It was an outstanding night of charity at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas this past Thursday and it benefited The Ring of Hope Boxing Gym in Dallas, Texas.  It all came together with the hard work of the UR Hope Foundation, one of the many programs of the Dallas Leadership Foundation, and Dustin Haney of Standing 8 Promotions.  The Ring of Hope Boxing Gym helps in the mentoring of athletes to become successful in life and the Dallas Leadership Foundation assists in developing disadvantaged communities in Dallas, Texas.

Because of these organizations and all the people involved, not only was it a successful night of charity, but it also brought a night of professional boxing to the Dallas area.  Those in attendance were treated with six bouts of prize fighting boxers who left everything in the ring.

The main event went the full distance to the delight of the crowd as welterweights Cesar Vila (6-0) from Corpus Christi, Texas and Taronze Washington (16-17, 8 KO’s) from Dallas, Texas slugged it out for the UBS Texas Super Welterweight title.  Cesar Vila, who was a last minute replacement on the card took full advantage of the opportunity as he out boxed veteran Taronze Washington for the title in a back and forth slugout.

In the Co-Main Event, Fort Worth’s Tony Lopez (9-0, 3KO’s) once again brought his A-Game to the ring as he moved around the ring like a cobra as he snapped his jab and followed it up with stiff straight left hands to his equally game opponent, Raymond Chacon (6-6).  In the third round of this six round junior featherweight bout, the intensity of the fight picked up as Lopez began to land even more consistently with his jab.  But the game Chacon held his own in this round and after the bell sounded, he walked to his corner with a confident look on his face.  In the middle of the fourth round, after landing a stiff jab to the face of Chacon, the southpaw Lopez said “come on.”  Lopez then continued to stalk the back pedaling Chacon around the ring until the bell sounded.  Although the tough Chacon gave it his best, Lopez went on to win by unanimous decision.  NTF caught up with Lopez after the fight and asked him how it felt fighting against another southpaw and he said “I have fought many southpaws in my amateur career, but this is my second fight with a south paw and it is a learning experience.”  He went on to say that it is hard to put on a good show when not many punches are thrown and your opponent holds, but he will take the win.  He also said “His talking didn’t bother me because I have heard it before, I knew my speed was faster than his from the very first round.”   Look for the lightning speed of Lopez in April of this year on another Standing 8 boxing promotion.

In the super middleweight division, Marchristoper Adkins (2-1) from Dallas, Texas put on a great exhibition of boxing against the heavy handed Mike Tufariello (3-1-1, 3KO’s) from Carrollton, Texas.  Although Tufariello had the reputation of landing heavy punches and knocking people out on one or more occasions, he had his hands full with Adkins.  In the very first round, Adkins used his speed and reach to put Tufariello on the canvas not once, but twice, to the excitement of the crowd.  At this point, it was certain that Adkins did not come to accept punches, but to inflict them.  Throughout the fight, Tufariello forced the action, but Adkins used his boxing abilities to counter at will.  Even when Tufariello was able to land a good punch, Adkins just shook it off and came back with combinations of his own.  In the final round, Adkins continued with his boxing skills and finished by connecting two overhand rights on the tough Tufariello.  Adkins went on to win by majority decision in a great exhibition of the sweet science.  Keep your eye out for these two exciting middleweights.

The featherweight division showcased The Ring of Hope’ Chris Faz (3-2) from Dallas, Texas against the very tough Rigoberto Moreno (2-1) from Arlington, Texas.  The tough Moreno came out looking for the knockout in this fight, but the southpaw Faz countered very well throughout the bout.  In the third round, Moreno landed a huge right hand to the jaw of Faz and his mouthpiece came flying out.  But this didn’t faze Faz, who came back at the middle of the round to land two consecutive uppercuts.  In the final round, Moreno came out swinging with a serious look on his face as he attempted to land the knockout punch, but Faz continued to counter until the bell sounded.  Faz went on to win by unanimous decision. 

