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By Randy Hammons
Editor
BAY ST. LOUIS, MS - Make no mistake about it, Derrick "Superman" Findley is not an "opponent," a tomato can brought in by the promoter so the local fighter can pad his record. Not by a long shot.
Findley showed he is something to be reckoned with Saturday night (July10) in the middleweight main event on Les Bonano's "Battle On The Bay" card from Hollywood Casino. Findley broke down Zane "The Train" Marks round by round on the way to knocking out Marks at 2:04 of the fourth round.
With the victory, Findley, a Gary, IN, resident, won his fourth straight and improved to 17-3, 11 KOs. Marks, from Golden Meadow, LA, fell to 17-6, 10 KOs. The only other time Marks was stopped was in 2004 n he was TKO'd in the first round of a 4-rounder by current IBF Super Middleweight champion Lucian Bute.
"I'm officially the second man to ever stop (Marks)," said Findley, well aware of Marks' fight history. "That tells you something. I'm ready for the big boys."
At 5-foot-10, Marks slender body could not stand up to the constant barrage from the 5-foot-6 Findley, who stalked the ever-moving Marks from the beginning. By the start of the fourth round, Marks was gassed. A three-punch combination led to referee Keith Hughes giving Marks a standing 8 after Marks put his head through the ropes.
As soon as the action continued, Findley attacked. AI hit him with a straight right hand four-punch combination put down Marks with his head laying across the bottom rope.
"I knew he had a lot of movement and could box," Findley said. "I knew all I had to do was keep pressing him and go to that body and he would break. As soon as I started going to that body, he started to open up his mouth and started to hold. I saw him batting his eyes and started to squint."
Findley overcame a cut above his right eye in the third round. The bout was scheduled for 10 rounds.
"Once I got on the inside, I was just too strong for him," Findley said. "I caught him with a left hook and he buckled and put his head through the ropes."
Findley said the knockout punch was perfect timing.
"I hit him with a straight right hand," Findley said. "As he came with his hook, I came with my left hook."
BOURGEOIS STOPS BULLOCK:
In only his second professional bout, New Orleans middleweight Jamond Bourgeois displayed good movement from the opening bell on the way to winning by TKO at 45 seconds of the second over Ocean Springs' Kyle Bennett. Bennett was making his pro boxing debut, but is 10-3 in Mixed Martial Arts bouts.
Bourgeois used his jab to get inside and then delivered his big punch. The end of the fight came when Bourgeois threw the jab, then came with a hard left hook that put Bullock on his back. Referee Keith Hughes waved off the bout.
"(Bullock) had a nice, strong right punch," Bourgeois said. "I knew I couldn't let him beat on me. I just capitalized off his mistake. He caught me twice in the first round and I figured I didn't want to hang around too much longer."
Bourgeois said he turned up the heat at the start of the second round.
"At the beginning of the fight, (Bullock's) jab was real strong," Bourgeois said. "At the end of the round, he'd bring it down after a punch. His jab got lazy. I saw his jab got lazy and went to my corner. We discussed it in the corner. The next round I went over his lazy jab with a straight right and caught him. That was it."
Without elaborating, Bourgeois said he has two possible fights on the horizon. He said he planned to keep working out until his next bout is announced.
McDANIEL TKOs BALLARD:
A four-round middleweight scrap saw New Orleans' Marcus McDaniel record his first stoppage victory when he TKO'd Columbus, MS' Omar Ballard at 1:35 of the second round.
McDaniel (4-0, 1 KO) floored Ballard (7-16, 2 KOs) at the end of the first round from two short lefts, which had Ballard taking a knee.
In the second, McDaniel continued to set up his power shots with a strong jab. Punishing body shots caused Ballard to wince. Just when McDaniel had Ballard thinking about the body, McDaniel fired a right to the head that drove Ballard back into the ropes. Referee Keith Hughes stepped in and waved off the bout.
"I put a lot of hard work and dedication into this fight," McDaniel said. "The plan was to stick and move and box. After the first round, my corner told me to let it come to me. I hit him with a body shot in the second round and I saw him lift his leg up. I knew he couldn't take it."
SALSER DECISIONS HILL:
A four-round welterweight battle had Ohio's Mark Salser winning a majority decision over Gulfport's Bobby "Hitman" Hill. In going the distance for the first time, Salser (10-0, 9 KOs) won 39-38 on the cards of judges David Taranto and Keith Hughes. Judge Raymond White scored it 38-38. Deep South Boxing had Salser winning 39-37.
Hill (1-6) had a good opening round when he scored with crisp combinations and went to the body and head with effectiveness against the defensive-minded Salser.
The two fought at a distance in the second round. Salser picked up the pace somewhat in the round as Hill looked to counter.
Salser dropped in some effective left counters in the third round. and connected with a strong left hand. Hill suffered a cut left eye in the first minute of the round and later suffered a bloody nose in the round. Salser finished the round with a crisp right hand.
In the final round, Salser started off the round with a crisp right counter, followed by a good counter that drew more blood from Hill's nose. Salser finished the fight with some combinations.
ADAMS TOPS PRINGLE:
An entertaining 4-round scrap between a pair of fighters making their respective pro debut saw Cut Off, LA's Casey Adams winning a majority decision over Mobile, AL's LeKirk Pringle. Adams weighed 148, while Pringle weighed 152.
Adams won 39-38 on two cards, while the third had it 38-38. Promoter Les Bonano gave the fighters a bonus after the fight.
From the opening bell, Adams scored with effective shots to the body and also scored with strong right hands to the head. One of those combinations in the second round knocked Pringle back into the ropes.
Pringle managed some go0od combinations of his own and also scored with short right hands.
Adams took the fourth round with a flurry as he moved forward and delivered some effective right hands in the process.
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