Toro Promotions Battle at the Boat 128

January 4, 2024

Emerald Queen Casino

The main event at the Emerald Queen featured two really big men battling it out in a heavyweight fight. Gurgen Hovhannisyan tipped the scales at 278 pounds; Colby Madison came in at 245. Madison had lost five of his last nine fights, but his four wins in that streak came in a dominant fashion. Hovhannisyan, in his four wins seemed to have powered through his opponents.

Madison was the busier fighter in the opening round as he pumped his jab at Hovhannisyan creating distance between the two men. Hovhannisyan patiently walked towards Madison, though he didn’t really throw a serious punch through the opening minute of the round. When Hovhannisyan did begin to throw his jab, Madison ducked out of the way. Hovannisyan began to open up more in the second round as he fired his jab at Madison’s body, and occasionally fired one at Madison’s head. Madison threw more jabs in the round, targeting Hovhannisyan’s body and a few to his head, but they appeared to do little to slow the bigger man.

Hovhannisyan controlled the third round until the 2:30 mark when Madison landed a couple of big shots to Hovhannisyan’s head while Madison was backed into the corner. The momentum shifted in the fourth round as Hovhannisyan kept Madison with his back to the ropes and landed a number of body shots. Madison appeared to be hurt late in the round, though he continued to throw punches.

Hovhannisyan answered the bell for the fifth round throwing a number of punches. Madison was able to answer a few, but when Hovhannisyan backed him in to the corner, there was little room for Madison to throw heavy punches. Hovhannisyan landed a flurry of body shots, and followed those with shots to Madison’s head to drop Madison thirty seconds in to the round. The referee counted, but Madison would not stand.

The fight ended at the forty second mark of round five with Hovhannisyan scoring the knockout win to remain unbeaten.

Hovhannisyan's left lands to Madison's chin

With Madison in the corner, Hovhannisyan lands the punches that ended the fight

Stone's left catches Flores

In a heavyweight fight that opened the night, once beaten Dante Stone faced Alexander Flores in an eight-round bout. Stone lost his pro debut in 2018, but since then has racked up fifteen wins. Flores opened his pro career with fourteen consecutive wins before scoring four wins, three losses and one draw in his last eight fights.


Stone opened the fight throwing his jab to keep Flores on the move. His tactic proved effective as Flores was unable to land at a consistent rate. Stone continued to work off his jab in the second round, again keeping Flores moving about the ring to avoid getting caught.


Flores moved to the middle of the ring in the third, and that enabled him to shift the momentum in his favor as he forced Stone to move out of reach. Stone was able to step forward and land a few scoring punches in the middle of the round, but Flores regained control as the round continued. Stone fought a solid fourth round as he was able to twice land heavy rights to Flores’ head. Those blows slowed Flores’ output.


Flores had a good comeback round in the fifth as he kept Stone on the move, but Stone was able to counter punch and land some scoring shots. The advantage in the sixth round went to the man that fought in the center of the ring. When Flores was able to do so, he kept Stone on the move. However, Stone, as the round worked to a close, backed Flores against into the corner and landed scoring punches.


The seventh round was close, and once again, the man fighting from the center of the ring had the advantage. Flores landed shots to Stone’s head when Flores was in the center, but Stone was able to counter many of those shots with a double jab to make Flores back away. Stone scored a knockdown at the midpoint of the final round, and though Flores was up quicky, he was unable to gain control of in the remaining moments of the fight.


After eight rounds, the two judges scored the fight 78-73, the third saw it 79-72, all in favor of Dante Stone who would claim the unanimous decision victory.

 

Super Welterweight Elijah Seawright entered the six round fight unbeaten in nine fights, and he won seven of those by knockout. Henry Rivera entered the bout with an even record of two wins and two losses.


It was apparent from the opening bell that Rivera appears to be dedicated to doing his road work as he moved quickly about the ring and chased Seawright down no matter how quickly he moved. What that translated to was a rather strange opening round in which both men moved a lot, but few punches were thrown. When the two did get close, there was more holding than throwing punches. The tactics changed in the second round and more punches were thrown, though Rivera continued to pursue Seawright. Seawright gained an advantage in that he threw the more accurate punches.


Seawright continued to be the more accurate puncher in the third round, scoring by landing shots to Rivera’s body. Rivera showed that he could land his jab while on the move, but he was not in position often enough to land many scoring shots. The pace slowed some in the opening moments of the fourth round, but at the midpoint Seawright began to target Rivera’s body, and that slowed Rivera while enabling Seawright to score.


Rivera opened the fifth round throwing scoring jabs while moving Seawright round the ring. Seawright was able to shift the round to his favor closing the round by landing scoring shots to Rivera’s body and head. Rivera stayed busy in the sixth round, and he was bale to land punches when the two men were fighting in close. Seawright spent much of the round moving to avoid getting caught while landing accurate body shots.


After six rounds, two judges scored the fight 59-55, the third scored it 60-54 all in favor of Elijah Seawright who would score his tenth win.

 

Seawright lands his right

Rogava's right catches Williams

The Co-Feature Heavyweight bout saw two undefeated heavyweights in a scheduled six round fight. Tsotne Rogava was making his North American debut after winning his first three professional fights in Europe. Dante Williams was making his first venture outside of Atlanta where he had won four straight fights.