In the welterweight division, Marquis Taylor (2-0) from Houston, Texas took on Leonard Brady (0-1) from Lewisville, Texas.  Although Brady was hoping to win his first fight of his career, Taylor ended up with the win by unanimous decision.  In the battle of pro debuts, Kenny Gammer (1-0) from Wichita Falls put on a skillfully sound fight against Justin Rodriguez (0-1) of Sweetwater, Texas.  The calm but tough Grammer wasted no time as he quickly landed a very sharp left hand that rocked Rodriguez momentarily in the first round.  He continued with pressure on Rodriguez in the second round as he connected with punch after punch as Rodriguez moved backward in the ring.  Grammer then landed a stiff body punch and Rodriquez winced in pain.  Grammer then landed a huge right hand to the head of Rodriguez and began to batter him in the corner until the referee stopped the fight at 2:44 of the second round.

CESAR VILA (6-0) FROM CORPUS CHRISTI TEXAS CAPTURES UBF US SOUTHWEST WELTERWEIGHT TITLE BY UNANIMOUS DECISION OVER VETERAN TARONZE WASHINGTON (16-17, 8 KO’S) FROM DALLAS, TEXAS.

JUAN ANTONIO “TONY LOPEZ, JR. (9-0, 3KO’S) FROM FORT WORTH, TEXAS WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION AGAINST RAYMOND CHACON (6-6) FROM LOS ANGELES, CA IN JR FEATHERWEIGHT ACTION.

SUPERMIDDLEWEIGHT MARCHRISTOPHER ADKINS (2-1) FROM DALLAS, TEXAS UPSETS MIKE TUFARIELLO (3-1-1, 3KO’S) FROM CARROLLTON, TEXAS AND WINS BY MAJORITY DECISION.

RING OF HOPE FIGHTER CHRIS FAZ (3-2) FROM DALLAS, TEXAS WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION AGAINST THE TOUGH RIGOBERTO MORENO (2-1) FROM ARLINGTON, TEXAS.

WELTERWEIGHT MARQUIS TAYLOR (2-0) FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION AGAINST PRO DEBUT FIGHTER LEONARD BRADY (0-1) FROM LEWISVILLE, TEXAS.

KENNY GRAMMER (1-0) FROM WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS WINS THE BATTLE OF PRO DEBUTS AND WINS BY TKO AGAINST JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ (0-1) FROM SWEETWATER, TEXAS.

The weights are in for the A NIGHT TO FIGHT charity event for the Ring of Hope Boxing Club that mentors at-risk youth from Dallas through boxing! The final fight card is set for an action packed night tomorrow, February 27th at 6:00 p.m. at The Frontiers of Flight Museum at 6911 Lemmon Ave, Dallas, TX 75209.

 
Welterweight

Marquis Taylor, Houston, TX (143.25 lbs.) vs. Leonard Brady, Lewisville, TX (144.25 lbs)

 
Lightweight

Kenny Grammer, Wichita Falls, TX (134.25 lbs.) vs. Justin Rodriquez, Sweetwater, TX (131 lbs)

 
Featherweight

Rigaberto Moreno, Arlington, TX (124.75 lbs.) vs. Chris Faz, Dallas, TX (124)

 
Super Middleweight

Mike Tufariello, Carrollton, TX (162.75 lbs.) vs. Marchristopher Adkins, Dallas, TX (165.25 lbs.)

 
Featherweight

Tony Lopez (120 lbs.) vs. Raymond Chacon (120.25 lbs.)

 
Super Welterweight

Cesar Villa (153.25 lbs) vs. Taronze Washington (153 lbs.)

 
There will be no tickets available at the door for this charity event. There are only few tickets left. You can get tickets by calling 817-546-2266.

Standing 8 Promotions once again is at the forefront of professional boxing in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  This time, Dustin Haney and Standing 8 Promotions is starting off the New Year

by teaming up with the UR Hope Foundation by bringing a night of professional boxing to the Dallas area.  The event will be converting the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas into a professional prize fighting night which will be benefiting the youth of Dallas, Texas all at the same time.

