby's favour and while most of the 2nd was uneventful Shelby stole it with a bone-rattling uppercut twenty seconds from the bell. Round three proved to be an even affair, Santino finding the mark with a hard right cross about a minute in before Shelby responded with another jolting uppercut and a ripping left-right combo. The Ohio native was more willing to let his hands go, Santino displaying an unexpectedly cautious disposition.

That changed in the 4th, a round that Santino controlled convincingly behind a penetrating jab. But his good work was undone in round five as Shelby regained the upperhand, a flush right hook near the minute mark seeming to affect Santino for the rest of the round and allowing Shelby to win it with ease. The 6th and final round brought an anti-climatic finish to the contest, Santino unable to mount a final flurry while Shelby looked confident that he'd already done enough to win, and therefore did little more. He finished with a punch total of 418, landing 102 of them (.244), Santino connecting with 79 of 286 shots (.276). Shelby was in a jovial mood afterwards, dedicating his win to his mother as he'd done on debut.

"I was just too willin' for the guy, you know?" said Shelby. "In this fight game it come down to who wan' it more, who willin' to go that extra yard. He ain't have that t'night, I ain't know why. But I impose myself on him and he ain't respond, y'all. They was sayin' he'd be too much fo' me to handle. Look like it be the opposite, eh?"

Santino was a shattered man, unable to fathom his inability to match Shelby's performance.

"Don't think I've been this disappointed in a long time," he said. "Something in my mind was holding me back and I couldn't overcome that. Had trouble countering his shots, had trouble being in the right positions to land my own shots ... I really can't explain it, but I'll just have to get over it 'cause I've got five more fights I have to try and win if I want to get a top two finish."

Shelby improved to 2-0 and sits on top of Group Five of the Qualifying League while Santino falls to 1-1(1).

(to be continued)

04-08-2008, 10:36 PM	#1721 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,316	(continuation of post #1717) *BELL CENTRE UNDERCARD HIGHLIGHTS* * In the evening's opening contest Cleveland native Deutron Shelby proved too aggressive and determined for favoured New Yorker Marco Santino, Shelby winning by unanimous decision (59-56, 58-56, 59-56). It was something of a surprise result as Santino had been the more impressive of the two last month, scoring a 6th round TKO of Leonidas Jaskucionis while Shelby had climbed off the canvas to take a split decision against the Russian Yevgeny Semshov. Shelby had experienced a disrupted preparation for his debut as his mother had been injured in a car accident. There were no such problems leading into tonight's bout, Shelby showing some fantastic skills and potential. Shelby started strongly in round one, catching Santino with a hard right at the midpoint before the Catskill native fired back in the final minute, a left hook and a three-shot combo backing Shelby up. Some effective body work in the closing seconds swung the frame in Shelby's favour and while most of the 2nd was uneventful Shelby stole it with a bone-rattling uppercut twenty seconds from the bell. Round three proved to be an even affair, Santino finding the mark with a hard right cross about a minute in before Shelby responded with another jolting uppercut and a ripping left-right combo. The Ohio native was more willing to let his hands go, Santino displaying an unexpectedly cautious disposition. That changed in the 4th, a round that Santino controlled convincingly behind a penetrating jab. But his good work was undone in round five as Shelby regained the upperhand, a flush right hook near the minute mark seeming to affect Santino for the rest of the round and allowing Shelby to win it with ease. The 6th and final round brought an anti-climatic finish to the contest, Santino unable to mount a final flurry while Shelby looked confident that he'd already done enough to win, and therefore did little more. He finished with a punch total of 418, landing 102 of them (.244), Santino connecting with 79 of 286 shots (.276). Shelby was in a jovial mood afterwards, dedicating his win to his mother as he'd done on debut. "I was just too willin' for the guy, you know?" said Shelby. "In this fight game it come down to who wan' it more, who willin' to go that extra yard. He ain't have that t'night, I ain't know why. But I impose myself on him and he ain't respond, y'all. They was sayin' he'd be too much fo' me to handle. Look like it be the opposite, eh?" Santino was a shattered man, unable to fathom his inability to match Shelby's performance. "Don't think I've been this disappointed in a long time," he said. "Something in my mind was holding me back and I couldn't overcome that. Had trouble countering his shots, had trouble being in the right positions to land my own shots ... I really can't explain it, but I'll just have to get over it 'cause I've got five more fights I have to try and win if I want to get a top two finish." Shelby improved to 2-0 and sits on top of Group Five of the Qualifying League while Santino falls to 1-1(1). (to be continued) __________________ The Heavyweight Boxing Federation The Heavyweight Boxing Federation: Tournament Group Standings The International Boxing League MLB: 1958 and Beyond... Last edited by kenyan_cheena : 04-09-2008 at 07:02 AM.