From the opening bell, Ennis peppered his opponent with just about every punch he threw. Ennis had success to both the body and head, consistently tagging his Corpus Christi, TX based counterpart as if he were a novice sparring partner. The Philadelphia, PA based prospect managed to steer clear of a number of Lares’ slow and wild hooks, regularly making him pay for it. Lares, who displayed tremendous heart, was decked once in round four and twice in the sixth before Referee Eddie Cotton stopped the contest following a fourth knockdown in the seventh stanza.
Time of stoppage was 2:35.
“My whole game plan was to work his body because he had a hard head,” Ennis said of his gritty opponent as he spit out blood in the hallway of the arena. “Whoever wants (to try and take my title) can come after it!”
Ennis is now 17-0 with 11 KO’s. Lares falls to 16-6 with 4 KO’s and won the hearts of many with his toughness.
In the co-feature, heavyweight hopeful and St. Josephs University graduate Chazz “The Gentleman” Witherspoon forced game but overmatched Alexis Mejia’s to retire following one sided four rounds. Witherspoon connected at will with hard jabs and right hands, causing Mejia’s’ left eye to close. The Paulsboro native almost had Mejia’s out in the fourth, but a number of clinches towards the end of the round helped the latter stay on his feet for the time being. Mejia’s corner wisely threw in the towel before the fifth.
Witherspoon improves to 28-2 with 20 KO’s. Mejia, who has been stopped in four of his last five starts, heads home to Paterson at 11-6 (5 KO’s).
Light heavyweight Lavarn “Baby Bowe” Harvell of Atlantic City stopped late replacement, Khalil Farah at the end of the first round. Harvell beat Farah, from pillar to post in the first three minutes of the fight and scored a knockdown before Referee Samuel Viruet pulled the plug.
Harvell ups his professional ledger to 7-0 (3 KO’s). Farah, a Philadelphia native who likely took the fight to help balance out the funds while he attends Temple University, is 6-7 with 1 KO.
Philadelphia’s Keenan Smith improved to 3-0 and scored his first knockout after stopping debuting Anthony Royal of Newport News, VA. At the weigh-in, Smith and Royal exchanged some heated words, so this fight was hotly anticipated; only one man lived up to the pre fight hype. Smith dominated the battle of long and lean lightweights, breaking Royal’s will with a two fisted attack en route to knocking him out after consecutive right hands 1:20 into the fourth.
Good looking super middleweight prospect Joel De La Paz of Atlantic City scored a unanimous decision over Virgil Hill trained and GSFS' very own “Trouble” Troy Maxwell. De La Paz connected with a number of solid punches and busted open the face of Maxwell, who displayed the heart of a lion in a losing effort. Scores were 40-36 on all three cards.
De La Paz is 6-0 with 4 KO's. Maxwell, of Galloway, is 2-2.
Ishmael Garcia of Millville outboxed Corey Preston over four rounds en route to scoring a shut out decision in a junior middleweight contest. Garcia is 2-0. Preston of Cincinnati, OH remains winless at 0-2.
Junior lightweight Joey Tiberi demolished Tonio Parker in one minute and 54 seconds. Tiberi, a member of Delaware’s most famous boxing family, scored two knockdowns. The Newark native improves 2-0 with both of his victories coming via first round KO. Parker of Wilson, NC is 0-2.
The card was promoted by Spartan Fight Promotions.
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