The event is called “A NIGHT TO FIGHT,” a boxing charity event which will be supporting the Ring of Hope Boxing Gym, headed by lead trainer Hector Pena, a former professional fighter himself.  Maintained by the Dallas Leadership Foundation, the UR Hope Foundation founded the Ring of Hope Boxing Club back in 2010 and through the efforts of Mr. Pena and his staff, it has been successful in the cultivation of successful amateur and professional boxers from the city of Dallas.

The main event of the night will be none other than Hector “El Diamante” Vazquez (12-1, 2 KO’s) from Irving Texas.  He will be defending his Texas Light Middleweight Title for the third time against veteran Taronze Washington (16-17, 8 KO’s) from Dallas, Texas.  Vazquez captured the title in August of 2013 in an exciting fight against Dallas’ Larry “Slo Moshun” Smith.  He defended his title for the first time against Cory Yett in October of that year and followed that up with another win against the tough Anthony Lenk from Las Vegas in December of 2013.  As for Washington, he once held the same title and is looking to get it back.  In his boxing career, Washington has fought former champions such as Andre Berto, Austin Trout, Glen Tapia, and Brian Vera, who is scheduled to fight a rematch with Julio Cesar Chavez this weekend.  Look for an exciting match against these two seasoned fighters because one will be defending the title and the other will be trying to regain it.

Also scheduled on the fight is the lightning fast and undefeated Juan Antonio “Tony Lopez” (8-0, 3 KO’s) from Fort Worth, Texas.  This undefeated super bantamweight southpaw has speed in both hands, so don’t take your eyes from the ring because lightning will be striking.

In addition to these prize fighters, undefeated Marquis Taylor (1-0) from Houston, Texas, a former national amateur champion will be on the card and he will be looking to stay undefeated.

In their professional debut, Kenny Grammer of Wichita Falls, Texas and Hector Valdez of Dallas, Texas are schedule to fight and start their career off with a win.  Ring of Hope boxer Christian Faz (2-2) is also schedule on the card, and a last minute entry will be the heavy hitting Mike Tufariello.  Look forward to a great night of charity and professional boxing for the Dallas, Texas youth. 

Location: Frontiers of Flight Museum, 6911 Lemmon Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75209.

Time: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. – First Fight at 6:00 p.m.

Tickets: Contact DK Haney Roofing at (817) 546-2266

PR Contact: Jayne Wilks This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

WEIGH-IN: FEBRUARY 26^TH  at 1:30 p.m. at The Ring of Hope Boxing Gym, 1703 Alpine Street, Dallas, Texas  75223.  Free to the public.  (469) 208-2188.

Photo by Stacey Verbeek

On a Goldenboy promotion on Monday night in San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Olympian Errol Spence, Jr. (11-0, 9KO’s) from DeSoto, Texas took control of his fight against Peter Oluoch (12-7-2, 6KO’s) from Kenya in the first round by landing a triple combination.  He connected with a left and right to the body and finished it off with a right hand that rocked his opponent into the ropes.  The southpaw Spence then began to use his right hand jab which allowed him to land several straight left hand punches to the face of his opponent.  In the beginning of the second round, the Kenyan connected with a glancing short right hand, and then Spence returned the favor with a hard straight left hand to the head of Oluoch.  Spence then went to the body as he forced Oluoch to maneuver backwards around the ring.  Then he landed a big left hook to the head of the Kenyan that made him stumble backwards.  The second round ended with Spence forcing the action by landing a combination and landing his jab.  After winning the first two rounds, Spence continued to land his jab at will and he finished the round by landing several combinations which had his opponent backpedaling into the ropes. 

