Watch Kelly-Islam, Wins By Najee Lopez, Peter Dobson, the Valle Brothers on ProBox Youtube Channel

JIMMY ‘KILRAIN’ KELLY DEFEATS KANAT ISLAM TO CAPTURE THE WBO GLOBAL MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP 

PETER DOBSON BEATS JOSE MIGUEL BORREGO VIA UNANIMOUS DECISON IN CO-MAIN

Photo Above Courtesy Damon Gonzalez

PLANT CITY, Florida (Feb. 25, 2022): Jimmy “Kilrain” Kelly (26-2, 10 KOs) of Manchester, United Kingdom defeated Kazakh contender Kanat “QazaQ” Islam (28-1, 22 KOs) by majority decision in the ProBox Promotions’ main event Friday evening in Plant City, Florida.

Kelly (left, with the PBP Posse, photo by Damon Gonzalez) , who captured the WBO Global Middleweight Championship, won with scores of 96-94, 97-93 and 95-95.

The fight took place at Whitesands Event Center, one of 11 scraps put together by the Florida-based company headed by Garry Jonas. The entire card is available on YouTube.

The fights took place inside this facility, on the grounds of Whitesands Rehab. Photo by Michael Woods

“I thought I won every round,” said Kelly, who admitted after that he wanted to fly home quickly to see his two kids. “I even hurt my hand and could only box with my jab during the last four rounds. Despite that, I still feel I won every round. I felt his pressure, but I didn’t feel his power. Kanat was looking for the counter all night, but I didn’t let him do it.”

Chris Glover of ProBox, left, and Kelly in the locker room after the UK man had his hand raised.

In the co-main event, “Pistol” Pete Dobson (15-0, 9 KOs) of The Bronx, New York beat Mexican southpaw Jose Miguel Borrego (19-4) via wide unanimous decision.

Peter Dobson impressed the sold-out crowd in Plant City with his ring generalship. Here. he’s pictured in the locker room, post-fight, happy as hell. Photo by Michael Woods

Dobson’s accuracy, movement, ring generalship, all of that added up to a long night for Borrego, by scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 100-90. Dobson has sharpened his game by getting superior sparring, against the likes of Terence Crawford, of late.

The boxing event center is on the grounds of the Whitesands rehab center, in Plant City, Florida.

Jonathan Eniz (28-17-1) of Buenos Aires, Argentina scored an upset unanimous decision victory against Mark Reyes Jr. (14-2, 12 KOs) of Tampa, Florida after 10 rounds of action. The three judges scored the fight in Eniz’s favor with the following scorecards: 95-94, 95-94, 96-93. The Argentine won over the sold-out house with this fast hands, crazy stamina and slick movement.

Eniz and trainer looked dialed in before they walked to the ring. Photo by Michael Woods

Reyes Jr looked a step behind at times, but he drew massive cheers from locals, for his ability to slick and duck, when he avoided getting tagged hard as Eniz flurried maniacally in round nine.

Najee Lopez (3-0, 3 KOs), a cruiserweight standout of Puerto Rican nationality who represents Ellenwood, Georgia, scored a second-round knockout victory against Alex “El Principe” Theran (23-7, 15 KOs) in what was his first fight scheduled for six rounds.

Najee Lopez opened eyes with his Friday, Feb. 25 win in Plant City, Florida, over Alex Theran.

Lopez scored two knockdowns, the latter of which ended matters at :33 of the aforementioned round. Lopez said after that he believes he’s ready for another step up, after downing a boxer who’d battled Anthony Yarde, Yunieski Gonzalez and Hot Rod Kalajdzic. “I feel like I can compete with the best of them,” Lopez said after the victory.

Najee with game face on pre-fight.

Marques Valle (4-0, 4 KOs) of Wesley Chapel, Florida scored a vicious stoppage win over Robbie Rose (1-2) of Richburg, South Carolina in what was a scheduled six-round welterweight battle. The older Valle brother, age 23, ended the fight at 1:29 of the very first round. His power and hand speed were on a different level.

Rising Puerto Rican knockout artist Julio Solis (6-0, 6 KOs) scored a first-round knockout against Trenton Gibson (1-1) of San Antonio, Texas in a lightweight battle originally scheduled for four rounds. The time of stoppage was 1:41 of the opening round. A healthy portion of the sold-out crowd seemed to be Solis rooters.

Solis and Gibson, good sports, posed together after Solis blasted his foe with ill intent. Photo by Michael Woods

Floridan prospect Dominic Valle (3-0, 3 KOs) defeated Nelson Colon Torres (4-6, 3 KOs) of Aibonito, Puerto Rico via knockout in what was originally a scheduled four-round bout in the super featherweight division. Valle, the younger of the Valles, at 21, ended matters at 1:56 of the third round.

Light heavyweight Matthew Tinker (8-0, 6 KOs), a UK-born prospect who calls the United States his home, maintained his undefeated record by defeating Brandon Maddox (8-5-1, 6 KOs) of Detroit, Michigan via six-round unanimous decision. Tinker, using a persistent jab, won with scores of 58-56, 58-56, and 59-55.

They told us what round was coming next on Feb. 25 at Whitesands in Plant City.

Casey Dixon (1-0, 1 KO) of Atlanta, George won his first professional bout via second-round knockout against Arsenio Hall (3-6) of Chester, South Carolina in a light heavyweight clash. The brawler Dixon ended matters at :28 of round two.

The joint was sold out. Photo by Michael Woods

Imran Haddabah (4-0, 4 KOs) of Saint Petersburg, Florida knocked out Dominique Wiltz (0-3) of Houston, in a light heavyweight bout. The bout was halted at 2:39 of the second round as the 6-4 winner struck with a nasty hook which buzzed Wiltz badly.

Tommy Wu (1-0) made a successful professional debut with a four-round unanimous decision win against Anthony Curtiss (3-14, 2 KOs) of Butte, Montana.

Roy Jones having a good time calling fights with Mike Goldberg, Paul Malignaggi and Antonio Tarver. Photo by Michael Woods

The California welterweight came out rumbling in the first, and he found a stubborn target in Curtiss. Wu won via scores of 39-36, 40-36 and 40-36.

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Islam vs. Kelly was a 10-round fight presented by ProBox Promotions for the WBO Global Middleweight Championship. The event took place on Friday, Feb. 25 at Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida.

About ProBox Promotions
ProBox Promotions is a Florida-based company founded by entrepreneur Garry Jonas out of a desire to incorporate his love of boxing and business marketing to develop a revolutionary way to promote the sport. The company boasts an impressive stable of fighters that includes Erickson Lubin, Mark Reyes Jr., Jose Miguel Borrego and more.