The fight opened with a flurry of punches thrown by both men. Rogava backed Williams on to the ropes and landed a barrage of punches his Willimas’ body and head. The referee stepped in and administered an eight count as Williams appeared to drop had he not been leaning on the ropes. The fight continues, and Williams, though slowed some, continued to throw punches. Rogava however was throwing heavier shots, and when he backed Williams into the corner, he unleashed an onslaught that landed hard and flush. Williams was unable to answer, and again appeared to be about to drop were it not for the ropes, forcing the referee to step in and stop the fight. Williams slid across the ropes in to the corner, his legs unsteady.


Though Williams was not happy with the way the fight ended, Rogava would score the knockout win at 1:53 of the first round to remain unbeaten.

 

Super featherweight Nilo Guererro was the 2016 Nicaraguan featherweight champion and entered his fight with Chancellor Battenberg with a perfect record of six wins. Batttenberg came into the fight off a win in his last outing and was looking to stay on the winning track in the scheduled six round bout.


Both men threw a lot of scoring punches in the opening moments of round one, most of those being jabs that found a landing spot on the other’s body.  When Guererro moved his assault to target Battenberg’s head, the momentum began to shift. Guererro landed a hard right to Battenberg’s head at the 2:50 mark of the round and dropped Battenberg. He was able to stand and the bell rang to end the round. The opening of the second round was much like the first as both men were able to land some scoring shots. Guererro was able to follow his jab with punches that targeted Battenberg’s head, and those began to take a toll. As the round drew to a close, Guererro backed Battenberg into the corner and landed many shots to his body and head. Battenberg covered up, but was unable to throw anything in return. The referee stepped in to stop the fight.


Guererro would score the TKO win at 2:51 of the second round to remain unbeaten.

 

 

With Battenberg on the ropes, Guererro scores behind his left and right

Guerrero lands a right to Duran's body

Nelson Guerrero won his professional debut scoring a knockout in the third round of a scheduled four round bout. He would face journeyman Gilberto Duran in a four round bantamweight fight.


The opening round was action packed as both men threw a lot of punches. Though Guerrero was more accurate, and able to land to Duran’s body, Duran proved adept at creating distance and moving out of trouble. While on the move, Duran was able to land his jab. Duran had a solid second round as he was able to press the action of the fight and in so doing, he found openings to land his jab. Guerrero may not have thrown as many punches in the round; however, he was more accurate and those that landed scored.


The action in the third round maintained the pace of the previous two. Duran was able to move and create space to land his jab. Guerrero countered Duran’s assault by throwing combinations, and many of those were heavier than Duran’s punches. Guerrero dominated the final round as he was able to use his combinations to twice drop Duran. Though Duran stood to continue, his punch output was slowed. Guerrero was able to back Duran into the corner, and while he had Duran pinned, Guerrero landed a number of body shots and the occasional shot to the head. The referee stepped in to stop the fight as Duran was unable to answer.


The fight was called to an end at 1:37 of the fourth round with Nelson Guerrero scoring the TKO victory.

 

Agustin Tovar stepped into the ring to make his pro debut in a four round lightweight bout. His opponent, Ezra Rabin, entered with a streak of four losses after winning his debut.


Both men worked off the jab in the opening round. Tovar found opportunities to throw shots at Rabin’s head, and some of them landed. Tovar caught Rabin with a hard right at the midpoint of the round that stunned and momentarily slowed Rabing. The round ended with Tovar backed onto the ropes as the two men exchanged punches. Tovar was able to keep Rabin moving in the early portions of the second round, but Rabin looked to shift the momentum at the midpoint by landing a flurry of scoring punches.


Tovar had a solid third round, and at one point he landed a right to Rabin’s head that opened a cut over Rabin’s left eye. Rabin fought through the blood and focused his assault on Tovar’s body. The fourth round began with the doctor taking a look at Rabin’s cut. Rabin made a point of saying he wanted to continue to fight. And he did. Tovar looked to land his right to Rabin’s head, and though the blood flowed, Rabin was not slowed. The referee again called time for the doctor to look at the cut, and again Rabin said he wanted to continue. The round moved on as Tovar settled into firing his jab.


After four round all three judges scored the fight 40-36 in favor of Agustin Tovar who would win his pro debut. And as a side note, there may be fewer tougher or more determined fighters than Ezra Rabin.

 

Rabin's left catches Tovar

Stolen lands his right to bring the fight to an end

In the night’s final fight, Dazjhante Frazier was looking to score a win after dropping his last fight. Frazier faced Nathan Stolen who would make his pro debut in the schedule four round bout.


Both men answered the opening bell throwing punches looking to inflict some heavy damage to the other. The jab was abandoned in favor of the power hand thrown at the other’s body and head. While both were able to land some scoring punches, Stolen appeared to land the more solid shots. Stolen kept the pressure on Frazier in the second round as he threw more body shots and continued to look for the punch that would end the fight. Stolen’s pressure slowed Frazier some, and when Stolen backed Frazier onto the ropes, he was able to land solid and heavy shots to Frazier’s head and body. As Stolen’s assault began to break Frazer down, the referee stepped in to call the fight to an end.


Agustin Stolen would win his pro debut by TKO at 2:26 of the second round.

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