Before this fight, Spence had told NTF that he had a perfect year in 2013 by staying busy, which included winning eight fights, and five by knockout.  According to Dan Rafael of ESPN, Spence was listed as one of the top 20 professional prospects of the year.  In 2013 Spence also defeated a then undefeated Ghanan named Emanuel Lartney (15-1-1) by unanimous decision.  And, while training in Vegas, rumors swirled about Spence dotting the eye of Mayweather while sparring and catching Adrian Broner with a good shot. 

In the fourth and final round of the fight, Spence, who is a welterweight, had thrown 280 punches and landed 97, a 35% rate as opposed to his opponent who had only landed 25 punches.  At just past the first minute of the round, Spence landed a hard right hand jab and followed it up with a huge left hand to the head of Oluoch and Oluoch took a knee.  After taking the count by the referee, Spence went after the Kenyan and landed a short left hook which put him on the canvas.  In what was a scheduled eight round fight, the bout was stopped by TKO at 1:39 of the fourth round.  

Spence, who is from Desoto Texas has trained in numerous gyms around the country, but he trained for this fight at the Maple Avenue Boxing Gym in Dallas, Texas.  Prior to this fight, Spence told NTF that “I see 2014 with a better caliber of opponents and myself being better with great performances.”  And that is exactly what he did on Monday night in San Antonio, bringing his undefeated record to 11-0, with 9 knockouts.

In front of a very enthusiastic crowd, including former WBA Welterweight champion Adrien Broner, Charles “The Future” Hatley (21-1-1, 14 KO's) wasted no time in disposing of his opponent Mark “Poison” Suarez (25-5, 13KO’s) at the Southside Ballroom (formerly the Palladium Ballroom) to the delight of those in attendance.  On paper it appeared that Suarez would be a challenging foe, and after the bell rang for the first round, Suarez was the one who was actually forcing the action.  But things changed quickly as Hatley, the light middleweight southpaw looked for the opening.  In less than two minutes, Hatley landed a lightning left hook that sent Suarez into the ropes and down on the canvas.  The referee then stepped in and stopped the fight at exactly 1:40 of the first round and it was over.  

In the Co-Main Event, Heavyweight Greg “Bad News” Corbin (6-0, 4KO’s) from Dallas, Texas had his hands full, that is, temporarily against the cool and slick Jamal Woods (3-1-2, 3KO’s) from Forest City, Arkansas.  Across the ring, Woods was matched up against probably the biggest heavyweight he had ever faced.  Despite the difference in size, the quicker Woods was able to connect with faster combinations in the opening round and landed a big left hook to the head of Corbin to the delight of the crowd.  Corbin was able to get Woods on the ropes, but Woods blocked most of the punches.  In the second round, Woods gave his best impression of the Rope-A-Dope as Corbin pounded on him in the corner.  In the middle of all the pounding by Corbin, Woods was able to land a few counter punches.  But at the end of the round, Corbin landed a huge right hand and the crowd responded in delight.  The calm and cool Woods was not intimidated by Corbin as he started the third round by clowning in the ring as he made Corbin miss his punches.  Corbin then forced Woods into the corner and began to land huge shots with punches to the head of Woods until he took a knee.  The fight was stopped by the referee at 58 seconds of the third round by TKO.

In the first fight of the night in the light welterweight division, DeAnthony Bonner (4-1, 2KO’s) from Dallas, Texas took on Darryl Hayes from Houston, Texas.  In a competitive matchup, the quick Hayes started the first round with a big right hand that quickly caught the attention of Bonner.  Bonner, who forced the action throughout the fight, constantly pressured Hayes as they exchanged punches in the second round.  After a head collision between fighters, Hayes ended up with blood coming from his forehead. To make matters worse, Hayes was later penalized for holding and a point was taken away.  At the end of the round, Bonner connected with a nice uppercut, but Hayes countered back well.  The competitive Hayes was able to bloody the mouth of Bonner, but Bonner continued to push the pace.  As Bonner tried to land the knockout punch, Hayes was able to turn Bonner on the ropes and land a combination along with a hard right hand. Unfazed by the punches of Hayes, Bonner continued to walk down his opponent.  Both fighters stared each other down as the bell sounded.  In the final round, Bonner continued to walk Hayes down as he landed good hard punches until the bell sounded.  Although a game fighter, Hayes lost by split decision, 37-38, 39-36, 39-36.

In the Junior Welterweight division, Brian Jones from Clarksville, Texas took on the very tough Juan Ocura from Dallas, Texas.  In what looked to be an easy fight for the much taller Jones, Juan Ocura gave the fight fans one of the most exciting fights of the night.  In the first two rounds, Jones was able to use his reach and fend off the oncoming Ocura.  Although, Ocura did pick up the pace in the second round as he started to get in close and find his range as he was able to land several combinations.  The third round continued the same with the shorter Ocura forcing the action as Jones countered back.  Ocura finished the round with a good left hand that he followed up with a heavy right hand to the head of Jones at the end of the round.  Ocura came to fight.  In the fourth round, Ocura came out swinging, as his punches started to get harder and harder.  Jones took it all and they went toe to toe as the crowd went wild.  Jones then connected with two right hands, but Ocura kept coming forward.  They went at it toe to toe again at the end of the round, with Ocura getting the best of it.  The fifth round was almost the same as the last round with both fighters giving it their all.  This time, Jones came after Ocura in the beginning of the round, but the tough Ocura held his own by landing several big punches to the head of Jones in the middle of the ring.  They went toe to toe for the third time in the fight and Ocura walked back to his corner with a smile on his face.  In the final round, Jones was able to get Ocura on the ropes early, but Ocura countered his way out.  Ocura then landed several hard combinations on Jones, but he took it well until the bell sounded.  As the bell sounded to end the fight, Ocura jumped on the ropes as the crowd cheered him on.  Ocura went on to win by unanimous decision, with the card reading 57-56,  57-56,  57-56.

In the middleweight division, Jay Williams came all the way from West Monroe, Louisiana to take on Christopher Jones (3-0, 2KO’s) from Denton, Texas.  The southpaw Williams  came out by landing a big left hand in the first round and then gestured to Williams to “come on.” Jones had no problem with that as he pursued his foe throughout the first round.  Williams was able to land a big left hand in this round, as he danced his way around the ring.  Jones continued to stalk Williams in the second round as he walked his opponent down in the ring.  The confident Williams missed a haymaker, and then he stopped and drew a line in the middle of the ring with his foot for Jones to cross as if to say, “I dare you to cross it,” then Jones did the same right back at him.  In the third round, Jones landed a huge left hook, but Williams was able to block it with his arm.  As Jones continued to stalk Williams around the ring, the brash Williams taunted him to follow him.  In the final round, Jones stepped up the pace as he continued to chase Williams around the ring, and Williams continued to taunt him and say “come on.”  Jones obligated him and landed a huge left hand to the head of Williams.  Jones then landed a good combination and followed it up with a nice left hand.  Williams then landed another hard right hand to the head of Jones, and again taunted Jones.  Both fighters give it their all until the bell sounded.  To the disappointment of the crowd, the fight ended in a majority draw.    
 

The Dallas Golden Gloves starts today in a four day amateur boxing tournament at the Hella Shrine Temple in Garland Texas.  Day one starts with forty three scheduled bouts between gallant young boxers who give it their all when they enter the ring.  Come out and support them and their teams in what plans to be an exciting tournament of boxing.

BOXING DIVISIONS

Bantam Novice (8,9 & 10 years old)
Bantam Open (8,9, & 10 years old)
Junior Novice (11 & 12 years old)
Junior Open (11 & 12 years old)
Intermediate Novice (13 & 14 years old)
Intermediate Open (13 & 14 years old)
Senior Novice (15 & 16 years old)
Senior Open (15 & 16 years old)
Novice (17 - 34 years old)
Open (17 - 34 years old)

Club Names

B&M Gym
Bendu
DeLeon
Devildogz
Dominion Gym
Dos Campeones
GPOL
Grand Prairie PB
GTO
Guy Metzgers CSC
IPAL
JZ Prizefighters
JZ Prizzefighters
King James
Los Gallos
Maple Avenue Boxing Gym
Metroplex MC
Montoya BT
On the Grind
Ring of Hope
Ringtime
SFA Boxing
TNT
TX Select
Unattached
Vivero
Wylie
Young Guns

LOCATION: THE HELLA SHRINE TEMPLE, 2121 Rowlett Road, Garland, Texas  75043

DATES:  JANUARY 21 – 24, 2014, 7pm Nightly.

CONTACT: (972) 240-6624 -  http://www.dallasgoldengloves.org/index.html
 

Opening the broadcast on SHOBOX on SHOWTIME Saturday night in Memphis Tennessee, Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (12-0-2, 9 KOs) from Dallas, Texas and Abel Ramos (8-0-1, 4 KOs) from Casa Grande, Arizona started the night off in a very competitive eight round match.  The tale of the tape on these boxers coming into this fight was somewhat different.  Ramos came into the fight having turned professional two years ago after having a slight advantage in amateur experience, but Hooker was the one with more experience in professional rounds boxed against better opponents.  Both fighters were delving into their first eight round match, but Ramos had never been past four rounds.  Fighting out of the Maple Avenue Boxing Gym in Dallas, Texas, Hooker had the advantage in this category as he had already fought five six round matches in 2013, and three out of five of those matches never went past the second round.  As for locations of fights, Ramos had never fought a professional fight outside of his home state of Arizona, while Hooker had tested fighters from San Diego to New York.

Ramos started slowly forcing the action in the first round but the taller Hooker was snapping his left hand jab in the face of Ramos consistently.   Both fighters appeared calm for their first time on national television and Hooker clearly won the first round.  As the fighters continued into the second round, Hooker was still connecting well with his jab as he moved around the ring.  Toward the end of the round, Ramos was able to land a left hook on Hooker in the middle of the ring, but Hooker countered back with his right hand.  Throughout this round, Hooker would occasionally shoot the straight right hand, but Ramos was able to avoid it.  At the last forty seconds of the fight, Hooker finally connected with a nice straight right hand that snapped Ramos’ head back.  Hooker was clearly in control of the first two rounds and as the round ended, Ramos had a small mouse under his left eye.

Things started to change in the third round and the momentum shifted to Ramos’ corner as he stepped up the pace and began landing his own jab.  Early in the round, Ramos was able to force Hooker into the ropes, but Hooker countered well with two right hands to the head of Ramos.  Ramos then forced Hooker into the ropes for the second time as he connected with a good body punch.  Hooker fought back off the ropes and moved the action toward the middle of the ring and gestured for his opponent to “come on.”  Hooker landed a glancing right hand toward the end of the round as the fight started to heat up.

In the fourth round, Hooker went back to what was working very well in the first two rounds as he jabbed away and moved laterally around the ring using his reach advantage.  Toward the end of the round, Hooker landed another nice right hand, and followed it up with a short left hook to the head of Ramos.  Hooker had a much better round in the fourth, as Ramos’ left eye continued to swell up.  At the halfway point, SHOBOX commentators had Hooker ahead three to one going into the fifth round, a distance that Ramos had never been before professionally.  Hooker was able to land a quick straight right hand to the head of Ramos early in the round, as Ramos moved forward.  Ramos continued to force the action as he backed up Hooker into the ropes, but Hooker countered with another right hand and a quick left hook.  Ramos then started to go to the body of Hooker as he forced him to move around the ring.  Although Ramos continued to move forward, Hooker outpunched Ramos the entire round.

Hooker started off the sixth round with a quick hard combination as both fighters started to land heavier punches.  Ramos continued to push the pace as he constantly moved forward in fight, clearly not bothered by the swelling that continued under his left eye.  Toward the latter end of the round, Hooker slipped in a short uppercut as Ramos walked right into it.  Hooker then landed a nice right hand, and followed it up with another right hand.  Ramos then caught Hooker with a left hook and then landed a big left hook as Hooker was on the ropes.  Ramos then followed it up with a glancing right hand as he forced Hooker on the ropes.  Ramos continued with his aggression as he attempted to land combinations on Hooker on the ropes, but Hooker was able to  slip all the punches and make Ramos miss.  At the end of the round, the referee lost control of the fight when he failed to hear the bell ring.  Both fighters stopped, but the referee let them continue momentarily until he was given instruction to stop the round.

Before the seventh round, Ramos’ corner were telling him that Hooker was tiring, and Ramos appeared to agree with the expression on his face.  At the beginning of the round, Ramos landed a shot to the body of Hooker and followed it up with a left hook as he kept the pressure on.  At the halfway point of the round, SHOBOX commentators were indicating that they thought Hooker was beginning to tire, although he was still throwing punches.  Ramos was clearly getting his momentum from what his corner had told him as he pressed forward forcing the action.  It appeared that he was getting stronger toward the end of the fight as his momentum picked up.  Ramos then landed a good body shot and then landed the biggest left hand of the fight and followed it up with another short left hook and it appeared that Hooker was in trouble.  At the end of the round, Ramos landed a hard left hand that backed up Hooker.  Hooker countered back as the bell sounded, but it was clearly a round for Ramos.

After taking the best of Ramos in the seventh round, Hooker came out swinging at the beginning of the eighth as they both traded punches in the middle of the ring.  Ramos continued to put on the pressure as he had done throughout the fight, and didn’t appear to be tiring at all.  Ramos then landed a big right hand on Hooker as he forced him into the ropes, a place that Ramos was most successful throughout the fight.  Close to the end of the round, Ramos landed another left hand, but Hooker kept on throwing counter punches.  With both fighters clearly exhausted, Hooker then landed a nice left hand to the head of Ramos as he was backed up on the ropes.  Ramos then landed a left hand and then another right hand, but Hooker kept on punching as the bell sounded to end the round.

For it to be the first time on national television, both fighters made a strong statement that they were potential prospects worthy of being on the national stage.  Although SHOBOX commentators had Hooker winning the fight, the referees saw otherwise.  In what was an outstanding effort by Hooker, unfortunately he had to settle for a majority draw.  NTF looks forward to seeing Dallas’ “Mighty Mo” Hooker in the ring as he moves his way up into contention.

This past Saturday night, Arlington’s Xtreme Knockout promotions held their 21st professional MMA show to the eager anticipation of some of the area’s most die hard fight fans.  As is the standard case with an XKO event a lively crowd of fight fans were treated to some extremely entertaining fights.

In the night’s main event, Corpus Christi’s Chris “The Enigma” Pecero made a triumphant return to the XKO cage catching Javier Obregon in a nasty first round armbar.  Obregon was tough and scored some clean takedowns early on but Pecero’s jiu-jitsu proved to be too much and he ended it in definitive fashion with a tight submission.

In the co-main event of the night, Josh Foster rallied back from nearly being knocked out to submit Allen Nelson with a textbook armbar in the first round.  Nelson was tough, landing some extremely hard shots that had Foster reeling early on.  But credit to Foster who was able to rally back and secure an picture-perfect armbar after securing a takedown.

Next Genferation’s Cody Miller was able to weather an early leg kick assault by Stephen Banaszak before submitting the Chop Shop fighter was a second round guillotine.

Moises Diaz returned to the XKO cage following a brief hiatus to choke out Andrew Sosa with a first round guillotine.

Phalanx MMA’s Kashiff Solarin and Kyle Hessler engaged in what may have been the fight of the night with Solarin scoring a split decision victory.

Edgar Verdin was able to render Jeremiah O’Neal unconscious with some well times elbows in the first round.

Aaron Culpepper gutted out a unanimous decision victory over Brian Cheatham.

An emotional Eugene Davis was emerged victorious with a unanimous decision victory over Ramon Jackson.